California is gaining revenue, many obstacles, manage carefully

Regional newspaper opinion on the current state of the State.

The Daily Journal (San Mateo), 11/30/12, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat Op-Ed:  "A more golden financial state."

CA balanced budget is as rare as a CA gray wolf

"Don’t look too quickly, but California may be on the verge of seeing something in Sacramento almost as rare as a gray wolf — a budget surplus.  As noted in the latest state legislative analyst’s report, thanks to a rebounding economy, prior budget cuts and the passage of Proposition 30 in the Nov. 6 election, there’s a “strong possibility” that California could see multi-billion operating surpluses within a few years.

But there are still plenty of challenges ahead for Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators. Of immediate concern is that California faces a $1.9 billion deficit next year. That’s a good deal more manageable than the $13 billion gap that was projected a year ago or the $25 billion shortfall that was predicted two years ago. Nonetheless, it’s a problem that has to be addressed before June when a budget needs to be approved.

CA Legislature keep paws off the new CA state revenue

....  Democrats need to keep their paws off the new revenue if the state has any hope of getting back on an even keel. We encourage legislators to head the legislative analyst’s advice to use whatever surpluses that materialize to build up the “rainy day” reserve that was envisioned in Proposition 58, which voters approved in 2004. The state also needs to get serious about addressing the unfunded liability for teachers’ retirements. As we’ve noted before, teachers are not the source of the state’s pension problems, but their retirement system has been grossly underfunded by the state.California also needs to get serious about reforming its overall tax structure."   Read article.

Posted by Kathy Meeh