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Task Force Says California's Finances Unsustainable

Creative Commons licensed from Flickr user Glenngould
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/for_tea_too/1957375742/

A non-partisan State Budget Crisis Task Force is recommending that California develop a two-year spending plan. The report released today called the state’s current financial structure unsustainable.

A two-year spending plan is just one of the recommendations. The report also says the state should consider ways to broaden the tax base while lowering rates, and rethink retiree pensions and health care. David Crane is a member of the task force board of advisors and a former aide to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He says the state’s lack of financial reporting or transparency in how it spends well over $200 billion is a huge concern.

“Legislatures and citizens both are flying blind and they’re making decisions without knowledge, and that’s very dangerous, especially for future generations.”

The task force says the state has a history of fiscal decision-making that favors short term goals over long term growth and stability. The group was led by former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.