It’s not going to get any better. It’s going to get worse. Our mission must be to prevent federal taxpayers from being forced to bail them out of their stupidity.

California lawmakers convened for the first session of 2024 on Wednesday and are tasked with tackling the state’s record $68 billion budget deficit.

 

The enormous shortfall is largely attributed to a “severe revenue decline,” the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) reported last month.

 

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Total income tax collections were down 25% in 2022-23, according to the LAO — a decline compared to those seen during the Great Recession and dot-com bust.

 

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The Golden State’s population declined for the first time in 2021, as it lost around 281,000 residents, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). In 2022, the population dropped again by around 211,000 residents — with many moving to other states like Texas, Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona.

 

“Housing costs loom large in this dynamic,” according to the PPIC, which found through a survey that 34% of Californians are considering moving out of the state due to housing costs.

 

Other factors such as the post-pandemic remote work trend — which has resulted in empty office towers in California’s downtown cores — have also played a role in migration out of the state.