State coffers filling up

I suppose it's good news that General Fund revenues last month were $1.28 billion higher than expected, with personal income taxes, corporate taxes and sales taxes all bringing in more money than had been forecast. Maybe consumers are starting to spend and maybe the federal stimulus is having some effect. But nothing substantive has really changed - the state's cash position will still fall below safe levels this spring and will still go into the red this summer. "The State cannot be lulled into a false sense of security," said Controller John Chiang. "Our chronic budget shortfalls require credible and sustainable fixes in order to protect taxpayers, local governments, and state funded programs." Here's the January cash report.