Posted on 10/31/2008 10:56:22 AM PDT by Amerigomag
State officials are expected to announce today that the gap between spending and revenues in the current fiscal year has reached at least $10 billion. Economists and analysts say the deficit's skyrocketing growth can't be blamed solely on partisan political fights. Instead, the near-collapse of the national economy combined with other factors over the past few weeks to drastically reduce the state's potential tax revenues in coming months.
H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the Department of Finance, said the department estimated a $3 billion deficit by looking at September's tax revenues. "What's happened since then have been rapid and unprecedented events," Palmer said, Those events include the plunging stock market, the federal government's bailout of the financial industry, a dearth of credit at all levels, rising unemployment, the housing mortgage mess and very little consumer confidence.
"It's a gloomy time," said Paul Warren, revenue and taxation coordinator for the Legislative Analyst's Office. It's even gloomier for California because the state relies on personal income tax for nearly half its general fund revenues. Much of the wealthy taxpayers' money comes from gains in the stock market and on other investments, and when the economy is down, so is their income. Revenues from corporate taxes are down because of the mired business climate, taxes from payroll withholding are down because of rising unemployment, and sales tax revenues are down because so are sales.
In Sacramento administration officials were spreading the budgetary bad news Thursday to representatives of health and human services groups and said they were told Schwarzenegger will ask legislators to make major cuts in health and human service programs. But the governor has also indicated he believes spending cuts alone won't close the gap. He told the education group Tuesday he would propose a sales tax increase,
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
I guess 5,000,000 illegals and anchor babies have no impact on the budget. Particularly when services exceed even working tax revenues by $10,000 per head.
Quit giving out free state services to illegals and Poof! California would be running in the black for years to come.
But we cannot deal with the big fat Pink ELEPHANT in the corner, can we!
The problem will be solved on January 20, 2009. The messiah will make the illegal alien problem disappear. No one will ever be illegal again!
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