Wildfires: The Latest Chapter of Trump vs. California
Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center, says the president can punish a state by creating or altering rules for federal programs and services. For example, Hoene said, “In recent budget proposals, the administration has sought to increase work requirements for entitlement programs, which reduces the eligibility for more low-income recipients (and California has more of those folks, so it hits our state harder).” Hoene also said the president can use leverage over funding to try and force the state to enact “new policies [with] rules that are more harmful/restrictive to some states than others.”
High Expectations on the Left for Governor-Elect Gavin Newsom
And while children’s advocates and others appreciate the incremental progress made under Brown — for example, creating and then expanding a state earned income tax credit — Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center, said there’s more to be done. “This governor has made strides, but we’re still not back to where we were before the Great Recession,” Hoene said. “I would expect (the Legislature) to see whether a Gov. Newsom is perhaps willing to go a bit further than Gov. Brown was in general.”
Did We Learn Anything From Proposition 13? Proposition 5 Says No
Figures from the California Budget & Policy Center show who truly benefits from this arrangement. Due to Proposition 5’s complicated formula, those selling the most expensive properties will reap far greater savings. For example, take two families who bought houses 20 years ago for $200,000. Both decide to move into $1.5 million condos. If the first family’s house is now worth $500,000, they would save $3,000 on their annual tax bill. If the second family’s home is worth $1.4 million, they would save a whopping $12,000 a year.
Prop. 5 Offers Tax Breaks for Older Home Buyers, but Could Shortchange Schools and Cities
Those who could take advantage of the new benefits, however, are much wealthier and whiter than the average Californian, according to a study of Proposition 5 by the California Budget & Policy Center, a nonprofit that advocates for the working poor.
Presentation
Safety Net Investments in the California State Budget 2018-19
For the California Asset Building Coalition’s “End of the 2018-2019 Legislative Session” webinar, Senior Policy Analyst Sara Kimberlin presented on key safety net investments included in the budget and issues to watch for 2019.