California has a budget problem, but how big is it?

The first step to effectively deal with any problem is defining it accurately — and the recession-battered state budget is a case in point.
There’s no doubt that the pandemic-induced recession is one of the worst in California history and that its negative fiscal effects — both increased spending and reduced revenues — are many billions of dollars.
There is, however, much uncertainty about the dimensions of the budget crisis, and therefore what might be required to &ldquo