By Erica Yee, Cal Matters, May 20, 2021
California is awash in cash — $100 billion says Gov. Gavin Newsom.
While much of the federal aid and taxes from the rich will be used to provide core services such as education and health care, the windfall also provides a once-in-a-generational opportunity to tackle one of California’s most vexing problems: income inequality.
As the pandemic exacerbates a pre-existing wealth gap that has disproportionately hurt women and people of color, the California Divide’s five-newsroom team has found renters bracing for an eviction tsunami, residents saddled by water bills, parents put in lifelong debt by child support, and students unable to access stable broadband for learning. Expectations are high for a turnaround. Already, experts have speculated that the federal relief alone could be enough to cut California’s child poverty in half.
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