California's structural deficit has hit $20–30 billion annually, with state spending growing 70% since the pandemic against only 60% revenue growth — and the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office now says the imbalance is unsustainable. The fiscal rot runs deeper than budget math: billions vanished in pandemic unemployment fraud that the state still hasn't accounted for, a San Francisco equity official just faces 19 felony counts for allegedly steering millions to her partner's nonprofit, and Oakland's council is seeking a 125% raise despite a $100 million deficit and 48-minute 911 response times. Meanwhile, California is on track to lose nearly a million public school students by 2031 — a sign that families are drawing their own conclusions about what the spending has actually delivered.
California bleeds $20-35 billion a year. Steyer wants to raise taxes. Mahan wants to stop lighting money on fire.
Zohran Mamdani will increase net spending to defend 3 core policy pillars that are destined for failure
SEIU-UHW's asset seizure tax has already cost the state $16.4 billion per year in lost revenue—and it hasn't even passed yet.
Teachers and parents have a common enemy—and it isn't each other. It's a pension system running a 20-year scam.
Cities skim $300 million a year in fees from affordable housing projects, then wonder why we can't house families.
The Robinhood CEO says he loves this state. That's why his warning should terrify Sacramento.
Public sector unions collect nearly $1 billion a year to control Sacramento. Normal citizens? A trickle against a torrent.
$30 billion stolen in unemployment fraud alone. California's gubernatorial candidate says fix it before raising taxes.
For years, the state bled $20M/month in EBT fraud using ancient systems. The fix took chip cards and AI—things we've had for a decade.
The Governor touts a 9% drop in "unsheltered" homelessness. The actual numbers tell a very different story.