Posted on 05/11/2009 5:17:29 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
On the eve of a series of referendums proposed to increase taxes on Californians, the Golden States legislative budget analyst warns that both the legislature and the governor have seriously underestimated the budget shortfall. The state has a $23 billion gap even after the legislative compromise earlier this year supposedly eliminated the red ink and could default by July:
California could run out of money as soon as July, the Legislatures chief budget analyst warned Thursday, as a new poll showed voters poised to reject five budget-related measures on the May 19 ballot.
If the propositions do not pass, the state could find itself as much as $23 billion short of the money it needs to pay its bills over the next year, according to a new forecast by Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor. The poll, from the Public Policy Institute of California, found that even as voter interest in the ballot measures rises, all are trailing except the sixth one Proposition 1F, which would bar pay hikes for lawmakers in deficit years.
Adding to the fiscal woes, the Obama administration is threatening to pull $6.8 billion in stimulus funds from California in a dispute over an earlier state budget cut.
The Legislature is going to need to act promptly, said state Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer. We have a fairly short window to get a lot done.
Predictably, the political class has exploited this by warning of criminals running free in the street:
On Thursday, the administration advised law enforcement officials that it was preparing plans to commute the sentences of 38,000 state prison inmates, including all illegal immigrants. It also is considering closing some prisons and sending inmates to county jails, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by The Times.
Under the plan, 19,000 illegal immigrants 11% of state prisoners would be turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency after having their sentences commuted. An additional 19,000 relatively low-risk offenders would have their sentences commuted as well.
Earlier in the week, the administration warned local officials that it may raid their budgets for $2 billion and close firehouses.
Ah, yes, because California doesnt spend money on anything but police and fire departments. The Governator didnt pledge six billion dollars for stem-cell research, for instance, or other non-essential nonsense. This is a typical, extortive, dog-in-the-manger ploy by Schwarzenegger and the Sacramento elite. Either give us your money, they warn, or well sic the criminals on you.
Instead, California should concentrate on ridding themselves of the excess spending and regulation that the state has built over the last several decades, and concentrate on sustaining growth. The state could rake in billions in leases and taxes and create tens of thousands of jobs by allowing oil exploration and production off its coast, for instance. Arnold could lead a charge to lower business taxes in order to encourage investment, including the sky-high sales taxes that depress consumption. Most importantly, they could start getting serious about trimming non-essential spending from the state budget and start shedding bureaucrats instead of driving business out of state.
Instead, the state prefers to set criminals free to punish its citizens for telling Sacramento that they spend too much money. Maybe Escape from LA wasnt so far-fetched after all.
The sooner the better.
Not my fault !!!
thanks for the post.
Is it July Yet?!?!?!?!?!?!? ....just damn...
How long til Ahhnold takes the Obamabucks?
$12 bill a year in services to illegals and no way to cut the budget.
Instead of asking the Fed for more. Re peal prop 13. As some one who does not live in Ca. I have no interest in sending my tax $$$ there.
Nothing personal mind you, But I pay $4000.00 in taxes already, every year.
This is the Solution, not the Problem!
$12 bill a year in services to illegals and no way to cut the budget. nufsed amen brother or sister
$12 bill a year in services to illegals and no way to cut the budget.
_________________________
Yep.
Oh boy. That means more si si puede crap in the hot streets of L.A. in the summer.
Voting NO straight down the ballot next week.
The real ‘criminals’ in California are in the state legislature and have a D by their name... and a few high elected official that doesn’t.
How about a swap of them for the inmates proposed to be set free?
Where is Duncan Hunter and why isn’t he putting his name up there for Governor? Hunter would make a great Governor of CA.
Honestly, except for the fact that I have a business trip there in June, it could fall into the sea for all I care.
“$12 bill a year in services to illegals and no way to cut the budget.”
Don’t confuse ‘em with facts! California is sure good at ignoring the glaring truth.
More than 1 million people became citizens in 2008, with 780,000 taking the oath of allegiance in the first 10 months, according to preliminary figures from the Department of Homeland Security. In 2007, 660,477 people were granted U.S. citizenship.
Leading countries of birth of new citizens were:
Mexico (122,258), India (46,871), Philippines (38,830), China (33,134) and Vietnam (27,921)
Largest number of people naturalizing lived in:
California (181,684), New York (73,676) and Florida (54,563).
SOURCE: Office of Immigration Statistics, Department of Homeland Security
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/WestVolusia/wvlHEAD03WEST012209.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) Hispanics made up nearly half of the more than 1 million people who became U.S. citizens last year, according to a Hispanic advocacy group. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials said the number of Latinos who became Americans in fiscal year 2008 more than doubled over the previous year, to 461,317. Thats nearly half of the record 1,046,539 new citizens overall in 2008, a 58 percent increase from 2007. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQKI-mUtzRTYIm7MjslLxEoz2zVgD97DFPI01
Study: Illegal Immigrants Having More Kids In US Associated Press ^ | April 14, 2009
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/19175382/detail.html
Growing numbers of children of illegal immigrants are being born in this country, and they are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty than those with American-born parents...
Overall, illegal immigrants children account for one of every 15 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2008, California had the most illegal immigrants at 2.7 million, double its 1990 number, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey.
In the next eight years, the violent collection of criminal drug cartels could overwhelm the state and establish de facto control over broad regions of northern Mexico, McCaffreys report said. A failure by the Mexican political system to curtail lawlessness and violence could result in a surge of millions of refugees crossing the U.S. border.
http://www.star-telegram.com/state_news/story/1245213.htm
Don’t you know its Patriotic to pay taxes You only pay 4000.00 a year you got off easy
Predictably, the political class has exploited this by warning of criminals running free in the street:
Since they have done this, then the people of California need target practice. I propose that the Illegals get marched back down to mexico. The democrats should pay for this out of their own pockets. Those liberal Twinkies.
beat me to it.... send this to all six of the RINOS who voted for the last budget mess.
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