California Budget Challenge. (pros and cons, income, income tax)

[Think4Yourself]

Here's an interesting little budget tool.

California Budget Challenge

It shows you where the revenue comes from and what it is spent on in nice easy to read pie charts then it asks you what you would cut, what taxes you would raise, as well as what other changes you would make in an attempt to balance the California state budget. Give it a try and tell us about your results.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

Here's an interesting little budget tool.

California Budget Challenge

It shows you where the revenue comes from and what it is spent on in nice easy to read pie charts then it asks you what you would cut, what taxes you would raise, as well as what other changes you would make in an attempt to balance the California state budget. Give it a try and tell us about your results.

Went through that exercise every one of the last 20 years I worked for the state. The best little budget to tool the legislature could have, and the governor's office as well, would be a check register and someone who knew how to balance it.

[Think4Yourself]

That's how my budget ended up.

[Curmudgeon]

One of the biggest problems for California is the huge relance on income tax revenues. They are almost impossible to forecast accurately because they are so variable from year to year. Of course, this has been known for decades and routinely ignored during budget cycles. Add to that the proclivity of the legislature to commit to a new spending without identifying or making provision for funding streams resulting in unfunded mandates, and the willingness of too many governors to sign these bills, and Houston, we have a problem!

[ryuns]

Super interesting tool. Thanks for the link. My biggest gripe is that there too many "choose one option" when the options listed weren't actually mutually exclusive. Love all the detail and the seemingly evenhanded pros and cons written for each.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Problem

[jeremy2788]

Pretty cool tool. I came out with a 6.7 billion dollar surplus.