California governor would slash 10,000 vacant state jobs to help close $27.6 billion deficit

livemint.com:

$38 billion deficit in January, driven by declining revenues. Days later, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office said the deficit was actually $58 billion when including some reductions in public education spending. State officials needed a big rebound in tax collections to improve things, but it hasn't happened.

Through the end of April, state tax collections from its three biggest sources — personal income, corporations and sales — dropped more than $6 billion below the previous estimate. That means the deficit has likely gotten larger, and Newsom will have to propose more ways to fix it. This is the second year in a row California has had a deficit, and so far the state has avoided the most painful cuts to major ongoing programs and services.

Instead, Newsom and lawmakers have slashed one-time spending, delayed other spending and borrowed from other accounts. A bigger deficit could force tougher choices. In January, Newsom floated the possibility of delaying a minimum wage increase for health care workers that Newsom signed into law to much fanfare just last year.

“We still have a shortfall. We will manage it and we’ll manage it, yes, without general tax increases," Newsom said on Wednesday during an event held by the California Chamber of Commerce. “We’re not just going to try to solve for this year.

I want to solve for next year. I think it’s too important. We have got to be more disciplined." State budgeting is a guessing game, particularly in California, where a progressive tax system means the state gets the bulk of its tax collections from rich people.