More and more the media is recognizing what Californians already know: We are in a Depression.
“”The task of crafting a credibly-balanced budget has been made more difficult by a nine-month revenue shortfall of $3.5 billion,” says Mr. Chiang. “Without a timely, financeable budget plan, the state will be unable to access the working capital needed to pay its bills later this year.”
Next Monday Guv Brown is going to introduce a new, revised, budget. If honest, it will be under $75 billion—and that is high. We will have built up $240 billion in deficits over the past eight years. Our debt and unfunded pension liabilities are north of $800 billion.
Yup, California is in the poorhouse. And Sacramento is going to make it worse.
California closer to the poorhouse
Central Valley Business Times, 5/8/12
• Tax receipts 20 percent below budgeted
• State may not be able to pay its bills later this year
California’s state government collected just over $9.6 billion in taxes and fees in April, $2.44 billion below (-20.2 percent) the latest projections contained in the Governor’s proposed 2012-13 budget, according to a report Tuesday from state Controller John Chiang.
The total was even below that of April 2011 when more than $10.3 billion was collected.
“The task of crafting a credibly-balanced budget has been made more difficult by a nine-month revenue shortfall of $3.5 billion,” says Mr. Chiang. “Without a timely, financeable budget plan, the state will be unable to access the working capital needed to pay its bills later this year.”
The greater part of the April shortfall was caused by personal income tax receipts, which came in $1.96 billion below (-21.5 percent) projections. Sales taxes were also down by $445.8 million (-54.4 percent). Corporate taxes were also down, coming in $142.7 million (-9.3 percent) below projections.
Year-to-date through April, total revenues were down $3.5 billion (-5.1 percent) from estimates in the Governor’s proposed budget. Leading that disparity was income tax, down $2.7 billion (-6.2 percent). Sales tax missed estimates by $411 million (-2.7 percent), and corporate tax receipts were down $464 million (-7.0 percent).
California ended last fiscal year with a cash deficit of $8.2 billion. The combined current-year cash deficit stands at $19.2 billion. Those deficits are being covered with $12.8 billion of internal borrowing (temporary loans from special funds) and $6.4 billion of external borrowing.
