A beacon of fiscal conservatism:

[Skjellyfetti]

After Years Of Record-High Borrowing, California Reaches Fiscal Milestone
Reuters
Posted: 07/10/2014 4:43 pm EDT Updated: 07/10/2014 5:59 pm EDT


By Robin Respaut

July 10 (Reuters) - California has ended its fiscal year with cash left over in its general fund for the first time since 2007.

State Controller John Chiang said on Thursday that California wrapped up June with a positive cash balance of $1.9 billion. This suggests the state has reached a stable financial foothold with enough money in its day-to-day operations budget to meet obligations without borrowing from other state funds or from Wall Street.

The cash-positive balance is another sign of fiscal recovery after seven years of "record-high borrowing just to pay our everyday bills," Chiang said in a news release. But he added, "We should remain laser-focused on paying down the Wall of Debt, reversing the many accounting gimmicks to which we've become addicted and keeping the State as liquid as possible to avoid experiencing the payment delays and IOUs that plagued our State during the Great Recession."

During the fiscal year ended June 30, the state controller's office collected $101.6 billion in revenue, or 2.1 percent more than Governor Jerry Brown had projected in his January budget release. Personal income taxes totaled $66.2 billion, or 2.6 percent higher than expected. Corporate taxes hit $8.5 billion, 9.3 percent higher, and retail sales and use taxes reached $22.2 billion, 1.8 percent more than expected.

A state particularly susceptible to swings in the economy, California has enjoyed the U.S. stock market's five-year surge. But "another down cycle in the economy is inevitable," Chiang said. "We should be vigilant about preparing for that day while we celebrate the great progress we've made to date."

Last month, in another positive reflection of the state's finances, Moody's Investors Service upgraded California's general obligation debt to "Aa3" from "A1," citing the state's improving financial position and employment growth.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/1 ... -francisco" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Grizalltheway]

Following in Dem-controlled Montana's footsteps.

[kalm]

Kansas should take note.

[Ibanez]

Other states should take note.

[Baldy]

Following in Dem-controlled Montana's footsteps.

...and a decade behind Texas.

[Grizalltheway]

Following in Dem-controlled Montana's footsteps.

...and a decade behind Texas.

Meh. Better late than never.

[kalm]

Following in Dem-controlled Montana's footsteps.

...and a decade behind Texas.

Yeah...but it's Texas.

[Ibanez]

...and a decade behind Texas.

Yeah...but it's Texas.

I oppose any state that if you start at one end, and drive 12 hours, YOU'RE STILL IN THE FUCKING STATE!

Spoiler: show

BTW, I know it takes about 12 hours to cross Texas at it's widest points.

[Grizalltheway]

Yeah...but it's Texas.

I oppose any state that if you start at one end, and drive 12 hours, YOU'RE STILL IN THE FUCKING STATE!

Spoiler: show

BTW, I know it takes about 12 hours to cross Texas at it's widest points.

Montana only takes 10 hours if you're doing the speed limit. And it's a lot more scenic.

[CAA Flagship]

I oppose any state that if you start at one end, and drive 12 hours, YOU'RE STILL IN THE FUCKING STATE!

Spoiler: show

BTW, I know it takes about 12 hours to cross Texas at it's widest points.

Montana only takes 10 hours if you're doing the speed limit. And it's a lot more scenic.

It probably takes about 30 minutes at 30,000 feet, which is the preferred way to cross Montana.

[Ibanez]

I oppose any state that if you start at one end, and drive 12 hours, YOU'RE STILL IN THE FUCKING STATE!

Spoiler: show

BTW, I know it takes about 12 hours to cross Texas at it's widest points.

Montana only takes 10 hours if you're doing the speed limit. And it's a lot more scenic.

SC is about 3 hours. All interstate.

[andy7171]

Montana only takes 10 hours if you're doing the speed limit. And it's a lot more scenic.

SC is about 3 hours. All interstate.

"The only thing you see on the interstate is interstate". Movie?

[Ibanez]

SC is about 3 hours. All interstate.

"The only thing you see on the interstate is interstate". Movie?

Uncle Buck?

Bug? Gnat?

[DSUrocks07]

After Years Of Record-High Borrowing, California Reaches Fiscal Milestone
Reuters
Posted: 07/10/2014 4:43 pm EDT Updated: 07/10/2014 5:59 pm EDT


By Robin Respaut

July 10 (Reuters) - California has ended its fiscal year with cash left over in its general fund for the first time since 2007.

State Controller John Chiang said on Thursday that California wrapped up June with a positive cash balance of $1.9 billion. This suggests the state has reached a stable financial foothold with enough money in its day-to-day operations budget to meet obligations without borrowing from other state funds or from Wall Street.

The cash-positive balance is another sign of fiscal recovery after seven years of "record-high borrowing just to pay our everyday bills," Chiang said in a news release. But he added, "We should remain laser-focused on paying down the Wall of Debt, reversing the many accounting gimmicks to which we've become addicted and keeping the State as liquid as possible to avoid experiencing the payment delays and IOUs that plagued our State during the Great Recession."

During the fiscal year ended June 30, the state controller's office collected $101.6 billion in revenue, or 2.1 percent more than Governor Jerry Brown had projected in his January budget release. Personal income taxes totaled $66.2 billion, or 2.6 percent higher than expected. Corporate taxes hit $8.5 billion, 9.3 percent higher, and retail sales and use taxes reached $22.2 billion, 1.8 percent more than expected.

A state particularly susceptible to swings in the economy, California has enjoyed the U.S. stock market's five-year surge. But "another down cycle in the economy is inevitable," Chiang said. "We should be vigilant about preparing for that day while we celebrate the great progress we've made to date."

Last month, in another positive reflection of the state's finances, Moody's Investors Service upgraded California's general obligation debt to "Aa3" from "A1," citing the state's improving financial position and employment growth.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/1 ... -francisco" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The obvious response to this is to increase spending and raising taxes sky high to compensate.

[Grizalltheway]

Where's Tman with the Rush Limbaugh rebuttal?

[Skjellyfetti]

The obvious response to this is to increase spending and raising taxes sky high to compensate.

Or the Dubya approach to squandering surpluses: lowering taxes and raising spending sky high.

[Pwns]

Maybe that extra money can go to helping out cities with dire pension crises.

[SDHornet]

Yup there is a surplus in the CA budget…when pension and employee benfit obligations aren’t taken into account.

First, to use Jerry Brown’s own words, California has a “wall of debt,” which doesn’t include unfunded pension and medical liability – and that wall of debt is NOT included in the budget. The total amount of that debt is somewhere in the $27 billion range and includes over $10 billion owed to the federal government. That money was used to fund California’s Unemployment Insurance Fund, and California seems to have no plan to pay it back – a sort of “reverse” unfunded mandate, if you will.

The fact that California began borrowing that money in 2009 demonstrates the fallacy of the prior claims of balanced budgets. The fact that it is kept off budget, like the other debt mentioned above, demonstrates the fallacy of the 2013-14 budget.

Of course, California has far greater debts than that. One study showed that California governments are over $1 trillion in debt. Most of that is in the form of unfunded pension and medical liabilities owed to state employees. California’s Legislative Analyst told Brown and the Democrat-run legislature to increase the contributions to the state’s teacher’s pension fund by a paltry $4.5 billion to address its announced $73 billion short fall.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasdelbe ... -of-cards/
Good job Dem's. Just ignore the problem...it will eventually go away.

[travelinman67]

The obvious response to this is to increase spending and raising taxes sky high to compensate.

DING!! DING!! DING!! DING!!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

When Guv Moonbeam came into office, he pledged he wouldn't raise taxes unless the voters approved an increase...and for the most part, he's kept that pledge.

What he did do is virtually DOUBLE THE STATE FEES AND RATES ACROSS THE BOARD. Penalties and fines doubled. Parking ticket? $186 in Sacramento: $58 goes to the municipality, the rest to DMV and state court admin. DMV fees and fines have become draconian. Forget to pay your $124 reg. by the due date? Bring $248 with you.

A nearby market, in their office, has 26 state permits on the wall:
Have an automatic door opener? Need a state permit.
Sell produce? Need a state permit.
Have a refrigerated foods section? Need a state permit.
Sell motor oil? Need a permit for that.
Compressor? Get a permit.
Deli counter? Coupla permits there along some local food service and health dept.permits.
Cashiers? Two more state permits.
Beer and wine? You better believe it! (...and THOSE are expensive)
And on, and on, and on...

Kid wants to sell lemonade on the sidewalk? In addition to a three page business license application...

...mostly dealing with environmental question...basically, you cannot produce ANY WASTE! Everything must be recycled, and records maintained to verify everything was recycled. Those lemon rinds? Must be recycled in a state approved, annually inspected, closed-system bio digester. Spilled lemonade on a sidewalk? Probably should just flee the country. After notifying all the required agencies...the lemonade, being below 3.2ph, IS a hazardous material. Clean up, including three state inspectors, will run between $3000-$45000. Try washing it down the gutter? Now you're polluting waterways...Ten of thousands in Fish and Game fines.

...the lemonade distributor will need a state Consumer Affairs permit, AND state Health Dept license (requires written examination).

One of the state's best shakedowns is "The Supplemental Information Request"...once a permit/license/review/report has been paid, completed and issued, the state send the party a "Supplemental Information Request", usually a confirmation of information already submitted on the original application. The respondent is commonly given 10 days to complete and return. Failure to return on time subjects the respondent to fines usually in the $200-$1000 range. Failure to pay the fine within 30 results in addl.penalties, usually doubling the original penalty...

...sooo, for example, if a person requests a tax ID, says for a C, S-Corp, LLC, LLP, etc...and you use an attorney service, the supplemental form is often mailed to the Agent for Service. Unless the form to confirm the ALREADY COMPLETED AND ISSUED TAX ID is returned to the state within 10 days, the fine is $350, doubling to $700 in 30 days.

And all this on top of California's highest tax rate in the nation.

Has Jerry balanced the budget?

I sure hope so.

We have no money left to take!




You just let me know when you're ready to move to Uberliberal utopia, Jellydonut. There's plenty of residential on the market.

[Skjellyfetti]

[CitadelGrad]

It's pretty easy to run a surplus when you stiff the teacher and public employee pension funds.

[Skjellyfetti]

It's pretty easy to run a surplus when you stiff the teacher and public employee pension funds.

Like I said: beacon of fiscal conservatism.

[travelinman67]

Oh, one more thing...

...when CA voters approved the initial 9 billion the Donks sought for their Crazy Train...

...it included a stipulation that the total budget was below $50 b, and the Rail Authority formulize a budget and funding/spending plan.

Neither was done.

When the state was sued in 2010 and the court compelled the state to produce both...after months of delay, the Rail Authority produced a 98.5 b budget, but STILL COULDN'T produce a funding/spending plan.

...in response, the super-majority Donk Leftislature changed state law, and merely PASSED A BOND SALE measure, which Guv Moonbeam celebratorily signed.

Fortunately, that end run blew up in the Governor's face...

...the Judge ruled the original ballot measure was invalidated due the absence of a budget and funding/spending plan, and further ALL bond sales were halted until the case was finalized.

Moral: The Judicial check and balance works when the voters are too dumb to spot a con.

[travelinman67]

Oh yeah...

...I almost forgot to mention that Moonbeam went back to his roots, and implemented his "catch and release" criminal adjudication plan:

Close most of the prisons and release the inmates with the admonition that they shape up and change their ways..

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... 8758,d.cGE

Savings to the state-$1.6 billion annually.

[kalm]

It's pretty easy to run a surplus when you stiff the teacher and public employee pension funds.

Like I said: beacon of fiscal conservatism.

Meanwhile, back in Kansas… and New Jersey...

In 2012, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed a landmark bill that delivered big tax cuts to high income earners and businesses. Less than two years after that tax cut, the state's income tax revenues plummeted by a quarter-billion dollars -- and now Brownback is pushing to use money for public employees’ pensions to instead cover the state's ensuing budget shortfalls.

Brownback's proposal: Slash the state’s required pension contribution by $40 million to balance the state budget. But Kansas already has one of the worst-funded pension systems in the nation. The state was also recently sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission for not accurately disclosing the shortfalls.

Brownback, an icon of tea party economics who was re-elected in 2014, defended his proposal to divert money from the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), telling the Wichita Eagle: “It’s kind of, uh, well where are you going to go for the funds? And I don’t like it, but it’s kind of what’s your other option if you don’t hit K-12 and higher ed with allotments?”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/too- ... tosterone/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All those tax cuts at the expense of education and promised pensions will trickle down any day now….

Conk econ 101.