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Posted on 05/20/2002 6:56:21 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Edited on 04/13/2004 3:29:21 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Dark clouds have formed over the re-election campaign of Gov. Gray Davis.
His fundraising tactics, long a subject of insider gossip, have suddenly come under microscopic scrutiny. And last week, a $23.6 billion budget deficit forced him to renege on an election-year pledge not to raise taxes.
(Excerpt) Read more at bayarea.com ...
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Does the name Ronald Reagan ring a bell? I think the pundits are in for another surprise.
Davis says ... he is forced to govern in a crisis.
The crisis is his fault.
Maybe Davis should step down. We won't force him to govern.
"My opponent, the Republican Party, ... won't provide their alternative suggestion."
Davis said he would listen to suggestions for improving his budget.
I would have taken him up on that offer, and I might have started by crossing items off his budget. But, then I remembered that he charges money to meet with people and requires exorbitant campaign contributions to implement any ideas.
Having raised money from nearly every interest group in the state, the governor can hardly make a move without someone suspecting a conflict of interest.
Rewrite:
Having raised extorted money from nearly every interest group in the state, the governor can hardly make a move without someone any sane person suspecting a conflict of interest backroom deal.
Teachers Association as proof that campaign donations don't buy influence
Rewrite:
Teachers Association as proof that insufficient campaign donations don't buy won't guarantee continued influence
I heard on the radio that Gray Davis issued an executive order requiring competitive bidding for contracts over $100k until the state legislature writes similar regulations. He's trying to do damage control for his Oracle extravagance, and is trying to get the media to move away from that embarrassment to him. Maybe it's working.
My impression of the two plans (Davis and Simon, as presented in a lengthly PDF) was that neither of them go nearly far enough, but the Simon plan was the more realistic of the two. The Davis plan also relied to extreme excess on loans which will have to be repaid in future years.
D
The Davis plan also relied to extreme excess on loans which will have to be repaid in future years.
That mortgaging of our futures really upsets me. It just means that future taxes will probably be raised or programs will have to be cut later.
Fortunately, it's still here.
"Various transfers and loans" $ 2,237m Davis, $158m Simon (dollars in millions). Securitize tobacco settlement revenues $ 2,400m (Davis only)[1].
Let me know if you find any more gems.
D
[1] Would you buy those bonds? You're gambling on the continued popularity of smoking, with no upside I can think of.
The California Budget Project has both the pdf version and the html version of Davis' press release link (4/25/02) on their website. The comparison is between the January budget proposals from Davis and Simon.
They also have an updated (5/15/02), more critical analysis of Davis' May revision with a link to the official budget (108 pages, pdf).
The Governor proposes to bridge the additional gap withThis group probably advocates more social welfare services. Here is their self description:
program reductions ($2.4 billion);
securitizing a larger portion of the state's tobacco settlement payments ($2.1 billion);
loans ($478 million);
deferring certain payments to schools ($1.1 billion);
restructuring state debt payments ($1.1 billion);
tax conformity and compliance initiatives ($760 million);
accelerations, transfers, and shifts ($233 million); and
tax increases including a deferral of net operating loss carryforwards ($1.2 billion), a
$0.50 per pack increase in cigarette taxes ($475 million), and
a temporary increase in Vehicle License Fees ($1.276 billion).
The California Budget Project (CBP) engages in independent fiscal and policy analysis and public education with the goal of improving public policies affecting the economic and social well-being of low and middle income Californians.
We have $5,011,000,000 in loans out of $11,122,000,000 in total loans+reductions+new taxes. That's 45% loans!
We have $2,951,000,000 in various new taxes, and $760,000,000 in better tax collection &c, 28.4% of the total.
So, as you can see, cuts are a truly miniscule part of this budget. Worse, these relatively minor cutbacks and tax increases are only going to take care of about half of the $23 billion gap.
He loves bonds, because he will be long gone while we're still paying off his follies. He was hoping he'd be in the White House by the time it hit the fan. Fortunately, I think these messes eliminate any White House prospects he might have had. I say fortunately, because the guy is dangerous; he lets crises fester until they get really, really bad. Both the power crisis and the budget crisis show, in my opinion, that he's unfit to govern.
I talked to a Davis supporter on this issue a few weeks ago, and he said that government moves slowly and so Davis shouldn't be blamed. He's right that government moves slowly, which is all the more reason to have someone who personally knows how to move fast and act promptly. If you can't act promptly - and Davis can't - you don't give government the time it needs to act and solve problems.
D
loans are nearly half the total!
I wish I could count on our legislators not to pass a budget with so many loans and new taxes (all under various names), but the Assembly and state Senate are both about 2/3 liberals, and many like Davis. Because of term limits, the bond repayments will continue much longer than their jobs, too.
a Davis supporter on this issue a few weeks ago ... said that government moves slowly
Davis has been in government for a very long time. He should have forseen and prevented the many crises if he were competent. I can't wait for his term to end. If he gets re-elected, he should be recalled for malfeasance and incompetence (corruption, mismanagement, and overspending).
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTIONAbout 8.3852 million total votes were cast for governor in 1998. The 98 election might have been more interesting (Boxer vs. Fong for Senator plus Davis vs. Lungren for Governor), but the electorate has grown since then.
ARTICLE 2 VOTING, INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM, AND RECALL
SEC. 14. (a) Recall of a state officer is initiated by delivering to the Secretary of State a petition alleging reason for recall. Sufficiency of reason is not reviewable. Proponents have 160 days to file signed petitions.
(b) A petition to recall a statewide officer must be signed by electors equal in number to 12 percent of the last vote for the office, with signatures from each of 5 counties equal in number to 1 percent of the last vote for the office in the county. Signatures to recall Senators, members of the Assembly, members of the Board of Equalization, and judges of courts of appeal and trial courts must equal in number 20 percent of the last vote for the office.
(c) The Secretary of State shall maintain a continuous count of the signatures certified to that office.
Assuming the same number vote this year, 12% of that is about 1.006 million voters, or about the number of voters who supported Simon in March. Many more are dissatisfied with Davis already, and others will be dismayed when they see their vehicle license fees next year.
I really hope Simon wins, but if he doesn't, we still have a good chance at a successful recall of Davis.
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