NOTES AND COMMENTS:
(1)>>$119 billion to K-12 schools. K-12 schools and community colleges will have $24 billion more to spend next year, with two-thirds coming from a one-time surplus from 2021-22 revenues that continue to flow beyond optimistic assumptions built into the budget passed in June. An additional $8.2 billion will be ongoing funding through Proposition 98, the formula that determines the portion of the general fund committed to transitional kindergarten through community colleges. That portion is about 40%.Per-student funding under Proposition 98 would be $15,261. About 89% of Proposition 98 customarily goes to TK-12, with the rest for community colleges.Problem with this huge influx of money in Public Education , there is a enrollment issue state wade . Money is not good news , After two years of not being penalized for declining enrollment during the pandemic, school districts are bracing for a sudden drop in revenues next year as their funding gets recalibrated to match current enrollment, which plummeted since COVID-19 first closed California’s schools.In 2020, state lawmakers decided to allow districts to use their pre-pandemic, 2019-20 enrollment and attendance figures to calculate their funding for the next two school years. But starting in the fall of 2022, funding levels will be determined by this year’s enrollment and attendance. (1.2)>>California has a $46 billion surplus. The revenue surge is despite California consistently having one of the highest unemployment rates in the country for much of last year. A big reason for that is the state has a lot of rich people whose assets have continued to climb in value.The state is so flush with cash, with a surplus projected at more than $45 billion, the governor will be faced with a little-known provision that may force California to do something else with its bounty in the coming year: Give state taxpayers some of their money back.I’m ok for it going to any of those things if it actually happens. We’ve voted for lots of infrastructure taxes and especially schools taxes but never seems like it makes it to the actual class room or infrastructure. Yet somehow the state has a 31 billion dollar surplus and the schools constitutionally get almost half. Look at how much of it actually gets beyond Sacramento before you spout nonsense about not enough money. You don't seem to understand the contradiction in your statements versus the headline. (2)>>Yes, "Universal Healthcare " .So it was little surprise when Newsom released his 2022 budget proposal on Monday that he included another marquee progressive policy. This time, it was healthcare. I am cautious , but also hoping for any kind of change to the American rip off Health care System . You can't trust it if throw in the illegals in the mix of the state population who pay taxes .One big question mark regarding a state-based single payer healthcare system is whether the SCOTUS decision Shapiro v. Thompson would apply. The Shapiro ruling was that it is unconstitutional for states to institute residency requirements for public assistance programs because it violates the Equal Protection Clause.A state-level single payer program would fail if it was forced to comply with the Shapiro precedent. They would be inundated with people from out-of-state coming for free healthcare in order to save money, particularly those with expensive medical conditions.The main stumbling block is the federal government on multiple levels. First, California needs federal permission to redirect Medicare/Medicaid (or Medi-Cal as they call it in California) funds. A third of Californians are already covered under Medi-Cal. Newsom asked for permission from the Trump administration, and they refused.Second, employer-provided health insurance is governed by federal, rather than state, law and federal law therefore pre-empts state action in this area, so California has no legal/legislative options to make changes to employer-provided healthcare. Medi-Cal, Medicare, and employer-run plans cover the vast majority of Californians (as they do in all other states), and California doesn't have control over any of those without federal permission.The Biden administration is certainly more friendly to this, and it's possible that Democrats will win the Georgia runoffs. If all of that happens, then California might be able to get the permission it needs to start operating such a system. In the short-term, though, California is in a deep budget hole from COVID like every other state. Unlike the federal government, states aren't permitted to operate with a budget deficit, so addressing COVID and the ensuing budget crisis will preoccupy California in the short-term.Nonetheless, if Dems take the Senate, then I can definitely see California implementing single payer or at least some kind of universal coverage within the next few years.(3)>>You’ll draw all the illegal immigrants from the rest of the country to California. I'm really struggling on whether or not to vote for Governor this cycle. Might leave that blank. Free healthcare for illegals is a time bomb .Can we at least give those benefits to citizens first, and then move on to legal residents, and then finally maybe to undocumented residents if there's enough money left to do it? This could create problems for California with a surge of illegals with a surge of the Covid virus .Illegal immigrants receive healthcare through low cost clinics and emergency rooms subsidized by tax payers.People without healthcare still get treated, they just use the emergency room and tax payers front the bills.Furthermore, if you have health insurance but the deductible is so high that you can't use it, you are actually worse off than those that have no health care. (4)>>SO IT'S NEWSOM'S BIG GAMBLE. Gov. Newsom is gambling that he will be re-elected as governor , its vary much indicated in his budget as what are his future plans , he is worried about the 2022 midterms . I personally he is being groomed to run for President in 2024 . He may aspire to that eventually, but probably not in the next election. The only California governor to go on to the presidency was Ronald Reagan, and the only California native ever to become president was Richard Nixon. Newsom has little in common with either of those. So Newsom's agenda is plain insight with this budget that pretty much feeds the state unions , their members , caters directly to the left policies that will keep him in office for a time and a season. (5)>>come even as the COVID-19 omicron variant fills hospitals and strains the economy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Omicron, which accounted for less than 1 percent of new Covid-19 cases in the United States as December began, now accounts for nearly three-quarters of new cases, underlining how stunningly infectious it is.Though the alarming numbers may echo some of the earlier waves of the pandemic, there is also preliminary evidence from South Africa that the Omicron variant may cause less severe disease. Hospital admissions in that country have remained lower than in previous waves. And many in a weary public have grown less tolerant of the most disruptive mitigation measures, like the closing of schools and businesses.(6)>>U.S. economy could force substantial changes to Newsom's plan by May. Meanwhile, the state will continue to get a clearer picture of the state’s finances as revenue numbers crystallize before the June 30 budget deadline. The governor noted many numbers will shift before he revises his budget proposal in the spring.The annual budget event— California governors are constitutionally required to present a balanced budget proposal by Jan. 10 — is just a wishlist; the spending plan will likely undergo changes during the six-month budget-building process, which includes negotiations between the governor and top legislative leaders. See a timeline of the process here.
