Can't get creative, couldn't solve the Chinatown murder of May 12, 2012, "no we don't have funds, you have to get back on task, detective. Detective! We've been defunded, get back to your part of the deal."
No it isn't. That's the change from FY 2020 to FY 2021, which was ratified in April 2021. Inflation for the prior year was well under 2%, and even a live chart would have given you less than 5%.
Yes it is under inflation. Inflation is what, what it says on the news? Dude narcos what do they charge for their product, how many police do they murder, what's the budget for a dead cop? $100 million is...dude you realize I voluntarily pay taxes specifically so there can be a Medi-Cal and police, first and foremost?
But it's a measure of something. An exact dollar value (I paid $80 dollars I had no reason to pay, at all, half to California half to America) that measures gratitude.