California new projected deficit = $21 billion

Good job reining in the budget there Cali. Maybe you should raise taxes more to fill the budget gap.

Less than four months after California leaders stitched together a patchwork budget, a projected deficit of nearly $21 billion already looms, according to a report to be released Wednesday by the state's chief budget analyst. The new figure -- the nonpartisan analyst's first projection for the coming budget year -- threatens to send Sacramento back into budgetary gridlock and force more across-the-board cuts in state programs. The grim forecast, described by people who were briefed on the report by Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, comes courtesy of California's recession-wracked economy, unrealistic budgeting assumptions, spending cuts tied up in the courts and disappearing federal stimulus funds. "Economic recovery will not take away the very severe budget problems for this year, next year and the year after," said Steve Levy, director of the Center For Continuing Study of the California Economy.