State Budgets: Devil In The Details

Two particularly interesting bits from this story on state budget failures around the country.

Arnold's argument that California isn't the only state that can't "manage the budget" is hardly a sound defense. And the stimulus money mentioned in the second graph below. Weren't critics of the stimulus plan saying the money would be used to fill in existing state budgets, as opposed to creating jobs? And wasn't the response a firm No?

If it's being used to fill existing budget gaps, it would seem the critics were correct and a part of it was just a giveaway to the states.

Also in the article, I can't wait to watch the PA elections if they raise taxes by the 16% the governor is proposing.

"I'm proud of California, even though we have our crisis," the governor said. "No one can point fingers, because as you can see, there are 30 states right now that have their fiscal year starting today that also don't have a budget, so I mean let's not get carried away and just look at California as we are the only state that cannot manage the budget."

The recession has taken a devastating toll on tax revenues and state finances. States had a cumulative $121 billion budget gap in crafting this year's budgets — and the gap would be even bigger without federal stimulus money, said Todd Haggerty, a research analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But the pain extends far beyond the West Coast. The governor of Pennsylvania is proposing a 16 percent tax increase. A budget veto by the Illinois governor left the state with no spending plan at all. Indiana barely avoided a shutdown.

Comments

[seekeronos]

But here's the thing the Governator misses:

If CA is about 25% of the entire US economy... and that state can't pay its bills... something is fundamentally wrong.

The collapse of the republic is well underway folks.

Buy your food, water, water storage, water purification, guns, ammo, and heritage seed stock and gardening tools before it is too late.