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Home Front: Politix
Jerry Brown: California's deficit is gone
2013-01-12
It's a projection,damn it. Who's going to argue with a projection? Not when you are mellowing out.
Gov. Jerry Brown took office two years ago promising that he had the know-how and the fiscal prudence to guide the state out of its financial crisis, and on Thursday he delivered a budget without a deficit.

It's the first time since 2007 that leaders at the Capitol haven't had a deficit to contend with and the first time since the late 1990s that the outlook over future years shows surpluses instead of deficits.

"This is new. This is a breakthrough," Brown told reporters at a news conference where he presented his spending plan for the 2013-14 year that begins July 1.

The governor promised discipline in spending - K-12 public schools and higher education received significant increases in funding - and in paying off the state's accrued debt.

He's likely to face opposition from Statehouse liberals who would rather see funding restored to programs that have been slashed in recent years, but Thursday his plan was widely praised by Democrats and Republicans.

Some in the GOP did, however, question whether the governor was being too optimistic with his deficit projections.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Jerry-Brown-California-s-deficit-is-gone-4183371.php#ixzz2HmA5Y7AZ
Posted by:tipper

#13  Not unlike the former USSR + Commie Bloc, IFF CALIFORNIA PRETENDS TO ITSELF THAT IT HAS NO DEBT, IT DOESN'T.

Just do a few ole' Soviet/Commie-esque accounting "write-offs" + personnel switches, ....@etc, "fudge the books" then soon California can once again happily "spend spend spend" as its debts never existed to begin with.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2013-01-12 21:18  

#12  Like many States, CA has multiple balance sheets. There is debt service as a cost, bond sales as income, various special accounts and all sorts of contingency accounts. This makes it almost impossible to actually know what is actually going on unless you are 'inside'.
Posted by: lord garth   2013-01-12 20:46  

#11  California owed some $30 billion to various funds, school districts and local governments. The Mr Brown's plan was to pay back $5.2 billion this year. That has now been reduced to $4.2 billion.
Posted by: Pappy   2013-01-12 20:46  

#10  In the California section of the Sacramento Bee today and yesterday, they are already talking about the pay increase for state workers, the incresaed money that can go to "education" (read the Teachers union demand for pay increases) and nothing, nothing about the the pending debt, retirement, or anything about a substantial reserve. All we did was give them more money to spend on their friends.
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2013-01-12 16:45  

#9  There isn't a deficit when you ignore it!
Posted by: DarthVader   2013-01-12 15:20  

#8  When is California going to crash? We've been hearing about it for years, but it never happens, like the banks are scared to call them on the debt.
Posted by: Charles   2013-01-12 15:20  

#7  Waved your Magic Wand and made it vanish, did you?

It don't work that way.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2013-01-12 14:47  

#6  They already know they are coming in under the projection by at least 10%. They are already planning on increasing spending by "only" 5%. There will be no surplus. There will be no balanced budget. There will be more of the same, and shame on anyone who won't admit it.
Posted by: Iblis   2013-01-12 14:02  

#5  Yes, the $1T 'Krugman' platinum coin.
Posted by: Steve White   2013-01-12 14:01  

#4  Just borrow that special coin krugman wants.
Posted by: Rjschwarz   2013-01-12 13:29  

#3  It gets better. The CSU chancellor sez they'll need more money to cover "rising pension and health care costs."
Posted by: Pappy   2013-01-12 13:12  

#2  Marketwatch in November state California faces an unfunded liability of $100 billion in its Public EmployeesÂ’ Retirement System and $65 billion in its State TeachersÂ’ Retirement System.
Funny how the article didn't mention that.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2013-01-12 12:12  

#1  Don't worry, they're using the same algorithm employed to prove Man Made Global Warming. /sarc off
Posted by: Procopius2k   2013-01-12 10:39  

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