[jyl]

State budgets have been crushed in this recession. Not totally surprising as states go into the red in every recession. When you have fixed costs and variable revenues, that's going to happen. It's not so much the social safety net stuff, as the increase in such spending during a recession is partly reimbursed by the federal govt. It is stuff like education, law enforcement, infrastructure, etc.

California is particularly bad off for reasons we've discussed ad nauseum. Your revenue is dependent on the most cyclical sources - income tax on high earners which tends to move with the stock market, sales tax on discretionary purchases, etc. If you wanted to design a more volatile revenue source, it would be hard to do better. Your legislature is dominated by extremes from both parties, you have a super-majority requirement for budgeting, prop 13 shields much property from full taxing, and overuse of "propositions" has created too many spending mandates.

But every state is struggling. Oregon has some stupid features too, like the "kicker".

The good thing is that employment is turning the corner, and will very likely be growing by mid-year, so more income tax revenue. Consumer spending is coming back, so more sales tax revenue. Housing prices are rising, so property tax revenue will stabilize. We are in an economic recovery, so just try not to illegally park in any handicapped spaces for awhile.