Why not it aside for a rainy day fund? California needs a financial cushion. But then again, these people have already forgotten what happened five years ago. Amazing.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Budgeting isn't rocket science, nor are California's budget problems. All it takes is the will of the politicos to do it and be honest enough about the numbers. Unfortunately, they have deferred to the Andrew Fastow method of accounting and bookkeeping. They have been building a house of cards--and we all know what happens to those, eventually. To avoid them coming crashing down, they will try to push that inevitable outcome further into the future through a $222 plan that will borrow and bring in foreign investors to try to 'leverage' the state.
A deficit that's lowered, but not eliminated, only by a windfall of revenues leaves the state very vulnerable to even a mild downturn in the economy. "These revenues will not last forever," Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill reminded us last week.