It is generally agreed on Wall Street that states should keep the share of their budget that goes to paying down debt to below 6%. California was at less than 3.4% last year. Next year, it will be at 6.4%. Assuming the state stops borrowing now and doesn't authorize any more bonds for anything — an unlikely scenario — the number is projected to grow to 7.5% by 2009. ... Assemblyman Keith Richman (R-Northridge) described those accounting shifts to a group of business leaders at a recent economic conference at UCLA this way: "If you used them in your own...
