Behind every billion-dollar budget line is a Californian whose middle-class dream is slipping away. Over the past decade, our state has doubled its revenues, but today’s revenue chart isn’t what will keep us up at night. What should haunt us is the deficit forecast chart, with red ink ballooning into the tens of billions for 2026-27, ’27-28, and beyond.
Imagine Maria and Marco, both juggling two jobs, yet watching every extra dollar vanish on record-high rent and soaring gas costs, leaving them scrimping on groceries and shelving their dream of a down payment. Meanwhile, 78-year-old Grace counts her Social Security checks like precious coins, often choosing between her medication and a warm meal.
What about nine-year-old Anthony, who shifts from shelter to crowded couch to a friend’s spare bedroom, struggling to focus on school? Maria, Marco, Grace, and Anthony aren’t mere statistics; they’re the human stories of hardship hidden behind our ever-growing budget gaps.
California’s leaders tout our status as the world’s fourth-largest economy, but everyday Californians live a very different reality. We have the nation’s worst business climate, the highest gasoline taxes, and some of America’s steepest poverty rates.
Fees and government regulations are suffocating small businesses, families are leaving California in search of affordable living, and even after pouring $34 billion into homelessness programs, California still ranks dead last in homelessness outcomes.
At the same time, new state laws and regulations have shut down much of our domestic oil production and refining capacity, forcing us to import nearly 80 percent of the fuel we consume and driving prices even higher.
This is not about “more government” or “less government.” It’s about smart government—one that unleashes entrepreneurs instead of suffocating them with fees and penalties. We should support our job creators and invest in new revenue streams, such as streamlined permitting, targeted innovation grants, and public-private partnerships, rather than imposing additional tax hikes that disproportionately affect working families.
Right now, Californians are hurting. Give them a government that understands their pain and takes action on it.
