I snark at flatulent arrogant progressive California on a regular basis. But the latest economic news out of the state is so bad it falls deep into “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” territory:
The governor, who unveiled his revised budget proposal in the Capitol on Monday, is facing a nearly $16-billion budget gap, far larger than the $9.2 billion he predicted in January.
At least they didn’t say, “Unexpectedly.” Alison Vekshin and James Nash at Bloomberg point out that it’s no shocker:
Brown’s forecast for a swelling California deficit shouldn’t come as a shock, as he balanced his budget by relying on optimistic revenue estimates, according to Christopher Thornberg, an economist in Los Angeles.
“The reason the revenues aren’t coming in as expected is that the state was counting on $4 billion that was never going to materialize,” Thornberg, a co-founder of Beacon Economics LLC, said yesterday by telephone. “It was eminently predictable from the very beginning.”
Now Brown continues beating the tax drum. But when millions of Californians have left already, you can’t raise taxes on the remainder to make up for it. Related Tweet:
@TerryBranstad If you are a California company facing stifling tax and regulatory burdens, we will welcome you in Iowa.
Good to know. I hear Texas is getting fed up with the invasion of Californians.