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California, Almost Broke, Nears Brink
New York Times ^ | February 16, 2009 | JENNIFER STEINHAUER

Posted on 02/17/2009 11:27:08 PM PST by americanophile

LOS ANGELES — The state of California — its deficits ballooning, its lawmakers intransigent and its governor apparently bereft of allies or influence — appears headed off the fiscal rails. Since the fall, when lawmakers began trying to attack the gaps in the $143 billion budget that their earlier plan had not addressed, the state has fallen into deeper financial straits, with more bad news coming daily from Sacramento. The state, nearly out of cash, has laid off scores of workers and put hundreds more on unpaid furloughs. It has stopped paying counties and issuing income tax refunds and halted thousands of infrastructure projects.

Twenty-thousand layoff notices will go out on Tuesday morning, Matt David, the communications director for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said Monday night. “In the absence of a budget we need to realize this savings and the process takes six months,” Mr. David said.

After negotiating nonstop from Saturday afternoon until late Sunday night on a series of budget bills that would have closed a projected $41 billion deficit, state lawmakers failed to get enough votes to close the deal and adjourned. They returned to the Capitol on Monday morning and labored into the evening but still failed to reach a deal. They planned to reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday to go at it again.

California has also lost access to much of the credit markets, nearly unheard of among state municipal bond issuers. Recently, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the state’s bond rating to the lowest in the nation.

California’s woes will almost certainly leave a jagged fiscal scar on the nation’s most populous state, an outgrowth of the financial triptych of above-average unemployment, high foreclosure rates and plummeting tax revenues, and the state’s unusual budgeting practices.

“No other state is in the kind of crisis that California...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: budget; calbudget; california; insolvency
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To: americanophile

41 posted on 02/18/2009 1:05:20 AM PST by cartoonistx
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To: PerConPat

>>Conservatives are again on the front line fighting Collectivist leeches the like of which are found under every political rock in America.

You bet! I’m bracing for their next action.


42 posted on 02/18/2009 1:07:41 AM PST by calcowgirl ("Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink." P. J. O'Rourke)
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To: wac3rd

Tax and Tax, and tax and spend
tax and tax, and spend again


43 posted on 02/18/2009 1:11:05 AM PST by Citizen Tom Paine (Swift as the wind; Calmly majestic as a forest; Steady as the mountains.)
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To: cartoonistx

Excellent.


44 posted on 02/18/2009 1:12:44 AM PST by patton (SPQA - the last, the least and the lost)
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To: cartoonistx

LOL!


45 posted on 02/18/2009 1:13:43 AM PST by americanophile
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To: x_plus_one

You got it. Obama will act to save government jobs at all cost. I also gotta think they can get to a t least one RINO.


46 posted on 02/18/2009 1:46:46 AM PST by screaminsunshine (f)
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To: americanophile
The state, nearly out of cash, has laid off scores of workers and put hundreds more on unpaid furloughs.

"Scores" and "hundreds" and they are $42000000000 in the hole? It is California! I am not surprised they are not hiring thousands more employees to deal with the problem.

47 posted on 02/18/2009 1:56:47 AM PST by arthurus ( H.L. Mencken said, "Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.")
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To: Force of Truth

They need to raise the sales tax on marijuana. or stoke up the population and all go blissfully into that good economic night.


48 posted on 02/18/2009 2:02:51 AM PST by arthurus ( H.L. Mencken said, "Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.")
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To: americanophile
California on the brink...

They broke it, they bought it?

49 posted on 02/18/2009 2:38:50 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Boucheau
It is interesting to note that when Ronald Reagan was governor, even with a hostile legislature, he balanced the budget every year and lefty California with a very healthy budget surplus for its rainy day fund.

California will have to fall all of the way to the bottom before it can begin to recover; just like any other drug victim.

50 posted on 02/18/2009 4:29:50 AM PST by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
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To: Jimmy Valentine

"Ach der lieber.......bahnkvupt Kaleefurrneeyah governor
bereft of allies or influence, dey say?"

"Vatta booncha cvap. Ai gotda plenny allies."

"Chonny and Wooty gonna getda jobs as Val-Mart greeters, Home Depot
paint mixers, McD's ketchop pumpers, unt vaiters at Ved Lopstah."

"Ai gotda vunny veeling dat Reepublucan Potty tinks RINOS are pure crapola.""

"I show dem. Ai gonna trow Maria off dah ski livt at Sun Valley. "
Ai getda nashynal symputty when anudder Kenneedey goes kaputz."

51 posted on 02/18/2009 6:15:40 AM PST by Liz (Problem with socialism is you eventually run out of other peoples money. M. Thatcher)
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To: calcowgirl
Just another bogus “cut” to make us believe how “reasonable” the massive tax increases are. Steinberg is whining and whining about those evil Republicans not doing the people’s business. A real gagger.

I can't watch.

52 posted on 02/18/2009 6:46:43 AM PST by lainie (The US congress is full to the brim of absolutely disgusting thieves who deserve humiliating ouster.)
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To: patton
Moving to Idaho continues to be an excellent decision. I still have some family in southern CA. I also have some IRA funds in a CA credit union. I should probably transfer those to Idaho before the out of control government starts raiding banks to fund their out of control spending.
53 posted on 02/18/2009 8:50:38 AM PST by Myrddin
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To: americanophile

$5 billion a year for illegal aliens can have that effect.............


54 posted on 02/18/2009 1:13:11 PM PST by doorgunner69
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To: arthurus
They need to raise the sales tax on marijuana. or stoke up the population and all go blissfully into that good economic night.

I don't see the point of disproportionately taxing your best asset. The only 2 ways to tax are with flat sales tax equal on everything or a per capita income tax. I prefer the per capita income tax, because it more realistically deals with expenses according to what is owned and it would raise more eyebrows as to what and how much government spends. I would even go as far to say that if something is a major money maker in the state, top 5, let's say, I would not tax it at all. The reason for this is to send the economy in hyper-drive. Why penalize achievement?

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
-- Dylan Thomas

55 posted on 02/18/2009 8:06:40 PM PST by Force of Truth (Sarah Palin in 2012!!!!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!)
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To: Caipirabob
The US is bankrupting the rest of the planet. We have sold them worthless investments (Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac Mortgage packages. We are on the way to inflating and borrowing more money in the next 4 years than was ever created in history. We are creating financial panic, instability and chaos everywhere. The numbers of starving and jobless and homeless will skyrocket with every spending package voted by congress. Who do they think is paying for their spending? Who is buying our junk bonds?

The financial system we live under has its tentacles in every country.

It would be smart to nuke us to stop the pain and Russia is the only candidate for the job.

56 posted on 02/19/2009 2:58:32 AM PST by x_plus_one
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To: x_plus_one
It would be smart to nuke us to stop the pain and Russia is the only candidate for the job.

Did you hear that Putin actually said Obama shouldn't be socialist like he is? It's so surreal, I would rather have that dictator Putin in charge of things rather than this clueless idiot dumbo look-a-like.

57 posted on 02/19/2009 7:06:18 PM PST by Force of Truth (Sarah Palin in 2012!!!!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!)
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