Posted on 11/28/2004 8:35:39 AM PST by NormsRevenge
As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger begins to prepare his next budget, fiscal aides are acknowledging that hundreds of millions in revenues he promised as part of his current spending plan are unlikely to materialize. Five months into the fiscal year, the governor's finance office said it now expects the state will not receive any of the $450 million he sought from punitive damage awards. In addition, only a fraction of expected money from at least two other key pieces of his $105 billion 2004-05 budget has come in the door.
California has collected smaller-than-expected amounts from gaming agreements with tribes and from the sales of surplus state property. Nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill said earlier this month she doubts the programs will yield anywhere near what the governor had hoped in his first budget.
Despite a brighter-than-expected economy that has dropped about $1 billion more into state coffers than expected by this point in the fiscal year, critics say the numbers prove the governor's first budget contained too many faulty, pie-in-the-sky assumptions. "It does not surprise me, sadly, that many of the overly optimistic projections of the governor are not coming true because this last budget was full of borrowing and gimmicks and maneuvers to avoid the reality that the state continues to engage in massive deficit spending," said Treasurer Phil Angelides, a Democrat who is a likely candidate for governor in 2006.
Schwarzenegger would not be the first governor whose budget included assumptions that were never realized.
Former Gov. Gray Davis was criticized and eventually recalled in part because of his flawed budgeting during tough fiscal times. But Schwarzenegger had criticized "fuzzy math" in past budgets and promised to attack the state's budget woes head-on.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
CA: Governor's revenues falling short (but not his fund-raising)
California's state budget spends over $3,000 for every resident in the state. Someone should question why that's necessary.
Well, California just had an election. They reelected Boxer and a Democratic Assembly and State Senate.
I live here. I don't want more taxes. But, it seems the only way to get the message across to the Burtons and Peratas of the world is to put a ballot initiative forward with teeth, no pay for elected officials if budget is not balanced, confirmed by independent 3rd party.
And, to ensure they're balanced, they must show a 5% verifiable surplus!
Faulty or weak assumptions would count as Zero.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2004/11/28/sections/commentary/editorials/article_324822.php
OC Register Op/Ed EXCERPT
A new attack on 13 (by the Prop 1A backers)
Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that put limits on property tax increases and required two-thirds votes for most tax increases in California, is under attack again, this time by a coalition of city and county government organizations.
It's the same group that put Proposition 1A on the Nov. 2 ballot, an initiative that bans state raids on local funding. Voters passed 1A.
Now, the coalition of government organizations says that "increasing local taxing power was among the 'reforms' they wanted to pursue this year," reported the Nov. 22 North County (San Diego) Times. "Suggestions included the ideas of creating local income taxes and lowering the now-steep hurdle requiring that two-thirds of voters approve most tax and benefit-fee measures in order to become law."
The coalition includes executive directors of the California State Association of Counties, California League of Cities, California Special Districts Association and a consultant to the state Senate's Local Government Committee. They met at an annual association of counties meeting in San Diego.
Any such attempt to alter or end Prop. 13 would be met with spirited opposition by taxpayer advocacy groups, Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, told us.
He pointed out that Prop. 1A was supported by many anti-tax groups, while others, including the Jarvis association, remained neutral. (Although we support the general concept of state/local finance reform, we opposed Prop. 1A. We thought it could be done better by more broadly reforming the state/local funding equation to prevent such problems as abusing eminent domain.)
--snip--
They won't get the message. All this talk about secession raises the question: Why don't the sane areas of California secede from the insane areas?
Cut ever state office's budget by ten percent. Money, manpower, everything. Do it again.
Now where did I put my cool aid.
I suppose he could borrow a few more billion. That's what a "conservative" governor would do, rather than actually fighting for budget cuts. I mean, bonds are free money, right?
It'll ruin your common sense!!!
Yes... He should have!!!
He was bluffing the whole time, even as he used his celebrity power bank account to elbow conservatives aside that would have actually meant what they said... Sorta like our El Presidente who most always means what he says!!!
He had what it took when the people elected him, but he just couldn't cut it!!! One has to wonder who talked him out of it... Now he hasn't got it and the magnetism will vanish, like ropes of sand. It will be sad to watch, indeed.
Maybe he can get everyone in Japan to come whitewater rafting like he did in his new economic powerhouse of the Sierra Nevada CONservancy and save CA like they were going to do at the beginning of Pete Wilson's first term...
I can just see State Route 49 clogged with Japanese Tour Busses, bumper to bumper with commute traffic piled up behind them throughout the Gold Country and every motorist paying a new mileage tax on the "Hydrogen Highway." (spit!)
Maybe spending another $20 billion on stem cells will help!
Don't blame me, I voted for, oh well, you know the rest.
Part of the blame would go to California's screaming liberal regulations driving businesses out. The Governator can't do squat about this without the Rats' cooperation.
He won't even try because he's scared he'll have to go more than 14 days without sex like he said he did after the Republican National Convention!!!
BTTT!!!!!!!
Reagan did. All Arnold needs is a spine.
I was talking to some State employees the other day about the States structural budget imbalance (~10%) I asked them "Given that revenues are down, in many cases due to over-regulation, is there was any policy change or change in tone coming from Sacramento along the lines of 'we need to ease up on the private sector and encourage business'"? One of the civil servants stated "You are talking about economic reality, that has nothing to do with policy. Policy is driven by political reality."
I said "Surely there must be some economic reality seeping into the States policy makers, after all, your department has sustained major budget cuts." He replied "There is no connection being made between over-regulation and reduced economic activity, and thus, lower tax revenues."
I can't state this with certainty, but I'm certainly under the impression that California is the most heavily-regulated state in the entire country. The state started to go to hell in a handbasket with the creation of the California Coastal Commission way back in 1976, and it hasn't gotten any better since then.
One can only imagine how powerful the economy of California would be if only you didn't restrict development, place layers of bureaucracy in the form of the permitting process, and generally have a hostile environment in which to do business.
California is in the red? Not news. They might stand a chance if they'd vote red in the major cities instead of blue. It'll take more than one person and one year to turn them around but until they rid themselves of the socialists they are in a hopeless situation. Too bad, many good people and a lovely state.
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