In keeping with his aggressive persona, the Governator has ensured that California is the first state in line at the Treasury Trough. He might just get it too, as King Hank is much like a Financial Terminator himself these days since he alone now decides one's financial survival. With the California budget decimated, rest assured that budgets in Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and soon New York won't be far behind. Just take a number and how about those municipalities?

Hank is the man to please - VHF

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Arnold Wants Your Money

October 3, 2008 – 9:52 am

Rolfe Winkler

Now California needs a bailout:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, alarmed by the ongoing national financial crisis, warned Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson on Thursday that the state might need an emergency loan of as much as $7 billion from the federal government within weeks.

The warning comes as California is close to running out of cash to fund day-to-day government operations and is unable to access routine short-term loans that it typically relies on to remain solvent.

The article warns that if Cali can’t access short-term lending markets, state employees may have to be laid off. God forbid.

It’s ironic that Schwarzenegger made this bailout request in a letter urging the passage of the $700 billion bailout. CA is the epicenter of the housing crisis and much of the toxic paper Paulson will buy with his new authority will be from California. It takes a bit of chutzpah to ask for two bailouts at once.

And what if Treasury lends to California? What about all the other state governments that face funding problems?

Plans by several state and local governments to borrow in recent days have been upended by the credit freeze. New Mexico was forced to put off a $500-million bond sale, Massachusetts had to pull the plug halfway into a $400-million offering, and Maine is considering canceling road projects that were to be funded with bonds.

Does everybody who’s short of cash get a loan?

P.s. In case you missed it, automakers already secured their $25 billion federal credit line.

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