Could you explain to me how people are saying CA has a budget surplus from these numbers?
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The governor's plan forecast that California will have less tax revenue coming into its coffers in the next fiscal year than was anticipated just four months ago, when he said he expected $98.5 billion. Before the recession, California's general fund spending peaked at $103 billion.
The general fund is the state's main checking account that pays for most government services, including K-12 public schools and higher education, prisons, health and human services and parks. Including special fund spending, which is money raised by fees for specific purposes related to those fees, California would spend $137 billion in the next fiscal year.
Read more: sfgate.com
For all of Gov. Brown’s talk about spending cuts and “fiscal discipline,” his budget forecasts a 5 percent jump in state spending, rising from $93 billion in 2012-13 to $97.7 billion in 2013-14. But as Walters notes, you need to add in all the other spending that is not included in those numbers: nearly $41 billion in special funds and over $7 billion in bond funds. Suddenly, the state is spending over $145 billion in 2013-14, not $97.7 billion.
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