California has a budget deficit.

The deficit was caused by (1) the Legislature
spending one time revenues on ongoing programs, and (2) most recently, the
recession.

The deficit has persisted because the Legislature
relied on gimmicks and one-time solutions instead of dialing back spending.

At the urging of Governor Brown, the Legislature
adopted $13 billion in solutions, including billions in permanent spending
cuts.

Governor Brown recently proposed using some of the
revenue windfall to pay down part of the state’s accumulated nearly $35 billion
in budget debt.

Yesterday, a Legislative budget committee voted to use some
of the revenue windfall to restore some spending cuts.

This is why we have persistent budget deficits.

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