Editorial: Forget any federal bailout for state

MediaNews via CoCoTimes ^ | 11/24/8 | Editor

[SmithL]

ONCE AGAIN CALIFORNIA faces a massive budget deficit dilemma. Only this time it's bigger than ever — $27.8 billion over the next year and a half.

It's not just the size of the shortfall that stands in the way of a solution; it's the unwillingness of our lawmakers in Sacramento to face reality.

Republicans, who have the power to block a budget agreement, remain entrenched against any kind of tax increase. Democrats are just as adamant in insisting on no further spending reductions.

So how can the state resolve the budget dilemma? Compromise on spending and taxes? Of course not. That would be too realistic.

Instead, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has come up with a plan to avoid the pain of higher taxes or reduced spending.

Her idea is to just follow the financial institutions and auto industry to Washington and beg for a handout.

It seems as if the Southern California lawmaker may have made one too many trips to Fantasyland.

It doesn't appear to bother Bass that the federal government's deficit woes are far greater than California's and that it already has committed hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to rescue the nation's financial system not to mention the deficit financing of two foreign wars.

Just how much of a chance does Bass think California, or any other state, especially a poorly run one, have in tapping into a deeply indebted federal government for a bailout?

A federal stimulus package that focuses on public works projects is realistic, but hopes of getting billions of dollars from Washington to solve a budget problem of California's own making is pure fantasy.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is advocating the most realistic, albeit painful, course of action: Close the deficit gap with a 50-50 split between spending cuts and tax increases.

Bass also likes a 50-50 formula, but it would be 50 percent tax increases and 50 percent bailout money from Washington.

Why should taxpayers in the other 49 states fork over money to a state that has refused to act in a responsible manner for several years?

Why should those states that have been run far more efficiently send money to one that has run up spending far faster than it could afford?

Talk of going to Washington for a handout threatens to undermine serious negotiations in Sacramento about reaching a spending and tax compromise on the state budget.

California needs to get its own fiscal house in order and not look to a beleaguered federal government for a painless way out of a budget mess that could have been avoided with realistic policies.

[ClearCase_guy]

CA and MI have tried the way of socialism and look where it took them. You would think that they might be considering budget cuts, flat taxes, something -- anything! to give their citizens relief.

But no, I think they will continue down that road, feeling bad.

[econjack]

Her idea is to just follow the financial institutions and auto industry to Washington and beg for a handout.

And so it begins...When you lack the guts to do what has to be done, you try to pawn the problem off on someone else. And when that someone else says "No!", as they should, you now get to pass the blame from the real cause of the problem (your own wasteful spending ways) to someone else in hopes that the deflection lets you shift enough blame to hold onto your political seat.

It's time for ALL voters to throw EVERYONE out and start over.

[alloysteel]

California has a remarkable resource to help bail themselves out. Just offshore, and now known to be in deeper waters as well, is a wealth of petroleum which may be extracted, brought ashore and refined into a vast quantity and variety of petrochemicals, including, of course, motor fuel and industrial power generation. California could re-industrialize and become self-sufficient in power generation, even exporting some of it to neighboring states.

Which is something they will not do. “Poisons the air” or “threatens the unique croaking cricket” or some such nonsense. The preservationists have won in California, now let them find the money to pay for their luxury indulgences and purity of spirit.

There is so much more to California than Rodeo Drive. Too bad that nobody shall ever enjoy whatever else that California has to offer very much.

[Maelstorm]

The states need to learn to live within their means. They need to cut programs. The last thing we need to do is to bail out the states. They need to cut their budgets and cut their programs. They survived before they created the new bureaucracy and they need to scale it back. The free lunch is gone. The need to live with it.

[Major Matt Mason]

As I don't believe I need to tell anyone here, all of these financial problems - subprime mess, states/cities going bankrupt - all have a root cause of too much government. Too much governement regulation, too much spending. And we've just elected as president an individual who is likely to make the problem worse. In the end, it is all about politicians saving their jobs by trying to avoid causing enough short-term pain so that a majority of people don't decide to vote them out of office. The problem for them is, we don't have an endless supply of money to bail out every stupid idea that the pols implement. The chickens are coming home to roost.

[ASOC]

TO think this started with targeted taxes, green regulation and all the other CAL disease.

Did the folks in Sacramento miss the mass movement of the well to do, business and everyone else fleeing CA?

Hollywood filing in state in down over 60%, business leaving in droves (Buck Knife comes to mind) and other are shutting down because of stupid regulations (Interstate bakeries come to mind as well)

The State will melt down before any of these monumental egos back down. It was nice knowing ya, enjoy your brave new world.

[PGR88]

California still has a lot going for it.

a CRASH and the subsequent readjustments it would force on their fantasy-land politicans would be a GOOD thing.

[Frantzie]

Yup. CA and MI followed by NY then NJ are socialist welfare states. Govt unions, the UAW, teachers unions, illegal aliens and endless other giveaways.

[Strzelec]

If I was California, I wouldn’t be planning on cashing those eagerly anticipated Fed checks anytime soon.

CA is such a reliable blue state, there’s no reason for the Dems to buy votes.

Besides, it’s much cheaper to pay off the special interest groups by going direct instead of filtering through the state government.

[goldstategop]

Republicans should turn down higher taxes. Voting for them would be political suicide. Let California's government shut down. That's the quickest way to achieve budget reform there.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[calcowgirl]

Why should those states that have been run far more efficiently send money to one that has run up spending far faster than it could afford?

I can't think of a reason.

Likewise, I can't see why California taxpayers should pay more taxes to enable more spending sprees
by the incompetent swine infesting the Sacramento legislature and executive suite.

CUT spending, you fools!