Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) needs to slash the California budget due to a
projected deficit
of $22.5 billion. In the interest of both helping the governor balance his budget and stopping the state’s woke agenda, I have identified five items that Newsom might consider cutting this year — and forever.
First, completely cut out the state’s $400 million earmarked for abortion. Abortion isn’t healthcare, and it destroys human life and leaves women and
families
hurting
, so it should not be a hard decision to choose to eliminate it.
MICHIGAN AND CALIFORNIA INSTITUTIONS BAN THE WORD ‘FIELD’ AS RACIST
Second, cut out the 22% of participants in the “Californians for All College Corps” who are
paid
to push the state’s climate change agenda. That saves $7 million right off the bat.
Third, now that the state has eliminated some of the paid activists for its climate change agenda, it can end the “clean energy” and “carbon neutrality” initiatives altogether. “California is advancing a $48 billion multi-year commitment to implement its world-leading agenda to achieve carbon neutrality, protect communities from harmful oil drilling, deliver 90% clean energy by 2035, and more,” the 2023-24 budget fact sheet
promised
.
“The Governor’s budget invests tens of billions of dollars to get more Californians into zero-emission vehicles, advance clean energy, dramatically cut pollution, and more,” the state promised further.
That is a lot of money to go into unreliable renewable energy and electric cars that might catch on
fire
. The good news is when the state stops subsidizing those technologies, it will save money — because California will not need to shoulder the burden of
energy crises
or pay more firefighters to put out electric car fires.
Fourth, Newsom should eliminate the
$2.7 million
allocated for the “Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund.” The pot of money funds programs “focused on coordinating transinclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex,” according to a
budget document
. The problem is that it is not possible to change one’s gender or be “gender nonconforming.” State taxpayers should not be underwriting people’s delusions.
Speaking of delusional, the state
allocated
$4.8 billion to the University of California system. The fifth and final cut should be to the budget for the UC system. This cut would represent only about 10% of all government funds, when federal grants and other sources are factored in, but could be enough to send a message. After all, these universities push a woke agenda, including mandatory
diversity statements
,
diversity, equity, and inclusion
policies in its
STEM programs
, and
suppression
of free speech. A good cut to the UC system budget would ensure state taxpayers do not subsidize a liberal campus agenda.
Tough decisions must be made about how to eliminate waste in the Golden State budget. A budget deficit means that not every program can be funded, and some causes will need to lose money to stabilize the financial health of California. That is a simple fact of economics and politics: Not every project or organization can get all the money it wants.
But people understand that budgeting requires trade-offs and sacrifices. The
rising cost
of groceries, gas, and life in general in the past few years certainly has made this a reality for more people, even those who may be in the upper income levels. Even Newsom has probably cut back on his visits to
The French Laundry
.
It is only fair that others such as Planned Parenthood, higher education, and the climate change lobby shoulder their share of the burden as well. These solutions may not be popular with California liberals, but the state could easily trim millions of dollars of waste from its budget — if Newsom only had some sense.
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Matt Lamb is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an associate editor for the College Fix and has worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.
