The State Of California 's Financial Report

This case study will assess the government of Florida, a state government. It will touch on several important issues such as providing a general overview of how the government functions and what resources it provides, as well as some current issues the State of Florida is facing in government administration. Because the State of Florida is a state government, it tends to “resemble the national government in composition and organization of their executive branch agencies” (Milakovich, 2013, p. 21).

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) is a report used by cities, and local governments to provide the public with their financial records each year, while adhering to government accounting standards board (GASB) guidelines. The report presents a comprehensive picture of the reporting entity’s financial condition, it provides how funds are spent and allocated throughout the year.

A fiscal deficit is when a government's total expenditures exceed the tax revenues that it generates. A budget deficit can be cut by either reducing public expenditure or raising taxes. In this essay, I am going to analyse the benefits and costs of increasing tax rates to reduce fiscal deficits instead of cutting government expenditure.

Overspending is a pertinent problem facing the lawmakers in Congress. In 2012 discretionary spending reached $1.3 trillion and mandatory spending $2 trillion, while only bringing in $2.5 trillion in revenue. Since the turn of the century back in 2000, non-mandatory spending by the government has topped out a whopping $16.1 trillion just in the past 13 years (Boccia, Frasser & Goff 2013). This persistent overspending on programs and services that are not necessary to the functionality of the country is what is causing the deficit to rise year after year. To remedy this issue the government must either increase the revenue it brings in through taxes and trade or reduce the amount of money it spend or perhaps even both. In 2012 thirty-one cents of every dollar that Washington spent was borrowed (Boccia, Frasser & Goff 2013). Most of which went to large programs such as Social Security and Medicare and if these large, growing programs, or just the budget in general, do not undergo financial reform it could spell disaster for the economy and fiscal state of the nation.

The budget for the city of San Clemente has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards from the Government Finance Officers Association for the past 17 years. Not surprisingly, considering those honors, the city's budget is organized in a manner largely consistent with the guidelines we have learned in this course.

The federal budget deficit is a much discussed and little understood subject in American politics. The current recession has dramatically decreased tax revenues, driving the United States federal government to increase spending in an attempt to stabilize the economy. As a result the current federal deficit is at over $1.3 trillion dollars. This is approximately $47,754 per U.S. citizen or $137,552 per U. S. taxpayer (U.S. Debt Clock: Real Time, 2012).

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) that our team chose to analyze is for the State of Ohio. The CAFR is for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2006. The information that was reviewed for the CAFR budget analysis was: the population, the State of Ohio’s governmental structure, the size of the budget and its interrelationship with the CAFR, major industries located in the entity, and other pertinent demographic information.

The first chapter of the book is an introduction to the economy, politics and people of California. It encompasses the economy, politics and demography of the state for the past, present and the future. The edition features updated demographic information of the state from the census that took place in 2010. The chapter explains the state’s transition from colonization to rebellion and statehood. It discusses California’s past, including the great depression, political turmoil, infrastructure, workingmen’s party and World War II. The growth, reform and progressive change of the state to what it is today is also highlighted in the book. California previously faced budget deficits

For an extended period, state and local policymakers and labor unions ignored as the growing public pension obligations became an increasingly fiscal burden. The pension problem was enormous and associated with irresponsible financial practices connected to defined benefit pension plans (Thompson, 1980). Following this, the state of California and its local government have a problem of unfunded public pension liabilities that was estimated to be around $583 billion. Because of this, as Lu and Otto (2003) claim, several cities in the state have had a difficult duty of balancing budgets in a balanced way to the public employees and taxpayers, while continuing to provide public services to the

Debt.” 21). In other words, at least one-fifth of tax money did not bring US citizens any benefits. Besides, less capital is available for the federal government to invest in the

Federal spending is a controversial topic due especially to the growing budget deficit. Millions of American citizens pay taxes each year helping to fund the Federal Budget. Although American citizens’ tax dollars are spent by the Federal Budget, how the resources are divided and spent are not always a proper reflection of how society wants the resources to be allocated. In 2013, Washington spent nearly $3.5 trillion, while only collecting $2.8 in revenue, adding billions to the budget deficit. Where do these tax dollars go? Approximately, 23% was spent on health care such as Medicare, 22% on Social Security, 19% on national defense, 19% on

As mentioned by Thompson (2010), in the Associated Press, “Lawmakers bridged a $19 billion shortfall, more than 20 percent of the $87.5 billion general fund spending plan”. This shows that the state was heading towards a financial crisis and more deficit creation. Moreover, Thompson (2010), in the Associated Press also points out that “It includes no tax or fee increases but uses a combination of cuts, funding shifts, delayed corporate tax breaks and assumptions about money the state hopes to receive”. The budget gave rise to other dependent costs such as delayed tax refunds. It was uncertain that the State will receive the required funds from the federal government to ensure that the important programs will function the way it used to be until the funds are received.

The city of Salinas has historically faced insufficient revenue to pay for the services the community needs. According to Councilwomen Craig, the city made an important decision to make the budget more efficient, use grant dollars wisely, and increase partnerships among private and non-profit organizations. The city’s total proposed FY 2014-2015 operating budget totals to $135,075,500, which is a .15% decrease primarily due to the rising cost of health insurance and workers compensation. Ninety three percent of the cities revenue comes from seven major revenue sources: property tax, sales tax, Measure V, utility users tax, franchise fees, business license tax, and building permits/plan check fees. 
In order to examine closely the changes that have caused continual decreases in the total city budget, it is important to not only examine the major revenue sources, but also examine some of the minor contributors. Revenues, such as recreational fees and vehicle fines that impact residents, are important to view in order to determine fluctuations from year to year. In order to gather the needed information to make a clear determination of the city’s budget, it is important to examine other similar cities such as Ontario, Corona and Escondido. All of these cities have an average population size of 153,000, which would help determine

Palomar Health is one of the largest health care districts located in California around San Diego Counties. Palomar Health operates three hospitals, in addition to home health care, surgery, skilled nursing, ambulatory care, behavioral health services, wound care, and community health education programs. This paper will analyze Palomar Health’s financial statement from fiscal years following 2012 to 2015. An in dept analysis of the Consolidated Statement of revenue, expenses, and changes in net position will be examined to better understand the organizations standings of their financial outcomes for those following years (McIntosh L. 2015).

The purpose of this report is to determine if the government is acting fairly in its taxation of the American population, and to point out the waste in government spending. In an article published November 1995, an unknown author explained the need for government "revenue" by defending what the revenue supplies for the people. In America we live within a free enterprise society. A free enterprise system is based on the idea of competition is good and that only the most efficient businesses will survive. The free enterprise system works with the idea that the consumer is somewhat knowledgeable about the products they buy. However, in today's modern world the consumer cannot be always be expected to make an informed decision about something. This is where federal laws are put in place to protect the interest of the public. Examples of such laws are regulations covering quality and safety of home