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The Terminator's Panic

Published: Friday, October 3, 2008 9:28 AM PDT



I don't mean to sound alarmist but if you know or care anything about government finances this article in today's Los Angeles Times might terrify you.

The lede:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, alarmed by the ongoing national financial crisis, warned Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson on Thursday that the state might need an emergency loan of as much as $7 billion from the federal government within weeks.

And, why we all might need to worry:

The state of California is the biggest of several governments nationwide that are being locked out of the bond market by the global credit crunch. If the state is unable to access the cash, administration officials say, payments to schools and other government entities could quickly be suspended and state employees could be laid off.

Plans by several state and local governments to borrow in recent days have been upended by the credit freeze. New Mexico was forced to put off a $500-million bond sale, Massachusetts had to pull the plug halfway into a $400-million offering, and Maine is considering canceling road projects that were to be funded with bonds.

Read the rest of the latest good news from Wall Street. It's ironic that for four years, the city of San Diego has done nothing if not try to prove to Wall Street that it is credit worthy. Now, just as it comes close to proving it finally, Wall Street is showing signs that it might not have any credit to offer.

-- SCOTT LEWIS




10 Comments so far on this story...

So the Hollywood actor wants the federal government to increase the national deficit by printing up more worthless money to bail him and the incompetent state legislature out of the fiscal mess they've maneuvered us into. Its like its a spoiled kid with his folks credit card who has been told he's run it up over its limit. He's no better than George W. Bush, who has pushed the federal deficit up over $10 TRILLION. When will Arnold and the rest of the politicians learn that we have to live within our means, and stop congratulating themselves for passing budgets based on even more bonds and borrowing. Its time that everyone tightened their belts and actually balance their budgets, including California's.

Posted by Watcher | reply to this comment
October 3, 2008 9:20 am

Very Strange. I would think there is some easy money to be made here.

Posted by daveg | reply to this comment
October 3, 2008 10:03 am

Very Strange. I would think there is some easy money to be made here.

Posted by daveg | reply to this comment
October 3, 2008 10:03 am

The problem is that over the last eight years the cost of living has almost tripled while the average total wage & compensation levels of the American Worker have decreases by some 500 dollars a year - over that same span of time. The Average American working family can no longer make the credit maintenance payments required to continue the increases of total debt needed to generate growth in debt based economy; we have reached the limits of our credit expansion. Because the workers are not making enough money to live, they had to go deeper and deeper into debt to pay the costs of living. Unless greater amounts of credit debt are made available to the Average American, while the total cost of that debt and all new debt - at a static level or a decreasing repayment level, credit expansion can not continue... end of story.

Posted by Gregory | reply to this comment
October 3, 2008 10:45 am

Right, and the Mayor of the City of San Diego follows suit, ignoring the 'Financial Crisis' he continues to 'give away City Real Estate assets'; refuses to demand that 'Development pay for the Infrastructure it Requires' (including water, against State LAW); promises Redevelopment bond funds to Developers and High Returns to Investors from all over the World while they steal from the Public (eminent domain & kicking out retirees) and ruin the Paradise that once was..WHEN will San Diegans get 'SMART' and Get Rid of these 'Short Term Profiteers?' Doesn't this sound more like Dictatorship or Communism? Wake Up People, YOU are in Control, and You Don't Have to Wait til November!

Posted by Wide Awake | reply to this comment
October 3, 2008 11:42 am

"Make $32K? You're in the richer 50%" link "While the top 1% of US earners, collectively, make nearly twice that of the bottom 50%, those at the top also pay 13 times more in individual income taxes combined." Tell you what, if I were part of that 1% of Americans making more than a 250,000 dollars a year, I would be more than happy to pay the same tax rates I am paying today. Of course "more in total tax" 1% of 100 million dollars is much more than 50% of 32,000 dollars! Yet the wealthy elite in American seem to demand that that they only pay the exact some dollar amount as our working families – 50% of whom are making 32,000 dollars or less? 20% flat tax + no loopholes = National debt woudl be paid in 5 years.

Posted by Iknowtodd | reply to this comment
October 3, 2008 11:54 am

The governor saw the writing on the wall and knew the crooks in washington would pass the PORK bailout so he wanted to put his hand out first. Why be last when you have $700 billion to work with. Maybe if the state lived within its means this wouldn't be an issue. Whoops, slipped into fantasy land for a minute...

Posted by Brian R Marvel | reply to this comment
October 3, 2008 11:57 am

The governor we have today leaded us deeper into debt - faster than they have today leaded any governor of California in history into debt -. We, the state of California have what - a 15 billion dollar deficit this year? Moreover, it seems we must have another 7 Billion just to keep this 'haus' of cards afloat. link link link So exactly how was Gray's tax and pay as you go, worse than our current governor's policy (and National policy as well) of borrow and spend now - pay later much much much later? In addition, they still talk about how luck we will be when we get access and go even deeper into debt, like that will somehow make everything better. Here is a hint – the deeper into debt you go the larger percentage of the next years and all future years revenue much be spend simply on making the debt maintenance payments on all that DEBT.

Posted by Iknowtodd | reply to this comment
October 3, 2008 1:44 pm

If California is so broke, maybe a cut on expenses is a place to start? How much did it cost us to send Jim Maddafer to Sacramento to witness the signing of this years budget by Schwarzenegger? Now, was that necessary? Our government officials should be thinking about every penny they spend or authorize to spend. Wasteful! Shameful!

Posted by Norman | reply to this comment
October 4, 2008 6:30 am

Seems California pays some 8 billion dollars a year - the total cost of incarcerations. It also appears that first time drug/non-violent crimes offenders make-up some 50% of our current prison populations. During the 1970’s compulsory rehabilitation (deprogramming) of first time drug/non-violent offenders was about 80% effective. 8 out of 10 first time drug/non-violent offenders would not only not repeating the offences that landed them in prison – they were never again entering the California Prison Systems. If compulsory rehabilitations programs were to be reintroduced into our industrial prison complex (state wide) we would likely see a 30% decrease of our prison population the first five years and a decrease of some 50% decrease over the next 3 years. Rough estimates, for sure; for more accurate forecasts full data access would be needed, the powerful and influential researcher, somewhere, have that level of access. Worth a try?

Posted by Iknowtodd | reply to this comment
October 10, 2008 8:23 am


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Scott Lewis on Politics

The Scott Lewis on Politics blog, abbreviated cleverly as SLOP, is a collection of observations, insights and the occasional scoop on public affairs in San Diego. Please feel free to e-mail Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.


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