Posted on 05/13/2005 3:43:22 PM PDT by calcowgirl
05:11 PM ET (Updates with background, comments)
SAN FRANCISCO, May 13 (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, citing better-than-expected revenues, unveiled a revised state budget on Friday for the coming fiscal year that would raise spending to $115.7 billion and plug a shortfall estimated to have narrowed to $4 billion.
Schwarzenegger also said he no longer sees the need for issuing debt, including $1.7 billion in economic recovery bonds, to balance the state's books.
His initial spending plan issued in January for California's 2005-06 fiscal year totaled $111.7 billion and aimed to balance the budget by closing a shortfall then estimated at about $9 billion.
"Last year we began to turn California around by being fiscally responsible, taking action to bring our economy back and making government work for the people once again," Schwarzenegger said. "And the great news for California is that our plan is working and as a result, revenues to the state have increased by more the $6 billion over last year."
Schwarzenegger said he plans to restore $1.3 billion in transportation funds he had initially planned to cut from the budget and he wants to pay city and county governments nearly $600 million owed to them from the state.
Kool-Aide get your kool-aide here.
And that this is just the "Standard Republican Cost Of Living" bugetary projection that ALL Republicans put in their budgets to show Democrats how things should REALLY be done, right???
This could have been a lot worse. There are no tax increases in this plan, and no added borrowing, and no cave-in to the edu-nazis.
Of course I would like to see him cut and reduce as though he were Tom McClintock, but that's not going to happen. Considering many of the far-left commies advising him, things could have been much worse. Today ElkGroveDan gives Governor Schwarzenegger a thumbs up.
He's right out there budgeting to "buy votes" just like ANY other career politician!!! We Are So Screwed!!! (WASS)
Well... You better keep him away from that rural Kryptonite!!! That chit's terrible!!!
And why not?!? That's the way he talks all the danged time! Why should we continue to reward him by buyin his bool chit, huh? Why???
The guys as phony as Jesse Ventura and if you keep sayin you're gonna "step in and defend" this dude, you're gonna find yourself doin it more every day!!! You lookin for another payroll slot on the Grinninator's payroll???
Maybe you can tell everyone how much he's investing from this budget into fulfilling his promise to the Sierra-Nevada to fund the growth of the public sector so strongly that it somehow, magically makes the private sector grow into an economic giant that solves much of the State's Revenue Stream crisis, can you???
You need to look for someone to defend that's defensible!!!
That offer has been made and turned down several times in both this and a previous RINO administration. My idealogy makes me a poor man working in this business. I ain't for sale and I never will be.
All I'm doing is giving him credit for not spending all the new income, and restoring a huge chunk of transportation dollars.
Here's Tom McClintock's statement issued earlier today:
In January, Gov. Schwarzenegger fulfilled his constitutional responsibility to present a budget to the state legislature. His May revision significantly improves upon that budget. I particularly commend his decisions to protect the state’s highway revenues, to begin to retire the state’s deficit-related debt, to resist calls to spend revenues that do not belong to the state and to restrict the use of one-time revenues for one-time expenditures.
As a Citizen, looking just back to the turn of the century, this statement of neither Schwarzenegger, nor McClintock contains good common sense!!! Can you please tell me the number that the 2001 budget came in at? Please???
You can't justify this and you know it!!!
I don't disagree that things could have been worse. He could have diverted even more expenditures to local governments. He could have raised taxes (or raised fees even more than he has). He could have floated even more bonds. He coulda coulda coulda.... But all of those things are not the platform he ran on. Giving him a "thumbs up" because he didn't go left of Fabian Nunez is overly generous, IMO, and much more than he deserves.
And why is it that the Republican Party still supports this guy if he choses "far-left commies" as his advisors?
I know I'm singin' to the choir, but... something needs to be done to keep Arnold in control. $115 Billion dollars certainly isn't the control I had in mind when voting for the recall.
Touche'!!!
* Providing more fruits and vegetables for the 172 million free or reduced-priced breakfasts served in the School Breakfast Program.Here's the problem... too many fruits and nuts!
I'm not trying to justify it.
If I had my way we would slash the budget in half, cut the sales tax in half, abolish the gas tax and car tax, omit all abortion funding, omit funding for all trains, trolleys and people movers, abolish funding for construction of diamond lanes, abolish Cal-EPA, enact a three-year phase out of all public assistance to able bodied adults, abolish mandatory state recycling programs, provide a $3500 per child year tax credit for parents who send their kids to private or parochial schools, etc. etc. (for starters)
However I'm not in charge. So for now I can be happy the May revise was at least a move in the right direction. It could have been worse -- much worse.
You have analyzed the situation extremely well - good job.
This makes me ill. Now is the time for holding the line with no increases. Won't happen.
That said, he is doing an absolutely stellar job of managing the budget when compared with the kind of money management we're seeing in Washington, D.C. Of course, even the management at Enron looks pretty good when compared to that mess. ;-)
However I'm not in charge. So for now I can be happy the May revise was at least a move in the right direction. It could have been worse -- much worse....ElkGroveDan ...05/13/2005
Dan has an established history as a conservative and even he is succumbing to the viritolic nonsense emminating from of the California executive.
Even a third grader knows that the average Californian (not employed by the state or a citizen of Mexico) is ready to cut spending, pay back the Austrian's debt, lower taxes and get the big spenders the hell out of the legislature.
We're always faces with "the lesser of two evils" until the budget gets here! Then, we're faced with "it sure coulda been worse!" GOOD GRIEF!!!
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