California's Tax Takers Await Day-by-Day Updates of Tax Proceeds

There's an interesting article in the L.A. Times about the hundreds of workers in Sacramento who are busy during tax season opening and sorting taxpayer checks.  The article had this gem of a paragraph:

Every afternoon for a few weeks in April, as Californians pay their state taxes, a courier ferries them [taxpayer checks] to eight banks to nourish the money-hungry government.  Meanwhile, lobbyists, lawmakers and activists — people whose jobs hinge on this seemingly mundane process — huddle by their computers and wait for the daily tally, which they'll tweet and email like the play-by-play of a championship game. By the end of the month, state accountants will add up the money and hope there's enough to cover expenses.

So far, the legislative analyst's office predicts the state will be about $2 billion short of projected revenues.