Archive for the ‘budget’ tag
Brown warns of school cuts if taxes rejected (AP)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? California faces a smaller budget deficit in the coming fiscal year but will require nearly $5 billion in cuts to public education if voters reject Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to raise taxes in the fall, the governor said Thursday in releasing its budget proposal for the 2012-13 fiscal year.
The governor’s office projected the state’s budget shortfall for the fiscal year starting July 1 at $9.2 billion, much more manageable than the $26.6 billion deficit the Legislature closed for the current year. Brown said the budget cuts he enacted this year, combined with additional cuts and his call for temporary tax increases in the coming fiscal year will all but end the massive deficits that have defined California’s fiscal planning for years.
He also noted that the state is being helped by an improving economy, which has led to a slight increase in tax revenue.
“We’ve cut the structural deficit substantially, and we now have the possibility of eliminating over the next couple of years the deficits that have plagued California,” he told reporters during an afternoon news conference.
Brown was forced to call the gathering suddenly because his Department of Finance mistakenly posted the budget plan online, four days before the governor had said he would release it.
The governor’s office estimates the total general fund budget for the coming year at $92.5 billion, about $7 billion more than the current year. The general fund pays the day-to-day operations of California government and is where the budget has been in deficit.
To address California’s ongoing shortfall, Brown is trying to gather support for a November ballot initiative that would raise the income tax on those making $250,000 or more a year and boost the state sales tax by a half cent. The higher taxes would raise about $7 billion a year and expire in 2017, a date by which Brown hopes the economy has improved enough to bring a healthy flow of tax revenue back to the state.
If voters reject those tax increases, Brown’s budget says he will call for an automatic cut of $4.8 billion from public education. That is equal to three weeks of school.
Earlier Thursday, Brown told reporters “there’ll be a lot of cuts” if his initiative fails.
“Cuts are never nice, because government does a lot of good things. But we’ll have the tax measure proposal, we’ll have some cuts, and then we’ll have some trigger cuts in the event that the tax measure does not succeed,” he said.
The release of the budget for the coming year comes as California enacts $1 billion in so-called trigger cuts across a wide array of state programs, including higher education, busing for K-12 students and services for the disabled. Those midyear cuts were necessary because tax revenue was coming in much lower than Brown and Democratic lawmakers had anticipated when they passed the current budget last summer.
The Democratic governor said he is willing to call for more automatic cuts if revenue misses the mark again in the current year.
But any cuts the state will make are likely to be felt more deeply than in years past. Since the recession began in 2007, California has seen tax revenue drop $17 billion, necessitating continued cutbacks to nearly all state services.
If voters approve his ballot proposal for higher taxes, Brown will address the $9.2 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year with a near equal balance of spending cuts and revenue increases. If they do not, the state would make $4.8 billion in additional cuts to the K-12 system, $200 million each to the University of California and California State University systems, $125 million to courts and $15 million to state forest fire protection.
Even before voters weigh in on the tax initiative, Brown’s budget includes $4.2 billion in cuts to the state’s welfare-to-work program, Medi-Cal and child care services. He said the cuts to social service programs mean recipients will have the same amount of money in real terms as they did in the 1980s.
“Were making some very painful reductions,” Brown said during the Thursday news conference. “This is not nice stuff.”
Additionally, about 70 of California’s 278 state parks are scheduled to close starting July 1.
The education cuts to be enacted if voters fail to pass the tax increases would undermine Brown’s plans to fully fund public schools and make systematic education reforms.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said he takes issue with Brown’s proposed cuts to welfare and social programs for the poor. He said he wants to wait a few months to see if the economy continues to improve.
“We’re not going to rush to make any of these decisions, especially on the cuts side,” he told reporters right after the governor delivered his budget.
He says teachers and students and needy have been impacted by cuts and believes voters will be supportive of Brown’s tax proposal.
“Enough of bloodletting,” he said.
Brown, who failed to reach a compromise with Republicans last year, indicated he would once again bypass the minority party and pass the bulk of his spending plan with Democratic support.
Jim Nielsen, vice chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, called the governor’s plan of raising taxes “business as usual” by Democrats. The Republican from Gerber criticized the governor for not imposing spending restraints, such as a spending cap.
Brown told reporters last week that he wanted to protect school funding as much as possible and that schools could expect to receive even more money than last year, after several successive years of deep cuts.
Brown said his budget proposal also includes “some bold moves.”
It would provide seed funding for the much-criticized $98 billion high-speed rail line, statewide water projects, greenhouse gas reductions and clean-energy initiatives. The governor said supporting such efforts was crucial to maintain California’s history of innovation.
“This is a strong, confident investment in the future of California,” he said. “This is a state that’s dynamic, it’s creative, and it’s prosperous.”
___
Associated Press writer Juliet Williams contributed to this report.
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Estimating Your House Building Costs | Real Estate
First, you need to count how much square feet your home covers as you will need this detail when you contact a local builder. This is what they ask for as they charge per square foot. They can help with providing you ballpark figure depending on the particulars that you will tell them. It is important that you know what their estimated price includes so that you will be able to determine whether there would be additional expenses that you need to pay.
Second, you need to acknowledge the fact that there are certain parts of house that will cost more such as bathroom and kitchen. This is because of the pertinent details that you need to add into it. Windows can also cause a big dent in the budget especially if you prefer to have many of it. Its size and quality will also have an effect on the cost. You are most likely to have less house building expenses in putting up two-story home. This is because it requires smaller roof, ventilation and plumbing.
Third, when you are drafting your budget, you ought to consider when you would like to start building. If it is still a few years away, you have to allot for the increase in prices of goods. Market conditions may change and inflation is most likely to occur. In addition, you need to add at least 10% of the total cost so that there will be budget for overrun costs.
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Source: http://www.pippacalland.com/estimating-your-house-building-costs/
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How to Obtain Personal Financial Freedom! | National Cash Credit
Personal finance is very important to everyone. That is because, these days everyone is trying to save money and manage his or her resources in the best possible manner. There is plenty of information and a number of products out there that can help you manage your personal finances. You can use financial software for this purpose or get help from financial planners and lawyers.
Personal finance management will help you obtain financial success. Although personal finance management may seem hard to you, it is certainly possible, as long as you follow the following guidelines. Just by following?a few simple steps you will be able to save thousands of dollars and make the best of your financial resources.
First, it is imperative to make a household budget. This budget must also include your yearly bills. It is also important to include your saving objectives as well as retirement funding goals. A household budget helps you have a clear idea of how much you have available to spend. Once you jot down all your expenses in black and white you will be able better understand; how and where you can cut back, what expenses are unavoidable and how much you can potentially save. Not having a written household budget is like driving with a blindfold on and you?ll never get to where you want to go.
Another easy way to personal financial freedom is to use finance software. It helps to save your time as well as energy. You can simply enter the information required by the software and you will be provided with a plan which will help you manage your financial resources in the best possible manner.
Paying your debts should be your first priority. This is for the reason that if you do not pay off your debts you will continue to be entrapped in the vicious circle of interest. Once you are free of your debts you can manage your credit cards in a better way so that you do not have to continue paying heavy interests forever.
Another way to manage your personal finance is to get insurance. It can save you from heavy medical bills in case you or your family member encounters an accident or have to be admitted to the hospital in case of any serious ailments. Having insurance will help you to manage your expenses and save you from unexpected bills that can ruin your budget. This way you will be able to secure your future as well as your family. As always, National Cash Credit?s?priority is educating our customers on ways to gain financial freedom from debt ? with knowledge being the most powerful tool we have access to, sharing knowledge benefits everyone!
Source: http://www.nationalcashcredit.com/Blog/?p=1574
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