California

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California owes more than it owns.
California has a -$21,800 Taxpayer Burden.™
California is a Sinkhole State without enough assets to cover its debt.
Elected officials have created a Taxpayer Burden™, which is each taxpayer's share of state bills after its available assets have been tapped.
TIA's Taxpayer Burden™ measurement incorporates both assets and liabilities, not just pension debt.
California only has $246.8 billion of assets available to pay bills totaling $540.9 billion.
Because California doesn't have enough money to pay its bills, it has a -$294.1 billion financial hole. To fill it, each California taxpayer would have to send -$21,800 to the state.
California's reported net position is overstated by $11.5 billion, largely because the state delays recognizing losses incurred when the net pension liability increases.
As of Aug 25, 2025, 421 days after the end of its June 30, 2024 fiscal year, the state had still not released its financial report for that year. This significant delay raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the state's financial reporting.

IN THE NEWS
Undercover Exposé Reveals Massive California Child Care Fraud: Our Audit Research Had the Receipts All Along

MARCH 19, 2026

Undercover journalist Nick Shirley just released a bombshell 40-minute video exposing over $170 million in fraud across California, including fake daycares and abandoned hospices where fraudsters are living in luxury with zero consequences. As he put it: “Minnesota was big, but California is even bigger.” The fraudsters have been defrauding hardworking taxpayers for years, enabled by weak oversight and bad policies.

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