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California Faces $16bn Shortfall

Governor says cuts to safety, schools may be made.

Taxes will have to increase or cuts will be made to fill the $16 billion hole in California’s budget, Gov. Jerry Brown said Saturday. “This means we will have to go much farther and make cuts far greater than I asked for at the beginning of the year,” Brown said, as the state struggles to make up shortfalls in taxed income. In the online video, the governor appealed directly to the state’s taxpayers, saying that “we can’t fill this hole with cuts alone without doing severe damage to our schools.” Republican state lawmakers argued against the governor’s plan, saying that the state would be better served by leaving taxpayers alone and allowing the economy to grow.