Walters: How Newsom’s spending binge created California’s chronic deficit

An array of charts buried in the fine print of the state budget, unknown to all but a few fiscal nerds, details what California has collected in revenues and spent over the last half-century.

The current charts in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2026-27 budget reveal how spending has exploded during his governorship, far outstripping stagnant population growth, inflation and even a hefty increase in revenues.

The result, according to both Newsom’s Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst Office...