Monday, November 23, 2009

California budget's going to be dreadful -- latimes.com


California budget's going to be dreadful -- latimes.com:

"The Capitol's budget oracle projects $20.7 billion in new red ink for the next 19 months. Here's my projection: More punting, 'kicking the can down the alley' and numbers-rigging.

Hope we're both wrong. Hope there's an economic miracle or political heroism, which would require sacrifice to the demagogues. But, based on history and facts, that's too much to hope for.

Here's how nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor gently put it last week in calculating the latest general fund deficit: 'Addressing this large shortfall will require painful choices, on top of the difficult choices the Legislature made earlier this year.'"