California budget gap $8 billion more than expected

posted at 5:05 pm on March 13, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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Remember when Abel Maldonado signed onto the Schwarzenegger-Democratic plan to hike taxes because it was the only way to close the budget shortfall in California?  Well, don’t look now, but the entire plan turned out to be based on a faulty premise.  The state’s legislative analyst says revenues will fall far short of even those expectations, and that the legislature still spent $8 billion more than it will get:

The California Legislature’s budget analyst says the recession has created another $8 billion hole in the state’s budget just weeks after the end of a bruising fight to close a $42 billion gap through June 2010.

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor says in the report released Friday that California’s 10.1 percent unemployment rate, further declines in the stock market and lower tax collections have led to lower revenue projections. He expects the new $8 billion budget gap in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Maybe it’s time to hire a new legislative analyst.  After all, California’s budget problem springs from a legislature incapable of living within its means.  Their solution has always been to penalize someone else, usually the taxpayers.  Getting rid of the analyst makes perfect sense for their nonsensical approach to fiscal discipline.

What will the state do?  Arnold will start talking about how Californians have to sacrifice more by giving more of their money to Sacramento.  Republicans will try to remain united in an effort to get the legislature to scale back its massive budget.  Democrats will call Republicans heartless and unreasonable, and Arnold will find any media outlet he can to agree with them.  Eventually, they’ll peel Maldonado off again, and raise taxes.

And then the economy will slow down even more, and the legislative analyst will report that revenues have decreased even further, and Arnold will start talking about how Californians have to sacrifice more by giving more of their money to Sacramento.  Republicans will try to remain united in an effort to get the legislature to scale back its massive budget.  Democrats will call Republicans heartless and unreasonable, and Arnold will find any media outlet he can to agree with them.  Eventually, they’ll peel Maldonado off again, and raise taxes.

And then the economy will slow down even more, and the legislative analyst will report that revenues have decreased even further, and Arnold will start talking about how Californians have to sacrifice more by giving more of their money to Sacramento.  Republicans will try to remain united in an effort to get the legislature to scale back its massive budget.  Democrats will call Republicans heartless and unreasonable, and Arnold will find any media outlet he can to agree with them.  Eventually, they’ll peel Maldonado off again, and raise taxes.

And then the economy will slow down even more, and the legislative analyst will report that revenues have decreased even further, and Arnold will start talking about how Californians have to sacrifice more by giving more of their money to Sacramento.  Republicans will try to remain united in an effort to get the legislature to scale back its massive budget.  Democrats will call Republicans heartless and unreasonable, and Arnold will find any media outlet he can to agree with them.  Eventually, they’ll peel Maldonado off again, and raise taxes.

(Californians who get the picture, meanwhile, will be leaving.)

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