Governor Gavin Newsom makes a shocking announcement. The reason why California went from a surplus to a massive deficit is because of climate change
Reporter “Can we explain to Californians how we moved from $100 billion surplus to such a significant deficit in just a matter of… pic.twitter.com/YBk0rbomRh
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) December 25, 2025
Seventeen months ago, while unveiling a much-revised 2022-23 state budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom bragged of having a $97.5 billion surplus to expand health care, social equity and educational programs.
“No other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this,” Newsom said as he unveiled a $300-plus billion budget that the Legislature eagerly adopted with a few tweaks.
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2023/10/california-budget-whiplash-pitfalls-forecasting/
Factcheck:
California’s 2024 deficit was caused by a sharp drop in tax revenue from high‑income earners, delayed tax filings after 2023 storms, and overly optimistic spending commitments, not by climate events or Trump.
California faces a record $68B deficit due to a “severe revenue decline.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/severe-revenue-decline-california-faces-133000258.html
The 2024–25 budget “continues long‑term trend of spending growth and deficits.”
Even with a deficit, the budget “would still spend $16 billion more than two years ago.”
https://src.senate.ca.gov/content/2024-25-budget-highlights-and-analysis-fall-update