California's deficit shrinks to $1.9 billion

[Hell Hath No Fury]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

After years of double-digit deficits, California faces just a $1.9 billion budget gap next year, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.

snip...

The report cites the improving state economy, prior budget cuts and the passage of the Proposition 30 tax measure as the factors for the sharp improvement. By 2014, the state will have a surplus of $1 billion and that will grow to more than $9 billion by 2017, according to the fiscal outlook.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-s-deficit-shrinks-to-1-9-billion-4037701.php#ixzz2CEbx7ihq

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/California-s-deficit-shrinks-to-1-9-billion-4037701.php

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This is what can happen when you raise taxes -- thank you, fellow Californians!

[msongs]

1. -and save some of the surplus ok? a prudent reserve is a good thing nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

7. Yes, a reserve is a good thing --

though I do hope we'll eventually be able to to restore some of the more draconian cuts we've taken as well as invest in serious alternative energy infrastructure.

[ljm2002]

13. Jerry Brown will save some of the surplus...

...he is a very responsible fiscal manager, just look at his last stint as California governor, way back when.

Of course eventually California will elect a Republican, and they will pull another scam to bankrupt the state (Prop 13, Enron... etc).

[valerief]

18. Bingo. A Republican will surely steal it. nt

[Cleita]

27. You got that right. n/t

[olddad56]

22. You are so right. I don't know who was worse, Pete Wilson or Arnold.

[AAO]

23. Arnold gets the nod due to his REELY BAHD AHCTING.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

2. This is fabulous news!!!

[SkyDaddy7]

3. BUT BUT BUT...

Liberals can't balance budgets or so i am told by the same folks who said deficits don't matter. LOL!

YES, this is "fabulous news"!!

[Gregorian]

5. 2/3 of the economy in Mendocino county is pot.

I was searching the news for a big pot bust by the feds that is nowhere in the news, and found that tidbit.

[mike_c]

14. Humboldt County, where I live, is similar....

Every dollar spent on commerce in this county has passed through a grower's hands at some point.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. +1

I think this should be our next big push here.

[kestrel91316]

8. I figured it must be improving lately. In the past month I have seen two (YES, TWO!!!!)

separate 1/2-mile stretches of major streets repaved in my area.

This is astonishing. The city has been neglecting paving needs for YEARS.

[Grins]

9. Uh-oh...

"By 2014, the state will have a surplus of $1 billion and that will grow to more than $9 billion by 2017, according to the fiscal outlook."

Hmmmm.

"By 2014, the state will have a surplus of $1 billion and that will grow to more than $9 billion by 2017, as long as Republicans don't get back in power and totally phuck it all up again, according to the fiscal outlook.

There. Fixed it.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

15. Guess you didn't hear the news -

The GOP in CA is all but irrelevant. Our last election turned the State mega blue, to the point that the GOP can do little to stop a Dem agenda. And if we should elect another Arnold in the future, our blue super-majority will shut then down.

It's good to be in Cali.

[progressoid]

10. But I thought Ahhhnold had fixed it?

WTF?

[olddad56]

19. Arnold's fixes involved smoke and mirrors that actually made it worse.

[JackN415]

11. that's why and also because they are blue

[MichiganVote]

12. Guess when you hire sombody for Gov. who isn't fucking every skirt he sees...

something actually gets done.

[Cleita]

29. Even when Jerry did back in his bachelor days the first time he was governor

he still got things done and left us with a surplus that got pissed away with the Reagan backed prop. 13.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Studies have found that the higher Cal taxes *do not* drive businesses away. nt

[olddad56]

17. The state amassed a large surplus the first time around with Governor Brown.

during his first term, but then prop 13 passed and he used the surplus to bailout the counties. A lot of people forget that.

[BlueCaliDem]

30. And CA had an $8 billion dollar surplus under Gov. Gray Davis. And then Duhbya happened

in December 2000, and he allowed his buddy, Kenny-boy, at Enron to siphon our surplus when they manipulated an energy crisis. The irony is, Gray Davis got blamed for it by being recalled - a petition none other than that fucking Issa put forward - and they installed Bush family friend, Aahnold, into the governor's mansion "because he was married to a Kennedy".

Maria Shriver-Schwarzenegger should share blame in the huge deficits her husband left behind. She pushed CA to trust her husband because she trusted him to save California.

[Downtown Hound]

32. Maria is a pathetic woman

In addition to helping run our state into the ground by backing her husband's disaster of an administration, she stuck by Ah-nuld for years while he slept with about every woman he touched that didn't press charges against him. If ever there was somebody to not hold up on a pedestal as a good Democrat, it's Maria Shriver.

[Nika]

20. This is great news for Californians

and a sure sign economic times are on the upswing.

[AlbertCat]

21. This is what can happen when you raise taxes

NC raised taxes 1 cent. And there was lots of $$$ for education. Imagine raising taxes 5 cents!!!

The Repugs killed that, of course. Can't raise taxes even 1 cent.

[TheAmbivalante]

24. MUST PUSH THIS STORY!

This needs to be thoroughly detailed and discussed on MSNBC. Like, for weeks.

[ReRe]

25. There you go.....

California, the laboratory of democracy in the USA, as long as you can keep a democrat at the helm! Congratulations California! GO Mr Moonbeam!

[ballaratocker]

26. Why do Californians hate freedom?

Tax increases clearly equal socialism... It's your right as Americans not to pay for things!

[toddwv]

28. Wasn't Texas's budget "shortfall" supposed to be $27 billion?

Wonder how that's going?

[Downtown Hound]

31. It's like I've been saying for years

The Republicans are completely and totally at fault for our state's budget woes. A minority of them in the state legislature have been able to hold our state hostage because of our stupid two-thirds rule. They have prevented any kind of reasonable taxation that could have fixed this mess years ago.

And now that the voters have done what they were too big of a bunch of assholes to do with prop 30, and a Democratic supermajority in the state legislature, we can finally get some things done in this state.