Dan Walters: Schwarzenegger may have given up on balancing state's budget

Sacramento Bee ^ | January 11, 2006 | Dan Walters

[calcowgirl]

According to the budget doc he submitted yesterday, total General Obligation bonds as of 12/31/2005 are:
--Outstanding: $48B
--Authorized: $100B

[NormsRevenge]

I know we paid down some, that's still a fair pile of debt.

[kellynla]

excellent sourcing, Marine.

well considering the coffers went from a 12 billion dollar surplus to a 38 billion dollar deficit; I'd say a 50 billion dollar Davis debt would equal the incompetency of the RINOld administration who has had a HUGE influx of revenue in the last year or so...
well, I won't say "I told ya so"....

[kellynla]

"According to the budget doc he submitted yesterday, total General Obligation bonds as of 12/31/2005 are:
--Outstanding: $48B
--Authorized: $100B"

DAMN!

well, maybe Maria can convince him to take the Southbound 5 back to L.A. instead of running for reeleciton...
'cause he's definitley not what people were voting for in 2003

[Digger]

...well considering the coffers went from a 12 billion dollar surplus to a 38 billion dollar deficit; I'd say a 50 billion dollar Davis debt would equal the incompetency of the RINOld administration who has had a HUGE influx of revenue in the last year or so... well, I won't say "I told ya so"....

Yes! some us did present this scenerio but it fell on deaf ears. So I will say , I told you so. How's that?

[kellynla]

"So I will say , I told you so"

now, now...let's not rub it in! LOL

[calcowgirl]

I'm looking through the debt affordability reports, available on Angelides' website.
http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/publications/index.htm

This is what I find which are comparable (by description) to the above $100B/$48B numbers as of 12/31/2005.

These are "State of California" - "Outstanding and Authorized General Obligation Bonds", as were the stated numbers in the Governor's Budget release. However, I'm not sure how the numbers grew so much in 6 months (I think there is a discrepancy here).

As of         07/01/2003   07/01/2004   07/01/2005

Authorized       $63B         $75B        $79B 
Outstanding      $26B         $33B        $35B

[calcowgirl]

Check out these numbers for an eyeopener.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1555544/posts?page=34#34

[kellynla]

"I'm not sure how the numbers grew so much in 6 months"

interest?
those vig payments will kill ya! LOL
especially when you have junk bond status...

[NormsRevenge]

Here ya go, numbers are represenatative of use of both obligation and revenue bonds. That 35 B is only one part of overall debt. -- What Is the State’s Current Debt Situation?

How Much Do We Already Owe?

Figure 7 shows that as of November 1, 2005, the state had almost $53 billion of General Fund debt outstanding. This includes about $42 billion in bond debt that it has used to fund infrastructure (close to $35 billion in general obligation bonds and nearly $8 billion of lease-revenue bonds). The figure also shows the debt outstanding from the deficit-financing bonds issued in 2004 (currently $10.4 billion).

---

Figure 7

Figure 7 Summary of State of California Outstanding and Unissued General Fund Debt, By Program Area and Type
As of November 1, 2005 (In Billions)
	Outstanding Debt	Unissued Debta
General Obligation Bonds
Corrections	$1.1	—b
Health	—	$0.8
Higher Education	4.7	3.7
Housing	—	2.1
K-12 Education	22.0	12.3
Resources	1.7	0.8
State Administration	0.3	0.2
Stem Cells	—	3.0
Transportation	1.8	0.2
Water	2.8	6.5
Local Governmentc	0.1	0.3
Other	—d	—
Total, General Obligation Bonds	$34.5	$29.9
Lease-Revenue Bonds	$7.8	$3.2
Deficit-Financing Bondse	10.4	4.1
Totals	$52.6	$37.2
Source: California State Treasurer
a  Includes $19.4 billion in authorized commercial paper, of which $1.2 billion has been issued. These funds are used to initiate projects until bonds are sold.
b  Includes $10 million in unissued bonds.
c  Includes bonds for reading and literacy improvement and library construction.
d  Includes $4 million in bonds for hazardous substance clean up and senior citizens’ centers.
e  These are self-liquidating general obligation bonds secured by a one-quarter cent share of the local sales and use tax. However, in exchange, the General Fund pays an equivalent amount in increased Proposition 98 funding to schools.

[calcowgirl]

The numbers I posted definitely did not include lease revenue bonds. But the first numbers ($100/$48) excluded the "deficit financing" bonds (or Economic Recovery bonds, i.e. Prop 57/58 bonds). So, the numbers make sense if you add $10 Billion to the numbers for 2004 and 2005. That closely reconciles to your numbers.

[calcowgirl]

Correction:

But the first numbers ($100/$48) excluded included the "deficit financing" bonds (or Economic Recovery bonds, i.e. Prop 57/58 bonds) and the 2003-2005 numbers excluded them. So, the numbers make sense if you add $10 Billion to the numbers for 2004 and 2005. That closely reconciles to your numbers.

[television is just wrong]

He has no where to go. We elected him to change things. He came to us with the tools he needed to fix this mess, and the people voted them down. He cannot do anything. The Unions own this state and will drive it into bankrupcy come hell or high water.

They are mostly democrats, socialists, and communists. This once golden state is doomed to it's watery grave.

[NormsRevenge]

Either way, it's not to be sneezed at or allowed to get out of control.

[DoughtyOne]

May? LOL May?

Sheesh...

[calcowgirl]

We elected him to change things. He came to us with the tools he needed to fix this mess, and the people voted them down. He cannot do anything.

The Governor proposes the budget, has line-item veto power, and final approval authority. This latest budget proposal represents an increase in general fund spending of 37% since taking office. This budget is Arnold's budget, not the legislatures, the democrats, or anyone elses. When the legislature gets done with it, it will grow a bit, and Arnold currently has the tools (line item veto) to correct that. (But he hasn't used it before, so I don't expect him to in the future).

The "tools" he proposed to "fix" the mess (Prop 76 mid-year corrections) would not change any of this. Additionally, Prop 76 would have only allowed him to borrow more money and defer more expense. He has not used any of the tools he has to reduce spending, only to increase it. To say that he can do nothing is naive, at best.

[calcowgirl]

LOL. One last glimmer of hope. ;-)

[Amerigomag]

We all appreciate the tireless effort you've expended to document the absurdity of the Schwarzenegger myth but I'd like you to reflect on a simple concept:

If McClatchy is complaining, the situation is so far out of hand that even a third grader knows something is wrong in Schwarzeneggerland.

[calcowgirl]

Agreed. But somebody forgot to tell our Assemblymembers.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1556113/posts?page=11#11

[goldstategop]

Cross the unions in this state and you're political roadkill. The big fight's not between the Governor and the Legislature but between the Democrats' constituents over where the money goes. That's going to be fun to watch.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")