Which Way, L.A.?
Breaking California's Bank
Barring a political miracle, California will be paying bills with IOU's starting tomorrow. The Governor's ordered a third furlough day every month for state workers and another legislative session. Is there an end in sight? 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.
By Warren Olney • • 54m ListenIt'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?
In this episode
3 storiesWill 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.
Read the story28 minToday'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.
Read the story18 minLA 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.
Read the story8 min
