Budget Agreement Reached!!! (Los Angeles, Orange, Berkeley: rental, insurance, assessors)

[FresnoFacts]

Some of the gap is being plugged with $4 billion "borrowed" from local governments (cities and counties).

[Snort]

Some of the gap is being plugged with $4 billion "borrowed" from local governments (cities and counties).

Yes, they're starting with Vallejo. Knocking on the mayor's door right now.

[NewToCA]

I hadn't posted an opinion yet, just the referenced article.

However, I really don't have an objection to this type of solution. California has a system that allows a lot of swing in their annual receipts, so it would be reasonable to anticipate that subsequent year receipts (maybe two years out) could be substantially higher than today.

Learning to live within your budget is somewhat difficult if you can have a 20% swing in income. I dislike the structure of our tax system, it allows a lot of annual fluxuation.

[steel7]

There are going to be lots of program cuts incl welfare payments being lowered. This is really a bad time now to be living/working in ca.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Learning to live within your budget is somewhat difficult if you can have a 20% swing in income. I dislike the structure of our tax system, it allows a lot of annual fluxuation.

Not really. Plenty of people are commissioned or run businesses where their income varies month to month or year to year. I happen to be in that situation. To use your 20% number, that's like someone making anywhere from $4000-5000/mo. What you do is budget your life so you can pay your bills in a down month and when you have a good month, you put the extra in savings, pay down the mortgage or car note, buy yourself something nice, etc. Of course the state of California isn't that smart and commits itself to $6000/mo in bills, then freaks out when there isn't enough money.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by CALIFRE

New taxes and fees are just the tip of the iceberg I'm afraid.
The trickle down theory will be taking funds away from cities and counties, leaving no choice but to layoff fire, police, etc.
A sad situation...

When it comes to California, the tip has no berg!

[Shope]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

This is known as:

1) Robbing Peter to pay Paul
2) Creative accounting
3) Plugging the numbers
4) Not fixing the problem

Yea, they basically just borrowed more money and "cooked the books" to make it look gravy. Expect the same budget problems next year.

[LASam]

Has anyone seen a list of the state parks that will be closing down? The article didn't go into any specifics...

[Curmudgeon]

What really remains to be seen is the actual size of the deficit. It wouldn't surprise me if we were told it's actually in the $mid-30 billions in a couple of months and the kabuki will start all over again, lasting until next year's State of the State and Governor's Budget running through to May revise which will kick-off another chorus.

[jillz]

Originally Posted by LASam

Has anyone seen a list of the state parks that will be closing down? The article didn't go into any specifics...

I haven't seen it yet.

I know where I work we are going to have furlough days and a cut in pay anywhere from 4-10%. What bites BIG TIME is they are raising student fee's again, cutting the rank and file pay (most make WELL under 50K a year and in CA, that is LOW), all while the big cheese in the UC system are still getting their 6 figure salaries that do NOT include things like the 100K relocation expenses, moving expenses, car allowances, promise of more relocation expenses if they do not keep their jobs. These perks add upwards of an extra 300K. Our UC President is making twice what ANY other UC president has made in the past. The UC Regents meet 5 times a year and these meetings are close to 200K EACH. The security alone is almost 100K. They need to cut this kind of stuff before they cut the pay of someone making in the 30-40K range. Cutting the pay of these people are going to mean more homes in forclosure, more cars repossessed, more defaults on credit card payments, etc. I have heard of kids that were going to go to school here but their parents decided to send their kids out of state because our situation is so bad. I found an article from 2006 posted in a San Fran newspaper that said the cost of renting the cars alone for the Regents meetings (5 meetings) was over 90K.

The only thing that keeps me from getting TOO mad is that everyone is in the same boat. Unless of course, you are at the top.