CA budget showdown awaits

Brace yourself for some monster cuts on Friday when the governor releases his May budget revision. Actually, the picture is even worse than expected because of the April shortfall in tax revenue. From the Sacramento Bee:

"What you can expect generally is no taxes and terrible cuts, absolutely terrible cuts," said Schwarzenegger press secretary Aaron McLear. "We're not going to get through the deficit we have without some really tough decisions and some really terrible cuts."

The feds aren't providing anywhere near the $7 billion that Schwarzenegger was hoping for, and in an election year there's zero chance that's he'll sign off on any tax increases.

"The most likely outcome is a stalemate," said J.B. Mitchell, a UCLA professor emeritus of public policy and management. "The magnitude of the problem is large and they have to make some pretty drastic cuts. One way or another, it's going to be a painful episode. It's hard for me to see how you get a two-thirds vote for a tax increase in a gubernatorial (election) year."