2014 California Governor's race: on Budget & Economy

Jerry Brown: Ping-pong budgeting makes no sense

California's current budget windfall has come almost entirely from a rebounding stock market, and from billions in revenue generated by a capital gains tax--the most volatile revenue stream. Brown, scarred by budget battles both a few years ago and a few decades ago, said the state should save money in the good years to pay for the bad years.

"I think that kind of ping-pong budgeting, where first you ping and then you pong, makes no sense," Brown said. "It's cruel budgeting to propose a spending program and then have to finance it two or three years from now by cutting somebody else's program."

Neel Kashkari: Ran program to bail out the nation's largest banks

Kashkari previously worked for Goldman Sachs and ran a controversial Treasury Department program that bailed out the nation's largest banks. He called that experience an example of the bipartisan compromises he hopes to strike in California.

Last year, Kashkari quit his job as an investment banking executive and began traveling across the state and mulling his run for governor, meeting with potential donors, community organizations and regular Californians. He said he formed his campaign platform--creating jobs and fixing schools--by spending time in a homeless shelter, meeting with Central Valley farm workers and listening to average Californians discuss their unmet needs. "People don't want welfare; they want jobs," said Kashkari, who did not elaborate on his policy positions.

Jerry Brown: $27B budget gap then; multibillion-dollar surplus now

"California is still a very yeasty place," he said, noting the state's record for companies that develop new technologies that grow into major industries. He said the state now has multibillion-dollar surpluses that can continue for the next several years if state lawmakers spend responsibly.