"California is preparing to issue IOUs to its creditors this week as it prepares to begin its new fiscal year deep in the red.The first thing that comes to mind is the scene at the end of the movie Dumb and Dumber (spoiler alert!), where Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) tells the kidnapper that the suitcase once full of cash is now full of IOUs.
"Once the richest US state, California now has the dubious distinction of having the worst credit rating in the country.
"It faces a budget deficit of $24bn yet Arnold Schwarzenegger, its governor, and the state assembly cannot agree on a budget to address the shortfall."
I'm sure there's a lesson somewhere about Lloyd and Harry's profligacy - among the things they buy with the cash is a Lamborghini Diablo - and California's inability either to raise taxes or cut expenditures.
If you think you've got what it takes to rectify California's shortfall, you can give it a whirl with the LA Times' State Budget Balancer.
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Embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I was able to balance the state budget and even get a $320 million surplus! Sacramento, here I come...