Pillar Of California's Budget "Just Got Destroyed"

The Business Insider ^ | May 04, 2010 | Joe Weisenthal

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Higher-than-expected sales tax revenues in California through the first quarter of the year has been one standout piece of evidence that the economy there is back in a surprising way. Sure the state has its budget problems, but the fact that the economy seemed to be turning upward offered a hopeful sign that a solution could be found.

Well, hold the champagne.

According to the LA Times (via Gregor Macdonald), April sales tax receipts have plunged, unexpectedly, can celling out gains from the beginning of the year. State income fell a whopping 30% short of projections, or about $3 billion.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

There's no lying about sales tax receipts. There are no seasonal adjustments. They are among themost reliable, high-frequency incidators of retail activity out there.

[ConservativeMind]

Well, it must be because an usually large amount of businesses are not reporting their income properly.

Regardless, raise the sales tax and make up all the difference!

/end sarcasm

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Obviously, a bunch of teabaggers aren’t reporting sales tax on all those greeting cards they’re sending to each other. Root ‘em out! /s

[ExTexasRedhead]

No surprises here. Layoffs continue. Restaurants and hundreds of stores in CA are closed and boarded up; whole malls are shut down or have been stopped during construction. The Assembly Liberals downtown Sacramento have their heads up their rectums as always. They’re more worried about what size flat screen TVs we own and what kind of light bulbs we use. These same Liberals are the ones that want to boycott Arizona for doing what the schmucks here should be doing. Arnold is a RINO joke and the three running for governor are equally pathetic. Spine, guts, and gonads are in short supply in CA as they are in DC. What else is new? Nothing!

[Lou Budvis]

There is no way in hell CA is on the way back. More layoffs and store closings all the time.

[dynachrome]

“unexpectedly”

[RJL]

According to the LA Times (via Gregor Macdonald), April sales tax receipts have plunged, unexpectedly, cancelling out gains from the beginning of the year. State income fell a whopping 30% short of projections, or about $3 billion.

This is so "unexpectedly" in this wonderful time of the Obama!

[AmusedBystander]

So green shoots must be exempt from sales tax in California.

[Huebolt]

LA is one big freeway, as they say in the song. Gas at
$5.00/gallon will quickly KILL California, and most of the rest of the country...

[Drango]

unexpectedly? OK...If they say so.

[dynachrome]

I thought gas was already higher in Kali-fornia than elsewhere?

[Oldexpat]

Plus we have a wave of illegals from AZ to come and claim their benefits and enroll their kids in schools.

[WestwardHo]

Speaking of light bulbs....I've been stocking up on incondescents, but they are not lasting like the old ones just weeks if I'm lucky, and turn really black when they die. I'm sure this is a government conspiracy.

[dynachrome]

“wave of illegals from AZ”

Somewhere else on FR it was suggested they be shipped to SanFranSicko.

[Huebolt]

Probably true. It’s hitting $3.00 here in Ohio. Probably
$4.00 in CA, what with socialism taxes, green fanatic taxes, feel-good taxes, illegal alien welfare taxes, and free marajuana subsidy taxes etc.

[rigelkentaurus]

where to start: 1) no bailout for Kalifornica - let them fail, it’s the only way to force them to face reality that unicorn’s and money trees do not exist 2) I sure wish we had border control in Texas, I don’t want a single new Kalifornica immigrant coming to Texas without being vetted as a Conservative seeking political asylum. Otherwise, they can stay in their filthy mess of a state, or pick another equally messed up demonRAT state.

[Myrddin]

Don't forget "unprecedented" and "historic". Two of the most abused words by the current administration. All three words are the mark of the clueless and uneducated. None of this is "unexpected". It is the consequence of bad policy. Claiming things are "historic" and "unprecedented" falls in the same category as "title inflation". The garbage collector is now the "sanitary engineer".

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

“I thought gas was already higher in Kali-fornia than elsewhere?”

Gas is always about 30-40 sometimes 50 cents/gal higher in Cali than elsewhere because it must be perfumed with special substances that promote the diversity of polar bears. We sleep better at night as a result.

[dynachrome]

“historic” means Obozo takes credit.

“unexpectedly” means Bush’s fault.

[Lorianne]

Unexpected BUMP !