california budget

Wall Street and the media have been fixated with the debt crises in countries such as Greece, Portugal and Ireland. But we're not hearing nearly enough about a much bigger economy closer to home that's on the brink of disaster. We're talking about California -- the eighth largest economy in the...

Newly-installed California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of fiscal emergency on Thursday, underscoring the need for quick legislative action on the state's massive budget deficit. Without corrective action, he said, California's combined deficit for this year and the next will be $25.4 billion.

The fiscally struggling state hopes that investors concerns over its troubles will be offset by their desire for yield. Governor Schwarzenegger has called a special legislative session to address a deficit now projected to be more than $25 billion over the next 18 months.

California state workers, feeling expendable, plan to use their mandated "furlough Friday" to protest at theaters across the state showing The Expendables, an action flick with an all-star cast including a cameo by their boss, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Californians like me will see less money in their next paycheck because, like it or not, we're being forced to give an interest-free loan to the financial basket-case of a state we live in. As of November 1, California is withholding 10% more in income taxes from residents' paychecks. The move is...

Got a good idea for how to pull California back from the brink of financial failure? Twitter it to Arnold.Last month, Governor Schwarzenegger visited Twitter's HQ for a live chat and announced the launch of MyIdea4CA.com, a state Web site that lets Twitter users submit their ideas for improving...

Looks like even the Terminator can't help them right now. A whopping $24 billion budget deficit and a legal stalemate between California's Democratic and Republican lawmakers over whether or not to raise taxes to balance the budget has led to this: Starting tomorrow, instead of paying its bills,...

In the 1990s, I spent five years living in Los Angeles, and I loved it. There's something very special, and almost mythical, about California.But that's easy for me to say. I no longer live there. I just received a phone call from one of my friends, who has lived in Los Angeles since the 1960s, and...

Things are about to get a lot hotter in California. In response to political deadlock over its $42 billion deficit, State Controller John Chiang announced today that he would suspend some $3.7 billion in payments, including tax refunds, starting Feb. 1."Let me make this point," Chiang told...