The disappearance of inter-party competition means Democrats have been free to implement their responses to multiple issues spawned by the state’s economic and cultural complexity — such things as erratic water supply, low-performing public schools, homelessness, housing shortages, and chronically high levels of unemployment and poverty.
In general, Democratic governors and legislators have believed that throwing money — lots of it — at those and other problems would result in tangible improvement. An obscure chart in the state budget reveals how much money.
In 2000, the state’s population was 34 million and has since grown by 15% to just over 39 million. According to the state Department of Industrial Relations, California’s consumer price inflation has been close to 100% in that period.
However, California’s general fund — which pays for the state’s core programs, such as education, health care and prisons — has tripled from $78 billion during Democrat Gray Davis’ governorship to $229 billion in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest budget. The increase has been financed largely by taxing Californians’ personal incomes, which also have tripled from $1.14 trillion to $3.5 trillion.
General fund spending per capita is 2.5 times what it was in 2000, rising from $2,296 to $5,835. And the number of state employees — 311,239 in 2000 — is now 40% higher at 436,435.
Anyone would be hard-pressed argue that those increases by Democratic officeholders have produced breakthroughs on the state’s most pressing issues. Shortages and the costs of housing, homelessness, low academic scores and other existential issues continue to plague the state.