Less than a year ago, California faced a $15.7 billion budget shortfall, and cities were declaring bankruptcy. The unruly, Democrat-led legislature couldn't come up with enough votes to raise taxes. The future looked so dire that some professors at public universities were told they'd probably have to start projecting tests onto classroom walls because money for copy paper was running out. Then on Jan. 10 of this year, Governor Jerry Brown announced the unthinkable: The state's budget was finally in the black-and not by virtue of accounting tricks or heavy borrowing. "We're talking about living within our means," Brown said at a press conference.
展开▼
