California Pols Get Raise For 'Balancing Budget' - While Deficit's At $127.2 Billion!

California's almost entirely Democrat ruling class just received a 5% raise from a State panel  appointed by Governor Jerry Brown:

A state panel on Wednesday approved a 5% pay raise for Gov. Jerry Brown, legislators and other state elected officials, restoring the salary level they received before it was cut during last year’s budget problems.

The California Citizens Compensation Commission also agreed to increase the state’s contribution to the health benefits of state elected officials by 10%, restoring half of the amount cut in 2009.

The panel’s action boosts the salary of Brown from $165,288 to $173,987 in December, and increases legislators’ pay from $90,520 to $95,291 at the same time. Raises will also be provided to the state attorney general, state treasurer and other constitutional officers.

During the last four years, the commission had cut the pay of 132 elected state officials by 23% in reaction to the recession and its damage to the budget, which resulted in furloughs for rank-and-file state workers.

But commissioners noted Wednesday that the economy has improved, the budget has been balanced with a $1 billion reserve fund, and Brown has offered a 4.5% pay raise phased in over two years to the largest state employee union.

“The governor has done a fantastic job of getting the tax initiative passed and the economic climate, while not completely restored, is on the right trajectory," said Commissioner Wilma Wallace. "And I believe that it is important to acknowledge that the Legislature has stepped up and that they deserve to have the 5% reinstated."

The 'tax initiative', of course was a huge tax increase.

Just one problem, however. The State's independent auditors reveal that the budget isn't balanced at all!

A financial report issued by state auditors finds that the state of California is in the red by an unsustainable $127.2 billion.

The report says that the state’s negative status increased that year, largely because it spent $1.7 billion more than it received in revenues and wound up with an accumulated deficit of just under $23 billion in fiscal year 2011-2012, the Sacramento Bee stated.

Gov. Jerry Brown has referred to the deficit and other budget gaps, mostly money owed to schools, as a “wall of debt” totaling more than $30 billion, the Sacramento Bee reported.

About half of the deficit came from the state issuing general obligation bonds and then giving the money to local governments and school districts for public works projects. The report listed California’s long-term obligations at $167.9 billion, nearly half of which ($79.9 billion) were in general obligation bonds, with another $30.8 billion in revenue bonds, the Sacramento Bee reported.

And the economic climate? Several large cities are in bankruptcy proceedings, the real U6 unemployment rate is around 15%, the state is overrun with illegal aliens and businesses are still moving out of the state at a brisk clip.

As another sign of how 'balanced' the budget is, the state legislature has already started work on destroying Proposition 13, the state initiative passed by Californians back in the 1970's to mandate that the insane property tax increases the state was imposing at that time needed to be limited in scope and passed in the legislature by by a 2/3 majority. Th enew law, already passed in the Asembly will go to the state senate, where it will also likely pass.

Now that California's Democrats effectively own the state, Prop 13 will soon be history, causing the real estate market to dip further as people unload their homes and rental property and flee to other locations.

The idea of awarding these cretins with more money for dismantling the economy of what used to be one of the richest and most prosperous states in the union is beyond ludicrous.