Question? what happened to the 38 billion deficit

[okieinpain]

today on NPR they said it was 8 billion, going back to 12 billion if arnold repeals the car tax. all through the campaign I heard about the 38 billion deficit, now it's 8 billion.

[bahrbearian]

1. I was wondering the same thing?

12 Billion is about what Enron gouged Cal.

[okieinpain]

2. damn sure is. I heard on tweety last night that the revenue is

headed up in the next quarter, so arnold will have that to build on. I was sitting there thinking, so now that arnold is elected, the good news is going to be reported.

[dolstein]

3. The $38 billion was a projected two-year deficit

Gray Davis and the Democratically-controlled legislature were able to eliminate around three quarters of the projected deficit during the current session, leaving a projected operating deficit of around $8 billion for the next fiscal year. Of course, eliminating the remaining $8 billion won't be easy, since all of the "easy" fixes (if there is such a thing) have already been made. And the deficit would grow to $12 billion if the car tax reduction Arnold supports is enacted.

In short, when Arnold went around the state talking about this massive $38 billion deficit, he was lying. The real deficit was much smaller than that. And in any event, it pales in comparison to the $500 billion deficit at the federal level.

[tom_paine]

7. Yep. Another Bushevik lie goes unchallenged in Imperial Amerika

Orwellian. But I'm used to that.

Everything has changed, it's true, but it wasn't 9-11.

It was 12-12.

The day the Old American Republic breathed it's last, though we still dance quite animatedly with the corpse...

[punpirate]

9. And, if the lawsuit filed by Bustamante...

... were to be decided in California's favor, that would just about eliminate the deficit and provide some justice for the raping California got from energy suppliers.

The legislature now is going to have to fight like hell to keep Gov. S. from trying to completely deregulate the energy system, and undo the damage that was done during the Wilson administration. It would be an ugly fight, but they're going to have to do it, or else the con artists like Enron and Dynegy are going to strip California bare. We already know how friendly Schwarzenegger is with them.

[RobertSeattle]

4. Apparently Daily Howler is going to do an expose on that very topic Thurs

http://www.dailyhowler.com

I think the 38 billion was some kind of composite multi year number. Krugman (NYT) wrote an article about it, but since it is more than a few weeks old, you must be a paid subscriber to see it now.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

5. been wondering the same thing..Arnold and repukes SCREAMED it for weeks

"DAVIS CAUSED A $38 BILLION DEFECIT" now all of a sudden it's "Arnold has an $* billion defecit to deal with"...WTF???

[fizzana]

6. $38 billion was last year.

The deficit is $8 billion but that's only because they borrowed something like $12 billion to lower the budget.

Also, as I understand it, part of the car tax deal which was introduced by Pete Wilson, is that the only way it can be repealed is if the state simultaneously replaces teh $4 billion from another revenue source which doesn't include budget cuts.

So Arnold promised to repeal the car tax and not raise any other taxes. Hardly anyone has figured out that he can't do one without the other.

The other thing he's going to find out is that Proposition happy California has painted itself into a corner with so much mandated spending that only 15% of the entire budget is discretionary. The choice is either huge cuts in services out of that 15% or raise taxes.

Here are the keys to the mansion, Arnold - enjoy.

[CWebster]

8. Wonder if Bush will bailout Schwartzenegger with federal $

in the hopes of raising his political stock in CA?

[NashVegas]

10. Bet on It

that and the admin will help Arnie persuade businesses with jobs to relocate/stay there. Probably via mega tax breaks.