Since 1995, the California Budget & Policy Center has served as a trusted, independent resource on state fiscal policy, providing clear and rigorous analysis that helps policymakers, advocates, and Californians understand how the state budget works and advance policies that strengthen economic security for all.
Over the past three decades, the Budget Center has helped drive meaningful progress: shaping the California Earned Income Tax Credit, advising on Affordable Care Act implementation and Medi-Cal expansion, minimizing harm during economic downturns, expanding child care access, advancing prison closures and justice system reform, and helping ensure stable funding for California’s schools.
Yet California remains unaffordable for far too many families, especially for people of color, immigrants, and other marginalized communities. The state continues to fall short in meeting the basic needs of its most vulnerable residents in part because large, profitable corporations and the ultra-wealthy benefit from costly tax loopholes and outdated rules that limit the state’s ability to raise the revenues needed for essential services and save for economic downturns.
Over the next five years, the Budget Center will deepen its role in advancing equitable and sustainable revenue policy. Because debates in the Capitol should not be about choosing between helping families afford health care or child care, they should be about how the state can responsibly ensure ongoing access to both and more.
When we close tax loopholes and ensure corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, state leaders can take meaningful action to support the health and well-being of Californians.
In addition to the rigorous analysis and policy recommendations you’ve long trusted, here’s what you can expect from the Budget Center in this next chapter. We’ll work to:
- Dismantle anti-tax narratives and myths that block progress and cloud public understanding.
- Build and sustain a broad-based coalition to champion equitable state revenue solutions.
- Compel political will among policymakers by demonstrating the benefits and necessity of equitable revenues.
- Build power and capacity among organizations to advocate for progressive revenue policies.
With your partnership, California can take bold steps to remove structural barriers, strengthen its revenue system, and invest in the future we know is possible — a California where every person and community can thrive.
