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George F. Will: California dug its own grave, and it's about to get deeper
Mercury News ^ | 5/3/09 | George Will

Posted on 05/03/2009 2:07:14 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

California's increasingly severe and largely self-inflicted economic crisis will deepen on May 19 if, as is probable and desirable, voters reject most of the ballot measures that were drafted as part of a "solution" to the state's budget deficit. They would make matters worse. ...

Under Arnold Schwarzenegger, the best governor the states contiguous to California have ever had, people and businesses have been relocating in those states. For four consecutive years, more Americans have moved out of California than have moved in. California's business costs are more than 20 percent higher than the average state's. In the last decade, net out-migration of Americans has been 1.4 million. California is exporting talent while importing Mexico's poverty. The latter is not California's fault; the former is.

If, since 1990, state spending increases had been held to the inflation rate plus population growth, the state would have a $15 billion surplus instead of a $42 billion budget deficit, which is larger than the budgets of all but 10 states. Since 1990, the number of state employees has increased by more than a third. In Schwarzenegger's less than six years as governor, per capita government spending, adjusted for inflation, has increased nearly 20 percent.

Liberal orthodoxy has made the state dependent on a volatile source of revenue — high income tax rates on the wealthy. In 2006, the top 1 percent of earners paid 48 percent of the income taxes. California's income and sales taxes are among the nation's highest, its business conditions among the worst. Unemployment, the nation's fourth highest, is 11.2 percent.

Required by law to balance the budget, the Legislature has "solved" the problem by, among other things, increasing the income, sales, gas and vehicle taxes.

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Extended News; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: calbudget; california; deeper; georgefwill; georgewill; grave; homosexualagenda; libertarians; schwarzenegger; taxandspend
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To: I_Like_Spam
So... how do we fix it? When do we stop complaining about it and get something done? Same thing happens all over the country -- when times are tight, they close fire stations, reduce school budgets, and cut bus routes while they leave the floor sweepers and seat warmers and report monitors in place.

They target the most visible impacts, so voters will get p*ssed off and vote for an increase. Year after year people tolerate this sh*t. How do we get them to make the same reasonable compromises that the rest of us make in a down economy?

It seems like things *miraculously* improve about the time of the next election, so people vote the idiots back in. How do we get the masses of gullible a*ses to see the big picture and change things? And how do we overwhelm the growing number of leaches sucking the government te*t that will always vote for more taxes?

It is time to organize a plan that will cause change. Somehow we need to move beyond complaining.

41 posted on 05/03/2009 3:50:12 PM PDT by GulchBound (Who owns you?)
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To: NormsRevenge

“California/ Tumbles into the sea/ Now that’ll be the day I go back to Annandale”

“My Old School”
Becker/Fagan


42 posted on 05/03/2009 3:54:50 PM PDT by Third Person (there's a fine line between clever and stupid.)
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To: NormsRevenge
California, the great socialist experiment.

FAIL!

Everybody I know in Kali is trying to figure a way to leave.

Must suck to be you.

43 posted on 05/03/2009 4:12:08 PM PDT by upchuck (I'm glad I'm old. Thus I can remember when America was a decent, moral, God fearing country.)
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To: SoCalPol

Do you work for the San Diego Chamber of Commerce?

If not, you should.....those are gorgeous pictures!


44 posted on 05/03/2009 4:14:01 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (January 20, 2013.....the day Sarah Palin takes the oath of office and our national nightmare ends!)
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To: upchuck
Yeah, his governorship has been the biggest fail since his father tried that jam business during WWII.


45 posted on 05/03/2009 4:26:20 PM PDT by Richard Kimball (We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done yet.)
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To: muawiyah
Trying to think of any of the many in-laws in California who actually want to live there anymore.

I've been in Texas 25 years. Most of that time my dad kept asking when I'd move back to Calif. About 3 years ago, he admitted he sure would like to "get out".

46 posted on 05/03/2009 4:39:41 PM PDT by Professional Engineer (Naturalized Texan)
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To: july4thfreedomfoundation

No, ret. from the legal field with the County Attys.

Many like to lump all of Calif. together. It should be
two or three seperate states.

So much is liberal but San Diego Co. over 3.2 million pop.
is the largest city in the U.S. with a Republican Mayor.
3 of our 5 congressmen are Conservative Republicans.


47 posted on 05/03/2009 4:54:06 PM PDT by SoCalPol (Reagan Republican for Palin 2012)
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To: Drango

Yeah...well the managers of the California pension plan and the suck-up political appointees overseeing the plan need to do some major explaining for the piss-poor performance and aggressive risk exposure by CalPERS and similar state-run plans. Just my opinion, as a tax payer.


48 posted on 05/03/2009 4:54:08 PM PDT by pointsal
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To: SoCalPol

SD is very beautiful.


49 posted on 05/03/2009 5:07:13 PM PDT by ncalburt (Read all about)
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To: ncalburt

Yes, still a few good places in Calif.


50 posted on 05/03/2009 5:11:24 PM PDT by SoCalPol (Reagan Republican for Palin 2012)
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To: MamaDearest

Blame the media.
Can you IMAGINE the footage “displaced victims,” “separated families,” deported “honor students,” and the like that would hit the air? Or the questions politician would face for acting in California’s and America’s public interest?
No politician that wants to keep his job will ever allow Immigration and Law Enforcement to do anything about illegal immigrants.
That’s why folks like me support a secure border. It politically viable, and, if we can reduce the number of invaders, we might be able to assimilate the ones already. Maybe. If we start believing in the USA - borders language and culture - again.


51 posted on 05/03/2009 5:11:50 PM PDT by Little Ray (Do we have a Plan B?)
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To: NormsRevenge

If the unions would lighten up on the Protectionism a little bit we might actually get some value for the tax dollar.

But that’s not likely since the Rats in Sacramento get a cut of any union cartels’ money, and that means more govt spending = political contributions increase, directly to dems.

So basically - we’re screwed. They will drive the private sector, the tax base into the ground (or out-of-state).

Bye bye, California the golden state, Hello stagnation, and the downward spiral to socialism (with the REST of the country).

-4L (in the SF Valley)


52 posted on 05/03/2009 5:27:03 PM PDT by 4Liberty (End of civilization. 'Who cares about a little pork?' - Senator Schumer)
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To: centurion316

“The reason is to ensure that Democrats remain in power in California at both the state and nation levels. Democrats do not mind that they are destroying the economy, whatever economy is left will be theirs to control and that’s their aim.”

The RATS are parasites. They will rape California, stealing everything in sight. When it all collapses, they will move to their places in Aspen and Europe.


53 posted on 05/03/2009 7:28:10 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (The Democrat Party is a criminal enterprise the Gambinos would be proud of.)
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To: roadcat

I think one of the worst things about computers is that they have resulted in the generation of mountains of totally useless information. When I think of the place I worked last it still makes me shake my head. The management sat and read reports that were misleading at best and totally useless at worst and made decisions based on those reports while they steadfastly refused to listen to reasoned advice from people who actually knew what was going on.

For some reason the place closed down late last year, seems they were losing money or something like that.


54 posted on 05/03/2009 7:59:40 PM PDT by RipSawyer (Change has come to America and all hope is gone.)
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To: americanophile
California is truly lala land...people are just totally self-absorbed, and totally irresponsible when it comes to their government. It's truly mystifying.

It's called self-selection. Some years ago I was having a conversation with a Dutch businesswoman who had been in the US already for many years. The subject somehow involved a reference to California.

"Ah yes, California," she said, "That's where people go when they sell out."

55 posted on 05/03/2009 8:32:52 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: RipSawyer
I think one of the worst things about computers is that they have resulted in the generation of mountains of totally useless information.

I've worked with computers for nearly 40 years, in and out of government. Your words are so true. I've worked with a police department where crime stats were fudged in reports that went to the mayor's office, to achieve political results. You know the motto, "garbage in, garbage out". Usually incompetents feed garbage in, but sometimes it is intentionally fed in. I've seen lots of useless reports, all require teams of programmers and operators to maintain. Government excels at creating useless reports. And government is too stupid to stop this waste of taxpayer money.

56 posted on 05/03/2009 9:46:22 PM PDT by roadcat
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To: NormsRevenge; pointsal
What actually ails California is centrist evasions. The state's crisis has been caused by "moderation," understood as splitting the difference between extreme liberalism and hyperliberalism, a "reasonableness" that merely moderates the speed at which the ever-expanding public sector suffocates the private sector. California has become liberalism's laboratory, in which the case for fiscal conservatism is being confirmed.

BUMP to that!

57 posted on 05/04/2009 8:51:43 AM PDT by calcowgirl (RECALL Abel Maldonado! - NO on Props 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F)
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