Breaking California's Bank
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It's the first day of a new fiscal year and the state budget's in worse shape than ever. Can the Governor and the Legislature resolve their differences in the next 45 days? Also, LA County's sales tax jumped to almost 10% today. Will it produce as much as voters expected when they passed it last year? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, six states, including California, failed to pass spending plans last night in time for the new fiscal year. Are bloated expenditures being brought under control or are states balancing budgets by cutting services people need?
Main Topic
Will the Recession Push State Governments to Shut Down? ()
The recession is wreaking havoc with state governments all over the country by vastly reducing the revenues they depend on from taxes on property, sales and income. Last night, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, Ohio and California failed to pass balanced budgets by the start of the fiscal year.
Guests:
- Steve Fehr: Reporter, Stateline.org
- Evan Halper: Sacramento Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times
- Jerry Nickelsburg: Senior Economist, UCLA Anderson Forecast
- Emily Wagster Pettus: Mississippi State Capitol Reporter, Associated Press
- Dean Martin: Treasurer, State of Arizona
- Nicholas Johnson: Director of State Fiscal Projects, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Tad DeHaven: Budget Analyst, Cato Institute
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Main Topic
Today's Repercussions from Last Night's Failure in Sacramento ()
As we’ve heard, all efforts at compromise failed last night in Sacramento, and today the Governor called the legislature back for another special session to deal with the budget shortfall -- now $26 billion, $3 billion more than it was yesterday. We get an update on the impasse and its repercussions.
Guests:
- Anthony York: Editor, Capitol Weekly
- Barbara O'Connor: Director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media, Cal State University Sacramento
- Paul Rogers: Resources and Environment Writer, San Jose Mercury News
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Reporter's Notebook
LA County's Half-Cent Sales Tax Takes Effect ()
Last November, more than two thirds of Los Angeles County voters approved a sales tax increase, which went into effect today. The total is now 9.75% on every dollar. Dan Weikel, who covers transportation for the LA Times, says the additional money is supposed to help fund transportation projects.
Guests:
- Dan Weikel: Transportation Writer, Los Angeles Times
Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
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