[staytrue]

You have missed the relevant quote in the article.

The surplus is almost certainly the result of wealthy Californians trying to bank capital gains before the Bush tax cuts expired, Nagourney says.

[gunsequalfreedom]

The surplus is almost certainly the result of wealthy Californians trying to bank capital gains before the Bush tax cuts expired, Nagourney says.

That is certainly a relevant sentence and I did miss it. But, the effect is the same. The deficit was reduced.

The relevant question now is the surplus going to balloon again with the deficit being the result of a one time influx of cash that does not represent the true picture?

Thanks for pointing out that sentence. It adds considerably to the conversation.