Chris Hoene on the Governor’s Proposed Budget: Federal Uncertainty Looms Large, While State Must Continue to Reinvest Over Long Term

SACRAMENTO – The California Budget & Policy Center, a nonpartisan public policy research group, issued the following statement from Executive Director Chris Hoene in response to this morning’s release of Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed 2017-18 budget: “The deep uncertainty at the federal level looms large in Governor Brown’s proposed budget. Although the Governor’s proposal assumes that current federal policies, … Continued

“The creation of Secure Choice represents a turning point in a several-decades-long race to the bottom in retirement security for private-sector workers. The widespread elimination and reduction of pensions and other retirement benefits in the private sector leaves a growing number of California workers, especially younger, low-income, and female workers, facing economic hardship when they reach retirement and increasingly reliant on public assistance to help make ends meet.”

“California must commit to a multifaceted approach to broadening economic opportunity. This would include expanding the state EITC, continuing to increase support for subsidized child care and preschool, ensuring that all eligible families receive CalFresh food assistance, and boosting access to affordable housing.”