Grim talk on budget picture

Jerry Brown said at today's town hall on education that, "We've been living in fantasy land. It is much worse than I thought. I'm shocked." Treasurer Bill Lockyer said, "So far, I've heard good ideas about how to spend more money. Great. It ain't there. It's time to make cuts, I believe deep cuts." This was a jarring comment to some educators in the audience who have seen more than their share of cuts - and a signal that the Brown administration was prepared to submit an extremely painful budget proposal early next year. Of course, all this is prologue - the big questions are whether the legislature is willing to sign off on a further slashing of services, and whether tax increases will be politically palatable. I'm doubtful on both counts, though the sands do appear to be shifting. From the LAT:

Gov.-elect Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he wants to complete a budget agreement within two months, an accelerated timeline that would allow a late-spring special election for potential tax increases or other revenue generation. "I'm going to try to get the budget agreements done within about 60 days. I don't think we have a lot of time to waste," he said.