On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:41:49 -0800, Gunner
wrote:
snip
This hardly means Cali is on the verge of Bankruptcy

When revenues slow down, one has to back off on their extravagant life
style. Eat at Micky Ds rather than Haute Cusine.
snip
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Let us hope that this is the case. As I indicated before
California is not unique, just first, and thus she is the "canary
in the coal mine" for the rest of the country.

I would feel a lot better if this were a one-time situation
rather than a chronic condition, where the constitutional
prohibitions on debt and deficits have been systematically
evaded. Note that this applies to all US states and most US
municipalities, not just California. For some insight click on
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=ajdL7eUHeUro

More information continues to surface about governmental bond
downgrades, even at the national level.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fcc631cc-bfe...nclick_check=1
"The US is at risk of losing its top-notch triple-A credit rating
within a decade unless it takes radical action to curb soaring
healthcare and social security spending, Moody's, the credit
rating agency, said yesterday.

The warning over the future of the triple-A rating - granted to
US government debt since it was first assessed in 1917 - reflects
growing concerns over the country's ability to retain its
financial and economic supremacy."
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Given the universal tendency for governments world-wide to borrow
to the point of collapse, is there some sort of economic or
social "entropy" at work? Even unequivocal constitutional
prohibitions on deficits and debt seem to have little to no
effect. Does anyone have some suggestions, or is governmental
debt something like aging, i.e. an inevitable part of life?

other items of interest include
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/bu...gewanted=print
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...0,227997.story
http://financialservices.law360.com/...x%3fId%3d43793