The Great Debate UK

from The Great Debate:

California, harbinger of hard U.S. choices

-- James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own --

California's fiscal train wreck should be watched warily by investors in U.S. Treasuries; as the start of a trend among states seeking bailouts, as a source of pressure on Federal funds and as a harbinger of hard choices at national level.

California voters last week rejected a finance bolstering proposal, setting the stage for billions of dollars worth of  cuts in services, layoffs and a shortened school year.

It also leaves the state with a budget shortfall of more than $21 billion, an exacerbated seasonal revenue shortfall and a fragile reputation in the bond market.

These are just about the last things a state needs when unemployment is high and recession is deep, but California is trapped between its own high cost base, bond investors unwilling to give it the benefit of the doubt and a Federal government that is loath to play Santa Claus. Of the three, the last is most likely to give way, and if the U.S. does widen the bailout it is already giving to states it will have potentially profound consequences.