OOPS, Someone Didn’t Carry The One

Still, they shrug their shoulders and lie through their teeth. Arrogance oozes from every pore of whoever is lying at the time. Last Wednesday, we learned that not only are radical far-left Democrats terrible at social governing and justice, but they also suck at basic math.

In an update to California's fiscal 2026-2027 budget forecast, a new report from the state's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) acknowledged it had miscalculated the deficit by approximately $5 billion.

Wait, what? $5 billion?

That’s number five, with nine zeros. ($5,000,000,000). That’s not an easy number to overlook. Do they have calculators in California? Has anyone taught them how to use them? Does anyone check and double-check the work before it’s made public?

I guess not; that would show some humility and integrity, because everyone in the Newsom administration is above such menial tasks as checking their own work or having someone else do it. Responsibility to the public be damned.

Gabriel Petek, the legislative analyst for LAO, provided an update on the state's upcoming fiscal outlook and the expected budget challenges.

In the report, Petek criticized the legislature for its need to address issues effectively.

“Budget problems” for the last three years, before admitting the 2026-2027 issue is now “larger than anticipated.”

“Under our revenue and spending estimates, the Legislature faces an almost $18 billion budget problem in 2026-27. This is about $5 billion larger than the budget problem anticipated by the administration in June.”

During last year's fiscal cycle, the administration projected that California would face a nearly $13 billion budget deficit for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. However, recent updates have shown that this estimate was significantly off.

Over the past three budgetary cycles, California has encountered substantial deficits, $27 billion in 2023-2024, $55 billion in 2024-2025, and $15 billion in 2025-2026.

However, the $18 billion deficit isn’t the only concern for the state. Petek noted that the administration now estimates that California will continue to experience structural deficits ranging from $15 billion to $25 billion through 2028 and 2029.

According to the Sacramento Bee, during a press conference after the report's release, Petek informed reporters that the state will face:

“A somewhat sizable deficit problem in (fiscal year) 2026-27 and worse problems after that. This is happening in the context of an economy that’s not in recession, when the stock market has been going up and when revenues have been growing.”

The state budget has grown significantly under Newsom, rising from $208 billion during the 2019-2020 fiscal period to $332 billion in 2024-2025, then slightly decreasing to $322 billion in the last cycle.

Petek mentioned that the critical budget issue must be addressed through a combination of ongoing solutions, which include achievable spending reductions and/or increased revenue.

“If our estimates hold, the Legislature will face a fourth consecutive year of budget problems, all during a period of overall revenue growth. As it stands — with larger forecasted deficits and many fewer tools available to address them — California’s budget is undeniably less prepared for downturns.”

Petek is stating the truth, but he is doing so much too diplomatically. The bottom line is that California continues to spend at an ever-increasing rate and, even in a good economy, has year after year of deficits.

When Petek said:

“As it stands — with larger forecasted deficits and many fewer tools available to address them — California’s budget is undeniably less prepared for downturns.”

He was being EXTREMELY coy. Businesses and private citizens are leaving California at an alarming rate. Despite their smug arrogance and their continual denial of the truth, the state’s tax base has been drastically reduced and continues to shrink. Newsom keeps using buzzwords like “big business” and “corporate elites,” when in reality, it’s his policies that are running the revenue out of the state.

His statement that “California’s budget is undeniably less prepared for downturns” Is a major understatement of fact. California is heading for a major financial disaster, whether that adds up to them or not.