Newsworthy in Sacramento

With hard economic times looming for just about everyone on the planet, things just got a little bit tougher for those of us living in the state of California. On Jan. 25, 2009, the Sacramento Bee reported that state Controller John Chiang's recent statements suggest that the state may have to resort to issuing IOUs in lieu of payment to many of the businesses it receives goods and services from.

While those of us in the 'real' world would have to declare bankruptcy in order to bailout of our financial woes, the state government has the luxury of issuing IOUs to its creditors. Really? In a time where California is arguably the most powerful state in the union, and it's thinking that it may have to resort to IOUs to perform its basic functions, what does that mean to those of us that are still trying to eke out a decent existence?

There is close to $3.7 billion in monies owed to college students who rely on financial aid, county public assistance programs, as well as the myriad companies that do business with the state on a daily basis, that could essentially be cut off in an instant. These are just not dollars we are talking about, we're talking about real people here. Local, hard-working people that are just trying to hold onto what they have in these economically uncertain times.

Chiang regretfully puts this out on the table as the state's only option to be able continue to operate. Is this yet another indication of the tougher times that await Californians in the coming year?