Calif. leaders: We're making progress on $26B gap

Source: Judy Lin, Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders reported steady progress on California's $26.3 billion budget mess and raised the prospect of a resolution in the coming week.

Negotiators were scheduled to resume closed-door meetings Sunday at the Capitol following two days of talks. They were expected to continue discussing the governor's social service reform proposals, but still need to sort out public education funding, which is the largest component of general fund spending.

"I would say we're getting very close to a general framework, but there are still outlying questions," state Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee, a San Luis Obispo Republican, said after emerging from a closed-door meeting between lawmakers and Schwarzenegger on Saturday.

The possibility of a breakthrough in resolving California's mammoth budget shortfall comes a week after the state began issuing IOUs to thousands of vendors as a cash-saving move. State workers also have begun taking three days off a month without pay, cutting the salaries of more than 200,000 government employees by 14 percent.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090712/ap_on_re_us/us_california_budget

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Not sure if this is good news or not. Sounds like there will be major social and education program cuts but at least they will have a budget. Without a budget the state would begin to crumble. Also, I think, what happens in CA will be, in smaller scale, what is going to happen to the US in the long term. We should watch and learn from CA.

I would not want to be in his shoes. His state was hit hardest by the recession and the budget shortfall would have happened no matter who the governor was. Now his term as governor is a long string of Catch-22s.

Both sides are protecting their sacred cows and trying to poison pill the public.

This is also becoming a very divisive for the unionized public employee workforce. Hawaii is a good case in point. Lingle can layoff but not furlough (reverse of California). Union has gone to court to assure that. That means that some of the new membership will be terminated. Its a serious blow to union solidarity.

Democrats win with big majorities but the super majority needed to pass budgets can never be reached.


Recalcitrant Republicans in the state legislature simply say no to everything.


It is an impossible situation. Arnold is the least of the problems until the Democrats can pick up two more seats, which is highly unlikely.

Can't be re-elected, has nothing to lose

so he feels free to play his "terminator" role to the hilt.

and broker an agreement that will piss off part of the Republican base

or he can pander to that base, let the state slide into bankruptcy, and be able to brag about how he held the line on "no new taxes"

Depends on how he views his legacy

he continues to make state government larger and more inefficient, even as he talks publicly about making is more efficient. He is a two faced liar. He borrowed his way into this mess every year he has been in office.

:grr: no this is not "good news", just more power play bullshit.