Am I missing something?
Today's Wall Street Journal has a lengthy and useful lead article about California's $35 billion budget shortfall and how it happened. Like all articles on this subject, it talks about how California ratcheted up spending during the tech boom and is now facing tough choices.
And also, like all articles on this subject, it makes absolutely no mention of the fact that California spent many billions of its citizens' money during the energy crises of a couple years ago to keep our lights on. As we've learned since, these shortages and price hikes were the direct result of market manipulation by companies, including Enron, that were engaging in fraud.
Why isn't this connection being made? I doubt the energy dollars alone would fill the budget gap but they might have made a significant difference. The silence here remains puzzling.
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