(Mrs. Governator in her SUV on her cell phone.)

Hi Tom-

You might remember that The Abyss was a little skeptical about the Governator’s claims of solving Cali’s budget crisis. And maybe you recall that the state issued IOUs instead of actual payment to many of its (now mostly bankrupt) vendors. Well, it turns out that nagging little issue of the state essentially heading for a total shutdown seems to have re-emerged even quicker that many anticipated.»

“California’s finances have been so bad that the governor’s finance director, Mike Genest, told a budget forum in Washington last week that back in February he had combed through the U.S. Constitution to research whether California could legally declare bankruptcy — or revert to some kind of territorial status. (Neither was realistic, he determined.”

Seems bad, sure. But if we just keep hiking tuition on all the kids who are the state’s future it should all work out fine. That’s if there aren’t any university riots (which The Abyss says is a lock for 2010).»

Fears for the Future of the University of California

The University of California system has long been one of the gems of American education — a first-rate research university that was one of the most affordable in the country. But it’s future is uncertain,  Tamar Lewin reports.

On Thursday, the university’s Board of Regents voted to raise fees for undergraduates — equivalent to tuition — by 32 percent. That means students will be paying more than $10,000 a year, about three times as much as they did a decade ago.

Students staged demonstrations to protest the tuition increase. But for the faculty, and for many in the state who are concerned about education, the larger issue is the quality of the university and its reputation in the wake of an $813 million budget cut.

And that seems bad, too, Tom. But the good news is that Cali remains the nation’s trend-setting state, by remaining one of the country’s frontrunners in foreclosures, bankruptcy and unemployment.»

California unemployment rate hits 12.5 percent

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says California was one of 29 states reporting unemployment rate increases. Only three states - Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island - had higher rates than California last month.

The rate is just slightly higher than September, when officials reported a jobless rate of 12.2 percent. It was 8 percent a year ago.

The national unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October.

Anyhoo, Tom, it all seems good for 2010. Thank God for the stimulus, the bankster bailouts, the cash for clunkers, houses, gold, etc. and most of all the war in Afghanistan. Where would the world be without the fine work of the .gov?

Big California Dreamin’ Hugs,

The Abyss