California Budget Is Already in the Red 10 Weeks After Passage

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will know within a month whether a $1.1 billion drop in revenue collections is part of a growing budget shortfall or an isolated event, his budget spokesman said.

Revenue in the three months ended Sept. 30 was 5.3 percent less than assumed in the $85 billion annual budget, state controller John Chiang reported yesterday. Income tax receipts led the gap, as unemployment reached 12.2 percent in August. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahpLpu9sKLyY

California can blame the recession all it wants for its fiscal mess, but the real culprit is Sacramento! Its free spending ways and lack of sound economic policies from both political parties have led California to where it is. It will only get worse until Sacramento wakes up to fiscal reality, but unfortunately Washington is headed in the same direction of California; toward a fiscal train wreck!