DAN WALTERS: Gavin Newsom’s Off-the-Mark Budget Numbers Undermine His Credibility Again
- Governor Gavin Newsom revised California's 2022-23 state budget to address a $12 billion deficit due to declining revenue and rising costs.
- The revision resulted from overestimating permanent revenues after a 2019-20 to 2021-22 spike and underestimating Medi-Cal spending increases.
- Newsom blamed a 'Trump slump' linked to tariffs slowing the economy and unexpected Medi-Cal coverage expansion for the budget shortfall.
- The revised budget was $14 billion higher than the original, while the total forecast error over four years reached negative $165.1 billion.
- The budget gap contributes to a structural deficit estimated between $10 billion and $30 billion annually, with the Legislative Analyst's Office predicting it may reach $42 billion by 2028-29.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Philp: On water, Newsom is out of time and making his riskiest move as governor
One of Gavin Newsom’s first acts as governor was to start rebuilding California’s water system differently than his predecessor. Yet California’s regulatory system of analysis, permitting and litigation for big projects is leaving him nowhere close to an actual decision point, much less a podcast-worthy ribbon cutting, before his years in Sacramento are over. Running out of options, Newsom is now turning to the state Legislature to ram through a…
DAN WALTERS: Gavin Newsom’s off-the-mark budget numbers undermine his credibility again
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget assumes California will see a sharp decline in projected revenue, largely because President Donald Trump’s tariffs will slow the nation’s economy.

Gavin Newsom’s off-the-mark budget numbers undermine his credibility again
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget assumes California will see a sharp decline in projected revenue, largely because President Donald Trump’s tariffs will slow the nation’s economy. Newsom blames a “Trump slump,” as well as an unanticipated increase in spending on Medi-Cal, California’s medical program for the poor, for punching a $12 billion hole in the budget. Both of those factors, however, underscore a consistent trend in budgets Newso…
Gavin Newsom's off-the-mark budget numbers undermine his credibility again
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget assumes California will see a sharp decline in projected revenue, largely because President Donald Trump’s tariffs will slow the nation’s economy. Newsom blames a “Trump slump,” as well as an unanticipated increase in spending on Medi-Cal, California’s medical program for the poor, for punching a $12 billion hole in the budget. Both of those factors, however, underscore a consistent trend in budgets Newso…
Commentary: Outlaw Public Sector Unions | May 22, 2025
California Governor Gavin Newsom is attempting to pivot to the political center in hopes of appealing to moderate Democrats in the 2028 presidential primaries. But Newsom is constrained by the same political machine that influences Democrats nationwide: public sector unions. Some would say this influence is absolute—and in California, that is almost certainly true. Over the past 15 years of Newsom’s political career, public sector unions contribu
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