California’s budget gap jumps to $16 billion (Here comes the tax hikes)

LA Times ^ | 2/20/08 | By Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[az_gila]

The citizens of Colorado, Nevada and Arizona would like to thank CA Democrats for their continued support in helping California employers relocate to the east.

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Unfortunately the CA liberals are exporting themselves too...

[listenhillary]

http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2003/cyb20030818.asp#4

A Reality Check: As the Cato Institute’s Chris Edwards, Stephen Moore and Phil Kerpen documented earlier this year in their report, “States Face Fiscal Crunch after 1990s Spending Surge,” California’s government has collected plenty of tax money and its “budget gap was caused by a remarkable run-up in state spending in the late 1990s under Gov. Gray Davis. Spending doubled between FY94 and FY01 from $39 billion to $78 billion. California’s general fund expenditures jumped 15 percent in FY2000 and then another 17 percent in FY01. Thus, in just two years spending increased by one-third.”

The Cato trio added: “Although general fund spending jumped almost $12 billion in FY01, FY02 spending was reduced only by just over $1 billion. As in other states, newspaper headlines in California make fiscal restraint sound draconian. A recent Los Angeles Times story declared ‘Wrenching Changes Likely with Budget Cuts,’ but the ‘wrenching’ changes listed included such items as the first university fee increase since 1994, small increases in admission charges for state parks, deferral of some transportation projects, and a modest tightening in eligibility for the state’s low-income health program. Those are hardly wrenching changes in sprawling state government.”

An accompanying table laid out how California state government spending skyrocketed by 108 percent between 1990 and 2001 while the benchmark for inflation plus population growth increased by a comparatively modest 57 percent.

[HwyChile]

“Ah-nold has morphed into Gray Davis. He started out strong, proposing reforms to union benefits and other big ticket items. Then, the referendums fail under heavy union pressure, and he turns into another go-along to get-along Politician.”

100% correct. It is sad to see how he went from a conservative to a liberal. I thought he had more backbone than that, but I was wrong.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

It’s going to get worse as we move forward. $50B deficit by next year. It’s going to be Predator versus Alien III.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

CA needs a 12 on the Richter scale.

Good insight. Fed money to the rescue.

[NormsRevenge]

10% increases a year in spending will do that to a state..

Thanks for linking that in.

It’s madness as voters and politico suck-ups vote to spend more money on themselves via initiatives and then politicos pander to unions like love-drunk fools.

[lainie]

While the governor and GOP lawmakers have vowed to block any tax increases, Hill says such an approach "unnecessarily limits the range of budget solution options."

Oh, yes. Why unnecessarily limit the range of options?

The cynicism of this whole ordeal is stunning. These creeps are absolutely shameless.

[puroresu]

I’m surprised that this is happening. I thought all those illegal immigrants sneaking into California were revitalizing the state and building a strong Republican Party there.

[Tulane]

Unfortunately the CA liberals are exporting themselves too...
__________________

Lol. I don’t doubt it. And I am not laughing at you, I am laughing/crying with you.

Economic growth in conservative Virginia (where I live) has far outpaced growth in Maryland and the District for the last 10 years. Virginians also enjoy better schools and lower taxes. So guess what is happening? All the hypocritic liberals are leaving MD and DC and moving to Northern Virginia (because of the better schools and lower taxes)...and voting in Democrats...who are raising spending and taxes...and slowing our growth...unbelievable.

[John123]

effort to prioritize and determine which state programs provide essential services

Is this a joke?

I cannot imagine for the life of me ANY state government program that actually enhanced my life that the private sector could have done at a much cheaper cost and way less aggravation.

And can anybody tell me if tax hikes ever brought in more money to the state coffers than cutting taxes?

[politicalwit]

Same thing happened to New Hampshire. The Massholes, fed up with MA, moved north and the shift from red to blue began.

[FoxInSocks]

Hill criticizes the governor's plan to balance the budget largely by making a 10% across-the-board cut to every government program as reflecting "little effort to prioritize and determine which state programs provide essential services or are most critical to California's future."

There's some merit to that argument. I'm certain there are many, many, many programs that should have their budgets cut by 100 percent.

[dashing doofus]

Please don’t remind me. Though I think we have a good chance of throwing out the lefty congresscritters who got elected in the protest vote of 2006 — Hodes and Shea Porter.

There is a chance we will dump our liberal weenie of a governor too. Sununu and Judd Gregg are solid Senators, IMO. This is a critical election in NH, but the state is definitely bluer due to the failure to control the state’s southern border, as you said.

I am guardedly optimistic.

[Tulane]

It’s incredible, isn’t it.

I forgot to mention in my post above, that in addition to higher taxes and slower economic growth, our school rankings are also declining, because the NOVA democratic politicians are making cities like Arlington, sanctuary cities, and the illegal kids aren’t testing well (imagine that).

[untrained skeptic]

The citizens of Colorado, Nevada and Arizona would like to thank CA Democrats for their contiued support in helping California employers relocate to the east.

I'm not so sure they should be quick to thank CA. The citizens move East, but they don't learn from the mistakes that caused them to move East. They bring their politics that are destroying CA with them and are spreading the blight rather than effectively fleeing it.

[Tulane]

I’m not so sure they should be quick to thank CA. The citizens move East, but they don’t learn from the mistakes that caused them to move East. They bring their politics that are destroying CA with them and are spreading the blight rather than effectively fleeing it.
_____________________

My response to someone who posted something similar to what you wrote:

Lol. I don’t doubt it. And I am not laughing at you, I am laughing/crying with you.

Economic growth in conservative Virginia (where I live) has far outpaced growth in Maryland and the District for the last 10 years. Virginians also enjoy better schools and lower taxes. So guess what is happening? All the hypocritic liberals are leaving MD and DC and moving to Northern Virginia (because of the better schools and lower taxes)...and voting in Democrats...who are raising spending and taxes...and slowing our growth...unbelievable.

[catbertz]

wow. There’s going to be one hell of a hangover :(

[Westlander]

Nah....when it sloshes out to the ocean, we can deny the application for statehood.

[Tai_Chung]

[El Cid]

Re: 39

Thanks for the pie chart.

43.7 Billion dollars a year on K-12 public school.

Here's a solution: Privatize the schools.
Take them off the books.
Sell off the school buildings and property.
Get the Government out of the school system - they don't belong there.

In one fell swoop, a surplus budget and a Government can focus their attention on where it belongs (fixing potholes, etc...).