Mr Schwarzenegger ... money we don't have. Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli SAN FRANCISCO: California's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, said he will shut state government offices on the first three Fridays of every month and declared a fiscal emergency, forcing politicians into a special session to tackle the state's growing deficit. The legislature's failure to fix the budget before the fiscal year began on July 1 pushed the size of the spending gap to more than $US26 billion ($32 billion) from $US24 billion, Mr Schwarzenegger said. Without a revised budget in place, California's top finance officials say the state can't secure a loan it needs to pay bills until the bulk of its tax collections arrive later in the budget year. The Chief Financial Officer, John Chiang, has said such a borrowing would be too costly, and potentially... [read full story]
