It’s Bad Out There

The Sacramento Bee announced it is eliminating 128 jobs today, or 11 percent of its workforce, and will impose pay cuts on remaining workers. The cutbacks are part of other layoffs announced by its parent, The McClatchy Co. of Sacramento, which said it is erasing 1,600 jobs or 15 percent of its workforce.    Read more »

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State Controller John Chiang On California Cash Concerns

CC: Did this latest budget solve the long-term gap between spending obligations and revenue? 

JC: No. My principle concern is what takes place next year. We still have significant cash issues. In fact, the cash issues appear to be greater next year than the ones we just experienced. 

CC: When you say cash issues that means what?     Read more »

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California’s Budget Problems Are Far From Over

It’s good that the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009 has a $2 billion reserve and that the Senate Appropriations Committee has said it will not approve any legislation with a price tag, no matter how small. 

The state of the state’s economy is worsening and there is the strong probability the budget enacted on February 19 is moving toward becoming out of balance.     Read more »

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How Green Are Tomorrow’s Jobs Today?

Several lawmakers, led by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, announced a package of bills March 5, 2009, which they said, would “take the first steps towards linking our education system to hig-wage jobs in the emerging economies.” 

Like the so-called economic stimulus measures that accompanied last month’s budget, the reality is somewhat less than the hyperbole.     Read more »

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A Chat With State Treasurer Bill Lockyer

CC: Is this budget deal a permanent solution to the chronic gap between spending commitments and revenue 

BL: No. It’s far short of that. The long-term gap represents about 4 percent of the general fund which in a normal year can be closed. This was a particularly bad year. And when bigger tax increases or deeper program cuts become unpalatable people borrow, which we’ve continued to do each year.    Read more »

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California Unemployment Rate Rises to 10.1%

SACRAMENTO – California’s unemployment rate was 10.1 percent in January, and nonfarm payroll jobs declined by 79,300 during the month, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two separate surveys. 

The U.S. unemployment rate also increased in January to 7.6 percent. 

In December, the state’s unemployment rate was a revised 8.7 percent, and in January 2008, the unemployment rate was 6.1 percent.    Read more »

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The Deepest Cut of All — Public Schools

By far, the largest spending cut in California’s seven-day old budget falls on the state’s 6.3 million public school students and the more than 9,900 schools at which they matriculate. 

Between now and the end of next fiscal year on June 30, 2010, state support for public schools will drop by $11.6 billion, according to several analyses by educators and education lobbyists.     Read more »

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California’s Share of Federal Economic Stimulus Cash

While the package of bills created to close California’s estimated $41 billion gap between revenues and spending commitments was never the subject of a single public hearing, one of the bills in the package creates a future public hearing. 

And an interesting one at that. 

Some good things happen to California’s budget, depending on how much of a share of federal economic stimulus cash the state receives.     Read more »

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How Stimulating Is the Budget’s Economic Stimulus Package?

Part of the budget package touted by lawmakers and Governor Schwarzenegger as the chicken salad of what would otherwise be a $42 billion pile of chicken scat, are 11 measures they say will buoy the state’s sagging economy, the eighth largest in the world.

The GOP governor rejected an $18 billion Democratic-backed spending proposal because it did not contain enough  to help kick start the economy.    Read more »

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Budget Line-Items: All Politics Are Local

Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, a Democratic candidate for governor, criticized Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $1.3 billion in line-item vetoes announced at a February 20 budget signing ceremony. 

Garamendi has reason to be unhappy – the budget of his office fell from $2.8 million to a little over $1 million. 

“I am reducing the Lieutenant Governor’s budget by $1,734,000 to ensure that sufficient resources are reserved for key programs within state government,” Schwarzenegger said in his veto message.    Read more »

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