What happens when you hire a big time action star for the lead role in the state government? Well, amidst a boatload of really awesome shootouts, explosions, and public works projects, you’re probably going to go slightly over budget, even if James Cameron isn’t directing.

That’s the issue facing the State of California (or Cal-uh-four-nee-uh) and the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, where combination of the current economic downturn and prolonged legislative budget tinkering has put the State’s financial matters in a state of flux.

As early as next week, the state might have to stop production on an abundance of road and bridge projects– not to mention that scene where Arnold and the latest terminator have an all out battle that destroys those road and bridge projects– due to lack of funds. It’s predicted that by March of 2009, The Golden State won’t be so golden, as they won’t even have enough money to carry out day to day operations.

While the state’s budget gap isn’t the biggest it has faced, it has proved increasingly difficult for the state to rely on private lenders to bail them out of their financial woes even after promising them an Executive Producer credit. Credit Analysts blame the crisis not on California’s economy, but on the unrealistic nature of past budgets, and the fact that the State has relied on lenders to rectify their deficit instead of actually coming up with a sensible budget and sticking to it.