Posted on 11/22/2008 6:16:54 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Speaker Bass wrote a column in the Sacramento Bee today calling for a "stimulus package" for California. Her solution? Give the state more federal welfare. Since the state's financial problems have been caused by overspending, poor fiscal management of the tax dollars entrusted to them, and a complete lack of self control, you would expect the President and Congress to say no to this outlandish demand. However, since neither the President nor Congress have said no to the completely self indulgent behavior of the private sector, the Speaker's request might actually be considered.
The Speaker claims that the state has "cut" spending by $15 billion. Only in budget la-la land doublespeak can one claim that a $2 billion increase in spending is a $15 billion cut. The fact is this problem was caused by overspending and will only be solved by real spending reductions. Not reductions to the baseline, not reductions on projected spending increases, not "we want to spend $120 billion, but we only have enough revenue to justify $105 billion so we have to cut $15 billion in spending." No--in this case spending has to be reduced to match revenue.
Now here is the good news. There is only an actual $5.6 billion difference between what the state spent last year on programs and the projected drop in revenue this year. That is a 5% cut. A nickel on every dollar spent by the state. More important, that is the exact same amount of money we spent on those same programs in 2005-06, when the state legislature raised its spending by over 10%. In fact, if the state hadn't increased its spending by records amounts then (when I and several others recommended against that course of action), it wouldn't be in this predicament now. It would have surpluses, and could be bragging about its wisdom in fiscal management in the midst of this economic collapse. The Governor, had he listened to me, Tom McClintock, and others, would be a national hero, not a joke. At the time, his staff was angry at our suggestions. They don't look so bad now.
So, once again, I am making a suggestion. Want a stimulus package? Cut taxes, don't raise them. Cut spending, don't defend the existing (and failing) system. Really reform state government, don't capitulate to the existing structure that has driven this state to the point of collapse. To my Republican colleagues, you are doing the right thing. Fight for real reform. Your numbers today may be small, but a real, public fight for the right cause, the cause of reform and freedom, will yield great benefits for the state and for the future. It is not a partisan battle, it is a battle for the future of this state. Will we continue our profligate spending patterns and the slow collapse of our government, or will we actually reform our state government, and set into place a future of hope and optimism? If the state raises taxes, refuses to cut spending and reform its programs, it is once again putting off to the future the decisions that have to be made.
Spending has become a cancer on this state. The surgery has to be done now, massive chemotherapy is necessary now, or the cancer will kill us. It will not be easy, the patient will cry in pain, but it must be done, or all of us will pay the price later, and the pain will be worse.
California can go stimulate itself
***Speaker Bass wrote a column in the Sacramento Bee today calling for a “stimulus package” for California. Her solution? Give the state more federal welfare.***
How about a swift kinck in the a$$. Off your A$$ and on your feet! Out of the shade and into the heat!
Pick those Tomatoes! Grab those Mellons! Don’t like wetbacks? Take their jobs and send them home!
Complain and you will spend a night in the box!
regular, middle grade, premium.
get rid of your stupid-ass "summer blends", "Santa Ana Blends", "Northern California blends", "my dog doesn't crap on Tuesday blend", etc...
California is (it appears to me) is so unreasonable on this...
"Oh, but, we have winds and temp and rain and floods and fires".
All of which have nothing to do with "gas blends".
I live in Colorado Springs at 6k feet above sea level.
I go to Dallas down to 1K no problems.
I go to Pikes Peak summit at 14kft , no problem...
We do fine with 7-11, King Soopers, Western, Mom and Dad everyother pump. 3 blends. that's all you get..oh, deisel too.
What is the problem in California?
California is so screwed. They shouldn't get a dime from my tax money.
Oh wait....the emission mandates are required by the EPA. As requested by..who?..California..
Your legislation in California screwed the wonder Golden state.
Go bitch to Boxer and Feinstein...They're the ones who get the payoffs and reap the benefits...
I believe with Boxer being a cousin or inlaw to pantsuits, and Feinstein having a hnusband who makes more money off of military contracts then Vice President Chaney ever did...think about that....
Is this the answer? No..But it's a start...
Yeah i forgot that california epa emissions are even tougher than the rest of America. Another unnecessary cost bankrupting automakers.....government regulations.
The only way they should get ANY money is if they submit a budget to Congress to show exactly where all the money is going...especially Nancy Pelousy.
We need less government dumb a** not more. How about Arnold use some of his muscle and get the legislature to stop spending and to cut taxes. More taxes are not what we need,especially onerous and illegal sh** such as you propose. Stop spending, cut taxes, the economy will heal itself. Get the government out of business and out of our everyday lives. We learned this lesson about 200 years ago and now we have it staring us in the face again. Down with big government and all career politicians.
Arnie’s muscle? The poor thing doesn’t have a single functioning brain cell. Nobody thought anyone could do worse than Gray Davis. How much more wrong could they have been?
This assumes of course that Californians deserve better. Perhaps if they used caning, like Singapore, instead of fines.
Except they would overspend for that, too.
Seriously, having watched California screw up continually for 50 years now, it’s about time that they got their just desserts, instead of inflicting them on everybody else.
As a 5th generation So. Californian I say to Ms Bass, go straight to hell!
As I read the presentation, civil servants would judge actions to be in violation of civil codes and the accused could either proceed through the convention judicial system or could opt to pay a bail amount without admission of guilt. The concept reminded me a bit of our current, minor, traffic offense process expanded to cover a multitude of undefined offenses. A civil, criminal, operations tax if you will.
The concept is beyond novel. State government promoting criminal behavior as a revenue generating activity. I'm confident that loitering, public profanity, disturbing the peace and curfew violations would garner millions alone from the 14 to 29 demographic. Vehicle seizure and consequent public auction would be a rich revenue resource. Adding parental neglect to the charges, when appropriate, indexed by state income tax records, could possibly finance our K-12 public education system. The flexibility of the concept is unlimited.
Yep, pretty amazing. You'll note we haven't witnessed a defense of the "idea," as if it would remain confined to the DUI.
Who needs the Seventh and Eighth Amendments in that pesky Bill of Rights anyway?
I may have misunderstood the concept.
There's understanding, and then there's credulity.
Actually, the concept was not serious, it was tongue in cheek. Though something like that is done in Singapore, that is Singapore. They also beat spray pain vandals with canes there, and have a death penalty for illegal drug use.
California is something like $28B in the hole because they have absolutely no self control. And yet because they have the bloated and leftist 9th Circuit, the most overturned federal bench ever, many of their wild hairs are foisted on neighboring States.
So why not propose they directly punish themselves for their misbehavior. They could cane their lesser offenders just as well as putting them into jail. They could have a random tax, where anyone with money is chosen at random to pay a huge tax bill.
They have voted not to provide themselves with the fresh water they need. They have voted to use extra expensive automobile fuel produced at only a single refinery.
They are obviously crazy, so should get what they deserve.
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