A Father’s Estate (A Parable)

A family grew up on a beautiful estate that had been in the family for generations. It was acquired a few acres at a time over many years by the hard work and efforts of the father’s forebears.

The father passed and his children lived in the mansion. They put caretakers in charge of everything, and went off to eat, drink and be merry. The caretakers lived in mansion and used the property as if it was their own, but they didn’t maintain it. They didn’t adequately protect home and grounds from the vermin that had run roughshod over the neighbors’ homes.

They also mortgaged the property and spent the money on their own pleasures. The children grew concerned and began to examine things. By the time they discovered the termites, the structure of the mansion was beyond repair. It would have to be burned to the ground, all the debris removed, and rebuilt from the foundation.

But as it appeared that the creditors might seize the property, the future of the great estate, and the father’s children, was very much in question.

California Ends Budget Impasse with Agreement to Borrow More

Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. Bloomberg reports:

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and top lawmakers came up with a compromise to close a $19.1 billion deficit and give the state a budget, ending a record three-month impasse with a vote expected next week on the spending plan.

The accord doesn’t raise taxes, as sought by Democrats, nor does it dismantle the state’s welfare system, proposed by Republicans, the leaders said yesterday. Schwarzenegger and the Democratic and Republican heads of the Senate and the Assembly, known as the Big Five, came to the agreement after a final five- hour
negotiating session in the governor’s Sacramento office...

...Passage of the plan would clear the way for Treasurer Bill Lockyer to borrow about $10 billion on Wall Street by issuing short-term notes needed to pay bills until tax revenue comes in later in the year...