California Economy Could Cost Jerry Brown Re-Election

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The release of California GovernorJerry Brown’s 2014-15 budget last week was a cause forcelebration in Sacramento. In news conferences all over thestate, Brown triumphantly announced that his budget would investin California’s schools, expand health-care coverage formillions and continue work on the state’s troubled high-speedrail project. All of this while Brown and his allies have beentouting what they call California’s comeback as an example forother states to follow.

Missing in the budget and in Brown’s public pronouncementsis any serious mention that California still faces a jobscrisis, and has an economy that, while recovering, is doing soat an anemically slow pace. His only policy prescription forjobs and growth seems to be the high-speed rail project, whichis already overbudget and may never really get going because oflegal challenges. Absent from the governor’s budget areproposals to encourage sustained job creation or long-termeconomic growth, despite being chock-full of new spending inalmost every area of state government.