California state government’s bank account has dwindled from a nearly $100 billion surplus 18 months ago to a projected $68 billion deficit. How could that possibly happen? Three reasons: • Sacramento politicians haven’t had the guts to fix a very flawed roller-coaster tax system that generates barrels of revenue in good times but goes bust when the economy sours. • They spend too much money. That’s self-evident. At any rate, they’re spending more than the state is taking in. A lot more. • All that aside, rising interest rates cooled the economy by increasing borrowing costs. That stifled home buying and business expansions,…
