Walters: California's self-inflicted fiscal crisis produces a budget full of gimmicks and favors

This agreement sets the state on a path for long-term fiscal stability addressing the current shortfall and strengthening budget resilience down the road, Newsom said in a statement.

We're making sure to preserve programs that serve millions of Californians, including key funding for education, health care, expanded behavioral health services and combating homelessness. I'm grateful for the partnership of our legislative leaders in meeting this challenge with balanced solutions that continue to make progress on California's priorities.

Setting aside the self-serving verbiage, there are two salient features of the $297.9 billion budget that Californians should keep in mind the first being that the budget crisis was self-inflicted.

Newsom declared that the state enjoyed a $97.5 billion budget surplus and boasted, No other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this. It was a monumental error.

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