Not only is the US and world economy in the crapper, but the state of California is in a real financial mess. California State Controller John Chiang has taken on Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger before, but now Chiang has a lot of tough decisions to make with the current fiscal crises going on:
“The 46-year-old Mr. Chiang (pronounced CHUNG), a Democrat elected in 2006 to a four-year term, oversees the state’s nearly depleted reserves, which need an infusion of money through a revamped budget. Gov. Schwarzenegger and state legislators have missed a self-imposed Feb. 1 deadline to balance the budget, which is expected to have a $42 billion shortfall by mid-2010. … Mr. Chiang’s profile has risen as lawmakers haggle. Last week he delayed, for 30 days, more than $3 billion in tax refunds, welfare checks and other payments to keep the state from running out of cash this month.”
The state legislature and Governor helped create California’s budget crises by signing in the state budget 85 days late in October, putting the state $15 billion in the red; tax revenue shortfalls surely helped contribute to the rest of the projected $42+ billion in debt. Hopefully, Chiang can manage through this financial crisis for all of Californians’ sake.
