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California is a state of contrasts. On the one hand, it is flush with a $31 billion budget surplus from the gains of the rich, enabling it to spend record amounts on schools and health care. On the other hand, a new study reveals that despite a progressive tax system, severe racial inequalities remain.

The study, by Measure of America, found that Native Americans鈥� average lifespan is 67 years, a decrease of more than 7 years since 2012. Black youth are more than twice as likely than white youth to be out of both school and work in the years following high school. And, in the city of San Jose, Latinos earn $0.46 for every dollar white workers earn.

鈥淭hese inequities didn鈥檛 come out of nowhere, they are the result of policy choices,鈥� said at Measure of America, a project of the Social Science Research Council.

She referred, in part, to segregation and redlining that kept minority communities from taking out bank loans and accessing quality education. 鈥淭hat means that we can make different policy choices that lead to different outcomes.鈥�

Democrats鈥� budget visions in California call for greater spending on social programs, education, and healthcare, but advocates say that, based on the study鈥檚 findings, that the state should be specifically targeting marginalized populations.

Policy experts are hopeful about Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 commitment to for public health in the budget he will propose to the Legislature in early January. That funding will allow counties to identify and address specific racial inequities in their regions and potentially create an Office of Health Equity to offer further funding through state grants. Some counties, including Orange and Alameda, already have health equity programs targeting racial inequities.

The study鈥檚 authors broke from standard measures of economic success such as gross domestic product or the unemployment rate. Instead, they used the American Human Development Index, which assesses the level of education, life expectancy, and income of different populations and assigns a score from one to 10 that signifies a group鈥檚 access to a 鈥渇reely chosen life of value.鈥�

While the typical Californian ranks higher than the average American on the index, the disparities within the state are wide. The top 1% of Californians score a 9 or higher, while more than 30% of the population scores below 5, lower than the average American.

Researchers further broke down life expectancy, education, and income by race. White and Asian Californians can expect to live to 78 years old, while Latino and Native American life expectancies lag at least three years behind. Both Native American and Black life-expectancy have decreased since 2012, with Black life-expectancy dropping by 1.5 years to 74 years old.

Democrats in the state Senate and Assembly are proposing to strengthen existing safety net programs that indirectly target inequality, such as CalWORKs, the state鈥檚 welfare-to-work program, and Medi-Cal, the state鈥檚 Medicaid program for the poor.

Democrats aim to increase spending on universities and community colleges, with the chairperson of the Assembly Budget Committee proposing . Senate leaders want to close through more education spending.

鈥淐alifornia is in good fiscal health,鈥� Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to build on the progress we鈥檝e made: more access to education and health care.鈥�

Next step: Targeted spending?

But progressive policy experts want to go one step further. They want targeted spending for specific groups, because as Measure of America points out, support isn鈥檛 getting where it needs to go. Whites and Asians, for example, were three times more likely to have a bachelor鈥檚 degree as Latinos, the index noted. Similarly, Black women鈥檚 college enrollment rate is almost 4 percentage points lower than white women鈥檚.

Progress has already been made, the report points out, with public schools in disadvantaged communities receiving more state and federal funding. But the scales could be weighted more, said Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center. Some advocates are pushing for an idea called targeted universalism, in which government support would target specific groups such as Native Americans or Latinas, not just low-income individuals.

鈥淭he paths are pretty clear: We need to provide more cash assistance, healthcare and childcare services,鈥� said Hoene, 鈥渁nd it has to be better targeted because the current systems aren鈥檛 reaching the communities of color.鈥�

White and Asian workers earn a median income above $51,000 annually, while Black, Native American, and Latino workers earn less than $37,000. In every rural and urban area in California, White workers make above the median income and Latino workers earn below the median, according to the report.

Democrats acknowledge that more work needs to be done. 鈥淐alifornia鈥檚 progressive revenues are funding the state at record levels, but inequity remains,鈥� said state Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, who supports increased investment in affordable housing and infrastructure.

In recent years, California has authorized additional cash aid for the poor through programs such as the Golden State Stimulus (the statewide cash assistance program to support low-income households during the pandemic) and guaranteed income. Advocates want to see more because there are no strings attached to that financial help 鈥� and it gets into the hands of the groups most in need of support.

While Laderman said she is concerned that 鈥渁ll of these gaps that we have seen will have widened鈥� during the pandemic, she is optimistic that 鈥渢here are certain opportunities in these moments in the pandemic to invest in the interventions that are necessary.鈥�

This article is part of the, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequality and economic survival in California.