I don’t believe California has laid off one employee, shut down one commission, or renegotiated one union wage contract. They did cut a few budgets but essentially, they haven’t done anything to help themselves.
I live in (unfortunately) Sacramento, and you're right, no job cuts are in sight. And the worst is yet to come. Property values will be reassessed downward, reducing tax inflows. Sales taxes are going to be far lower than predicted. This state is broke, and is going down in flames.
The engineer, knowing that the bridge ahead is washed out, has the train at full throttle and is screaming at the sweating fireman to shovel more coal into the furnace.
I once read an interesting article here (years back) that described how governments at all levels keep hundreds of phantom “jobs” on the books so that when they need to “cut jobs” they can either “cut” the phantom “jobs” or move people who they claim they have “layed off” into those jobs. Essentially, they’re just operating a big shell game.
Governments NEVER actually lay people off (unless those people are due to get a monthly kiss in the mail and other obscene retirement bennies anyway). Government also NEVER actually cut spending - - they just trim projected automatic budget increases and call THAT a “cut” in spending.
The scumbags have it wired, and first and foremost they take care of THEMSELVES.