Nearly doubling from $9 billion to $16 billion in recent years, the California deficit is making many officials uneasy, including Governor Jerry Brown, who is pushing a ballot measure that would raise taxes to help offset what many are calling California’s budget crisis. Brown warns that if the tax increase is not passed, it may mean that important social programs, such as education, will need to be cut dramatically, at great detriment to the state and its citizens.

Under the proposal that Brown has endorsed, taxes would be raised slightly for a limited window of time, during which he hopes the increased state revenue will reverse the trend of growing debt, although he says that this measure alone will not reverse or entirely fix the state’s financial woes. Under the plan, sales tax will rise from 7.25% to 7.5% and individuals making more than $250,000 (or households making over $500,00) can expect their income tax to go up by about 3 percent. These changes will be implemented for less than 10 years under the currently proposed measure.

Lawmakers on the other side of the aisle appose the Democrat-backed initiative, saying it will slow the state’s economic recovery and proposing that cuts are a more viable and realistic solution to the budget crisis.

The initial set of poll numbers suggest that the ballot initiative will pass with wide public support, thought the final vote is not guaranteed and it remains to be seen what solution will fall into place for California as politicians and the public work together to move the deficit, and economy, back in the right direction.

In recent days, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has both pushed and backed off on a plan that would limit the fees imposed on credit card holders by credit car companies.

The limit under discussion would change the way existing fees are limited. Under current law, credit card companies are only allowed to charge fees totaling less than 25% of a cardholder’s credit limit in the first year the account is open, but this limit does not include feeds issued up front when the card is opened, but before it has been used.

The policy suggested by the Bureau would have included these costs in the total fees in order to protect consumers further by keeping their total fees—including those up front costs—under twenty five perfect of the card’s limit. However, after pressure from the card companies and conservative politicians, the agency has backed off, in a move it acknowledges will hurt consumers and empower credit card companies to continue taking advantage of what many consider to be a “loophole” in the protection provision.

Credit card fee limits are amongst other considerations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in recent months, with other efforts being concentrated on the mortgage industry and debt collection agencies. The Bureau was created after the debt crisis revealed the failure of the government and corporations to take necessary steps to inform and protect consumers with regard to policies and fees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is hoping to add debt collectors and credit bureaus to the list of financial entities that they are allowed to monitor and supervise in-person.

Debt collection agencies and credit bureaus will join the ranks of payday lenders, mortgage financers and student loan lending companies if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is able to gain purview over them. The agency is also responsible for overseeing the financial ethics of large American-based corporations and bank practices.

The justification for adding debt collectors to the entities overseen is that consumers aren’t given their choice of debt collection agency when they find themselves in a financial bind—a situation that opens the door to potentially abusive or unfair practices toward consumers on the part of the collection agencies. The Bureau seeks to oversee the practices of debt collectors to ensure a fair debt collection process that is in accordance with federal laws and regulations.

Although banks have received direct, in-person oversight for decades, this will be the first time the debt-collection industry will face similar accountability from the federal government.

America rounded out 2010 with $800 billion in credit card debt, and this year we came pretty close—holding a whopping $798 billion in debt at the end of 2011. Where did Americans spend all that money? It’s become clear as analysts look at the unexpectedly high Black Friday and holiday sales that holiday shoppers stretched their budgets just a little too thing this season, spending over $52 billion in credit card sales during Black Friday weekend alone and surged by $20.4 billion in November.

Although these numbers seem high, the data for December has not yet been released. Considering the strong sales season retailers had, it will come as no surprise when December credit card debt looks similarly grim.

What’s making people feel so free to put purchases onto credit cards? Curtis Arnold of CardRatings.com told Time Magazine that one major factor is promotions form credit card companies that offer 0% APR for a limited time, temping consumers into using charge because there’s less immediate risk of penalty. However, he warns, when these promotional rates start to expire, it’s going to be a rude surprise for card holders who will quickly see interest charges adding up and their credit score going down.

If you’ve received a collection call recently, you either know why you’re getting it—because you have unpaid debt that you know about—or you have no idea why those insanely insistent people keep bugging you. Did you know that even if you’re financially responsible and don’t know of any outstanding debt, you can still receive collection calls that require action? The worst thing you can do is ignore a collection call, whether you’re expecting it or not.

When you get a call from someone claiming to be a collection agent, you should do several things to ensure your financial security.

First, verify that the caller is from a legitimate collection company. Ask what company they’re calling from and if you can call them back later that day. Take down a number where they can be reached and write down their company name. Search online to verify that both the company and phone number are legitimate before giving out any personal information.

If they are not legitimate, you should report them to the FCC and ignore future calls. If you confirm that they are legitimate, you need to call them back as soon as possible to investigate why they are calling you. If you have outstanding debt that you know about, the collection agency can talk to you about payment options or other means of resolving your debt. Even if you suspect a mistake, you still need to call back in order to protect your credit and identity.

You can owe money to a collection agency for several reasons other than simply failing to pay bills. Someone else may have stolen your credit card information or other personal information and may be making purchases to debt in your name. Similarly, someone may have managed to transfer their debt to your name by claiming to be a relative. Or, the credit company may simply have the wrong billing information listed or have you confused with someone who has a similar name or number. In any of these situations, it is important for you to resolve the issue as soon as you start receiving calls or letters.