[All] of the versions of the budget, including the semi-final one unveiled this week, would fill the gaps for another year with payment deferrals, loans, accounting gimmicks and raids on reserves meant to cushion the effects of genuine emergencies. Direct and indirect loans to the general fund budget come from special funds set aside for specific purposes, and after three years of deficit spending the state has accumulated many billions of dollars of internal debt that will have to be repaid sometime. The accounting gimmickry takes several forms, such as delaying $2.3 billion in support payments to community colleges and local school systems that are due in June 2026 until a month later, thus shifting them from one fiscal year to another. Officials call such maneuvers “solutions,” but they don’t solve anything. They merely stave off the day of reckoning when officialdom runs out of tricks. That day will probably come after Newsom has left the governorship and is, perhaps, running for president.