Budget Makers Banked On Stock Market

A large part of California´s $23.6 billion budget deficit can be blamed on a drop in the stock market. The state was counting on taxing money reaped by a steadily rising stock market. The state Department of Finance says an estimated $17.3 billion, or 75% of the budget gap, was supposed to come from about five percent of the state´s taxpayers expected to cash in on higher stock prices.