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Frankly, this whole debacle is a problem of the voters' own creation. If "the people" are so smart, then Arnold and the legislature should just go home. Let "the people" solve the budget crisis themselves.
http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/20/wh...
"FROM CNN’s Jack Cafferty:
California has some serious money troubles.
Voters have rejected five out of six propositions that were meant to pull the state out of a deepening budget crisis. The measures were a combination of spending reforms, higher taxes, and changes in borrowing and funding. The only proposal that passed would prohibit pay raises for lawmakers during deficit years.
With the failure of these proposals, it’s now estimated California’s budget deficit could balloon from about $15 billion to more than $21 billion.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had said if these measures failed, he’d have to make drastic cuts… This could include shortening the school year by a week and a half, cutting tens of thousands of education jobs, eliminating health insurance for 250,000 needy children, laying off 1,700 firefighters, withholding $2 billion from local governments — which could mean cuts in police forces and other services — and freeing almost 40,000 inmates from San Quentin prison.
The results of yesterday’s special election mark a new low for the Republican Schwarzenegger, who had promised to restore fiscal stability to the state.
Meanwhile the three major credit rating companies reduced the grade on around $60 billion of California’s bonds to the lowest rating of any U.S. state. There’s no question the recession and record budget deficits are causing critical damage to California’s economy — which would be the world’s eighth largest if it were a separate country."
It feels as if I pay lots of taxes in CA, but see very little for it. I would willingly pay more if needed, but I don't think the dollar amount is our biggest problem.
But it is also true. Arnie's legacy is 0. He should get in his f'n Hummer and drive west.
Sure, everyone is trying to point the finger and blame someone or something, but the truth is that there are many reasons why this state is in such abysmal shape.
Is this governor to blame? Sure. Are the past governor's to blame? Sure nuff, but couple that with the GOP impact on cessation of all legislative progress along with the continuance of tax cutting to an absurd level as if that act would rectify any and all problems. And then there's the Initiative process that asks what we want, but doesn't seem to find ways to pay for the goodies.
Coming from New York, I was stunned to find such a hinky dinky process in the most populous state in the land...
Actually Baal, I think the only reason you replied to me was merely because you wanted to type "hinky dinky"...
Yes, although I've only been out here for around 14 or so years, it is sad to watch a once great state flounder and fall. I never expected the government to bail us out, but I was hoping that our legislature (on both sides) would light a flame under their combined heinies thus attempting to help turn us around.
We threw out Gray Davis when we had a budget deficit ... then the state legislators continued to spend money that we didn't have. Assembly Member Noreen Evans says "living within our means, means nothing."
California has the most lenient welfare policy in the country. We spend 7 times more than Texas does on illegal immigrants. If we put a 10% tax on the money that's sent back to Mexico ($18 Billion) from illegals, we wouldn't have a budget deficit. If we actually did live within our means, maybe 2000 families a week wouldn't be packing up and moving away from California.
What part of Cali's GDP is spent on Welfare? I couldn't find the number quickly...if it's significant you may have a point.
They wouldn't allow any controls on the energy costs that were suddenly thrust upon the state and it took us all by surprise. All of this went on AFTER those closed door meetings Cheney was having with the big energy companies.
Mexico is the only country I know of that, through illegal immigration, actually pays for most of it's foreign aid from the US.
Arnold "Cut Taxes $7 Billion a Year for the Rich" Schwarzenegger just can't figure out how, after 3-1/2 years, we could possibly be $24 Billion in the hole!?!?
As much as I dislike Arnold and his so called "leadership", he is hardly the main reason we are in this shape.
Well...yes.
Ask NYC in the late 70's early 80's
They bounced back.
1. It is not unusual for CA to resort to IOUs. Happens all the time. (Many years)
2. CA takes less federal tax money than they pay out, unlike many red states (and a few blue ones). Yet when we want some help, everyone screams that it's OUR fault? I say BS. YOU poor states stop sucking federal tax money from ME before you whine.
3. CA has MANY benefits that MOST states wouldn't dream of. I didn't realize this myself until I became wheelchair-bound. Example: EVERY public establishment must be wheelchair-accessible. How about your state? Does every state govt. building require that? Every podunk eating establishment (like Mickey D's and mom-and-pop eateries)? Every church? California does. Therefore, I can go into any of them. But when my brother recently died, and his funeral was in Indiana, I discovered other states don't require this. Yet, they whine about CA! (Oh yeah -- autopsies, too. My brother was 53 when he died of what they thought was a heart attack -- but they weren't 100% sure. I asked about the autopsy. My SIL told me there was no autopsy and she couldn't afford to pay for one. I said, "What? They don't automatically do one?" In CA, there is always an autopsy (free to the family of the deceased), unless the deceased had a terminal disease, or was under constant care of a doctor and died of the disease. My SIL would have known for sure what killed my brother -- a good thing to know for his children, and even for me.)
Yes, I remember that idiotic prop. about property taxes. That was when I first moved here. I didn't get too upset because I had recently moved here and gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. Little did I know that stupid law would still be around 30 years later.
And what of social services? CA has many more than most other states. I know this because my daughter is a social worker, dealing with the mentally handicapped. The STATE pays her employer. This saves so much money -- the mentally handicapped can be self-reliant (living in their own places, etc.) The cost is a fraction of what it would be if they were stuck in an institution.
Yes, waaaay too many Californians were butt-ass stupid to elect Arnold. (Even my in-laws, and I told them so at the time.) But think of your state -- what if Arnold ran there? I would guess many would vote for him because he was a MOVIE STAR! I am not saying CA is perfect, but all this whining about CA going broke is just ignorant. If CA has a major problem, it is electing REPUBLICAN governors waaaaay too often: Reagan, Deukmejian, Wilson, etc.
And yes, way too many Californians were butt-ass stupid. But in perspective? Not nearly as stupid as most other states. It's all relative.
It's just like universal health care, folks. Any health care is good for younger people. Just wait. In this country, it took decades of seeing this for most Americans to see the light.
I touched on something in my original post, but didn't explain nearly enough -- Prop. 13. 1976. Where property taxes were slashed. Why not raise property taxes to 1976 levels? Why not raise taxes on rich folks? Oh no! We CAN'T have that. American entrepreneurship, and all that crap. Americans ARE dumb!
How about this? Tax the rich at the same rate as ME! Allow them none of the slick ways they get out of having to pay most of their taxes. I guarantee you CA's budget problems would be over immediately.
U.N. Millennium Declaration UNILETS Resolution C6 to governments is for a time-based currency to restructure the global financial architecture. See my banking systems engineering analysis at http://youtube.com/kingofthepaupers
Too bad California State IOUs won’t be accepted in payment for state taxes and services like state bonds were in Argentina. Too bad California State IOUs will be denominated too big to use as local currency. Too bad Argentina people were smart enough to avoid the tent-cities catastrophe and California people are too stupid to follow their example.
Anyway, here's 1 Californian set apart from the herd of dummies. After all, it's up to your unions of people to pressure your governments into doing chits right, like the Argentinian unions did.
In a message dated 07/02/09 06:09:21 Pacific Daylight Time, writes:
KingofthePaupers wrote, in response to shell:
Jct: Glad to hear some Californians aren't too stupid to trade their chits around. Do you see the value of printing them in small enough standardized denominations so it becomes obvious?
Anyway, here's 1 Californian set apart from the herd of dummies. After all, it's up to your unions of people to pressure your governments into doing chits right, like the Argentinian unions did.
Link to comment: http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/california-s...
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Instead it was deemed that the banks were more important than the people which if you'll forgive me paraphrasing the Who, gives me a "say hello to the new boss, same as the old boss" vibe
Gotta love a one party system. In fact when California takes the economy down with it, the people are going to love it too.
It may not be Obama's economy yet but come 2010, well its gonna be interesting to say the least
That would require discipline, thrift and frugality across the board and I see very little of that in America today. It actually isn't that simple, or even necessarily a good idea to put aside a huge rainy day fund
Even if we had a fund and we could keep peoples hands off it (fat chance) and stop ourselves from being bled dry by the feds , thrift is not compatible with the kind of "left" style of government California has.
Someone will always find a new "need"