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California hasn’t had a truly balanced state budget for four or maybe five years, and the current one continues to overspend its revenues.

Nevertheless, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to spend $19 million on a marketing campaign to portray California as having a vibrant economy, to counter “myths driven by misinformation and political rhetoric.”

“California and its business climate have been falsely and maliciously maligned for years, and the state has a right to tell the true story — California is a great place to live, work, invest and visit,” Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos told the Los Angeles Times. “Setting the record straight will benefit every business, worker and resident of this state.”

The solicitation of contractors for the campaign quotes a passage from Newsom’s State of the State speech: “California has never been about perfection. It’s about persistence. The courage of our convictions and the strength to embody them. That’s the California Way.”

$19 Million Taxpayer Contribution for Newsom’s Presidential Run?

It appears to be a $19 million contribution from California taxpayers to Newsom’s forthcoming campaign for the presidency. The state is a target of ceaseless social media and internet criticism, some of it far-fetched but, unfortunately, much of it is deserved, such as its seemingly intractable homelessness crisis. Being from California would be one of the hurdles Newsom faces if he seeks the presidency.

The marketing campaign will attempt to put a positive spin on California’s economy and business climate, echoing how Newsom typically responds when interviewers ask about corporate migrations and loss of population to other states. He cites California’s having the globe’s 4th largest economy were it a nation.

The hard fact, however, is that California’s economy isn’t doing so well these days, and it cannot be dismissed, as Newsom often does, as something dreamed up by political foes.

Take, for instance, a report that the Legislature’s budget analyst, Gabe Petek, issued in 2024, describing California’s economy as “sluggish.”

“California’s economy has been in an extended slowdown for the better part of two years, characterized by a soft labor market and weak consumer spending,” Petek said, adding, “Outside of government and health care, the state has added no jobs in a year and a half. Similarly, the number of Californians who are unemployed is 25 percent higher than during the strong labor markets of 2019 and 2022. Consumer spending (measured by inflation-adjusted retail sales and taxable sales) has continued to decline throughout 2024.”

California Economy Is Stagnating

This week, the California Center for Jobs & the Economy, an offshoot of the California Business Roundtable, issued a report that mirrors and builds on what Petek said.

“California’s economy in 2025 presents a troubling paradox,” the detailed report declares. “While the state continues to rank among the largest economies in the world, the underlying data reveals an economy that is no longer delivering broad-based growth, opportunity, or stability.”

“Rather than expanding,” the report continues, “California’s economy is increasingly defined by stagnation in job creation, erosion in its private sector base, and mounting structural challenges tied to affordability and competitiveness. Many of the state’s headline strengths — particularly in technology — are masking deeper weaknesses across the broader economy. The data show an economy that has largely stalled since the pandemic recovery, with employment barely returning to pre-2020 levels, private sector job losses accelerating, and consumer activity weakening in real terms.”

Newsom obviously wants to bury these sobering facts, but doing so undercuts his duty — as governor for another nine months — to be straight with Californians, not just conjure up taxpayer-financed propaganda.

He’ll have plenty of time to spin fables after he’s out of office and on the presidential campaign trail.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.