When first coming into office in 2010, Governor Brown faced budget shortfalls upwards of $20 billion. In just three years, the state “…has reached a point where its underlying expenditures and revenues are roughly in balance,” according to the non-partisan LAO. Furthermore, Gov. Brown is projecting a $1 billion surplus for the coming year.

Is this significant improvement in the state’s finances a mirage or is ti real?

HD Palmer, the Deputy Director of External Affairs at the California Department of Finance; Mac Taylor, leader of the State’s non-partisan LAO; veteran political columnist Dan Walter of the Sacramento Bee; and John Myers, Political Editor for News 10 in Sacramento, comment on this episode of the Maddy Report.

Commentary provided by Jeff Cummins, CSU Fresno Political Science professor; Bill McEwan, columnist for the Fresno Bee; and Jeff Michael, Director of the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center.

ORIGINAL AIR DATE: JANUARY 29, 2013

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