California Deficit Has Soared to $16 Billion, Gov. Jerry Brown Says

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California Deficit Has Soared to $16 Billion, Gov. Jerry Brown Says

Not the news we've been hoping for

By MichaelJ

Economy • May 2012 • Views: 1,400

latimesblogs.latimes.com

Gov. Jerry Brown announced on Saturday that the state’s deficit has ballooned to $16 billion, a huge increase over his $9.2-billion estimate in January.

The bigger deficit is a significant setback for California, which has struggled to turn the page on a devastating budget crisis. Brown, who announced the deficit on YouTube, is expected to outline his full budget proposal on Monday in Sacramento.

“This means we will have to go much further, and make cuts far greater, than I asked for at the beginning of the year,” Brown said in the video.

Let me guess - more cuts to public education.

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3 comments

funky chicken Sat, May 12, 2012 2:48:03pm

Gee, how about a Buffett Rule for California? I think all those athletes and entertainment industry folks can afford to pay double state income taxes for a few years.

freetoken Sat, May 12, 2012 2:53:30pm

Community colleges around here have already given up the idea of summer classes. I suspect it will get much worse in the future. From the article:

Brown has said there will be even deeper cuts, mostly to public education, if voters do not improve tax hikes in November. He is seeking a quarter-cent increase in the state sales tax for four years and a seven-year hike on incomes of $250,000 or more that will range from 1 to 3 percentage points. He says the measure would raise $9 billion in the upcoming budget year.

Part of this announcement is a bit of theatre - the earlier estimate of the deficit itself was suspect. Nevertheless, the truth remains that here in California the promises we have made have greatly exceeded the taxes we levy.

Bob Dillon Sat, May 12, 2012 10:22:14pm

santacruzsentinel.com

In fear of cuts

One group with a powerful constituency, public employee unions, is in a vulnerable spot as well. After facing years of layoffs and furloughs, they now are bracing for more cuts. Their pay could be cut, or perhaps they’ll have to make higher contributions to pensions. The Brown administration would have to achieve savings through collective bargaining with a dozen units whose contracts expire in 2013.

Political analysts say Brown needs to send a strong message to voters.

“Brown has to make two sales,” said Bill Whalen, a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. “One, he has to push voters’ buttons by offering 1,001 stories of human misery as a result of budget cuts.

“And two, he has to be willing to do something that will not please the public employee unions, show that they’re being hit, too. That would show he’s serious about these cuts.”

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