Economics
Flush With Cash, California Has Problems That Are No Quick Fix
- Governor tackles ‘existential threats’ in new spending plan
- Homelessness, crime and climate change are top priorities
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With cash rolling in from a projected $45.7 billion budget surplus, California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a spending plan designed to address a paradox of the most populous U.S. state: It’s thriving financially, yet beset with systemic challenges that threaten its long-term growth.
The Democrat aims to tackle the “existential threats” of Covid-19, climate change, homelessness, the wealth divide and public safety with a record $213 billion budget for the coming fiscal year. The plan unveiled Monday, which still must be approved by legislators, proposes a tenfold increase -- to $500 million -- to clean up homeless encampments, for example, which the governor called the state’s “most vexing and serious issue.”