http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/budget/ en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:55:59 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416532/posts Investors ought to take considerable encouragement from Washington’s sudden focus on the budget. Of course, most of the discussion to date has focused too much on fixing the blame and too little on fixing the problem. Still, behind all the posturing and useless noise so typical of Washington, there seems to be some genuine activity. It is about time. With the improvement in the economy, markets have become increasingly concerned about the huge deficits, not just in the present circumstance and the immediate future but also, according to the White House’s own estimates, for many years to come. The packed... Lord Abbett & Co, LLC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416532/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:55:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416290/posts During his first year in office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger railed against state lawmakers, calling them "girlie men" and "obstructionists." As he enters his final year, Schwarzenegger is targeting a different branch of government: judges who "are going absolutely crazy." The Republican governor openly complains about the judiciary these days for blocking budget decisions and forcing California to find billions of dollars elsewhere. Recent judgments have contributed to the state's $20.7 billion projected deficit. Courts have ruled that California's attempts to divert transit and redevelopment money are illegal. They have found in some cases that the state cannot furlough workers. They... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416290/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:53:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414742/posts After reading headlines such as "Congress raises debt ceiling to new record high" and "No county could afford to purchase US debt" I was prompted to do a little research to try and get an idea of how much a Trillion really is. The current US National Debt is approximately $12.1 Trillion ($12,162,000,000,000.00) and growing. (Source: National Debt Clock) How much is that? 1,000 = 1 Thousand 1,000 Thousands = 1,000,000 = 1 Million 1,000 Million = 1,000,000,000 = 1 Billion (or a thousand Million) 1,000 Billion = 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 Trillion (or a thousand Billion or a million Millions)... Self http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414742/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:57:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414005/posts Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to save $1.6 billion in state employee costs by maintaining monthly furloughs past next June, instituting layoffs or shifting general fund workers into positions financed by other revenues, according to sources familiar with the governor's forthcoming budget proposal. California faces a $20.7 billion general fund budget deficit through June 2011, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414005/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:51:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412632/posts For state lawmakers, ringing in the New Year also means getting ready for what's shaping up to be another painful budget season. They'll return to the Capitol Jan. 4 to tackle a deficit that is expected to swell to $6.3 billion by the end of the fiscal year. Filling that hole -- and the $21 billion deficit projected for the next 18 months --tops Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's list of priorities for the new year. Steinberg said in an interview with The Bee that while further cuts and new revenues will be needed to close that gap, the... SacBee: Capitol Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412632/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:46:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411670/posts <p>"He's a great guy, a sweet guy," gorgeous ABC correspondent Bianna Golodryga says of President Obama's Office of Management and Budget director, Peter Orszag.</p> The NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411670/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:26:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410906/posts L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is spending more than $700,000 in taxpayer money to renovate his office. This is criminal! Call his office and tell him he should be ashamed! Mark Ridley-Thomas was planning on a Million Dollar upgrade to his office (including furniture) until KFI radio's John and Ken, and Doug McIntire of the Daily News, exposed this. KFI Website http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410906/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:27:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409507/posts California revenues lag, underscore budget woes By Jim Christie Wed Dec 16, 5:51 pm ET SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California's revenues since the start of its fiscal year are trailing estimates by more than $1 billion, according to the state's November revenue report, which comes as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wrestles with crafting a balanced state spending plan. Next month Schwarzenegger must present to lawmakers a balanced budget plan for California's next fiscal year beginning in July, while closing the deficit that has reopened in the current fiscal year's spending plan. The combined shortfall for the two years has been pegged... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409507/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:17:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2408859/posts Do you think your boss should pay you for getting dressed in the morning or for taking off your day's clothes to climb into your snuggly Pjs each night? No reasonable, sane person would. But unions are neither reasonable, sane, nor apparently interested in what's good and right. At least the moron unionists in Oakland, California are illicit like that because the thugs of the police union have found some halfwit judge to agree with them that the city… that would mean the taxpayers… should pay them for zipping up their fly each morning and taking off their clothes at... Publius Forum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2408859/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:02:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408825/posts a CBO memo ... was released with little fanfare over the weekend.... the "smoking gun" showing that there has been a concerted effort among Democrats to make sure the CBO does not start taking into account the cost of mandates and new regulations. The memo concerned a proposal by Sen. Jay Rockefeller -- reportedly part of the now defenct Medicare expansion "deal" reached last week -- that would require insurance companies to spend 90 of the money collected in premiums on medical claims. Their conclusion was: "In CBO's view, this further expansion of the federal government's role in the health... American Spectator http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408825/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:25:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408019/posts Guam Delegate Madeleine Z Bordallo spent $6,090 on food and beverages on Aug 11 while visiting her home district with the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee. It’s just one facet of $145 million spent by House of Representative members revealed in the Statement of Disbursements. One small charge to taxpayers was $8.80 for laundry, and the largest single recipient was the U.S. Postal Service at almost $6 million. Watchdog.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408019/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:07:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407179/posts Standard & Poor's, the venerable credit-rating agency, chose an opportune moment to unveil its annual fiscal scorecard for American cities, including those in California. Its release came as local governments were assessing the impact of recession on their current budgets and beginning to look ahead with trepidation to the next fiscal year. Twenty-five California cities received S&P's Triple-A rating for their fiscal situations, the most of any state. Only one of those cities – San Jose – is very large. The others are uniformly smaller, affluent and mostly white enclaves such as Beverly Hills and Mill Valley. Even as S&P's... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407179/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:53:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403903/posts On the eve of Obama’s trip to Denmark, in which he may announce new spending plans for developing countries, Moody’s is poised to send a warning that America’s triple-A credit rating is at risk. For generations the country has relied on deficit spending and the strongest credit rating to manage the country’s finances. This new chink in our fiscal armor is a direct result of the fact that our government faces a trillion dollar deficit for the next 10 years, and sends a clear message that Congress, the President and the American people must rein in deficit spending. A reduction... Main Street Radical http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403903/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 19:07:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403762/posts Alistair Darling today gambled Labour's future on a highly-political Pre-Budget Report that targets the better-off to help reduce Britain's collossal debt. In what the Tories branded his 'pre-election report', the Chancellor slapped a £560million 50% 'super tax' on bankers' bonuses, affecting any payouts over £25,000. And he sought to draw up the battle lines of the next general election by announcing thousands more high earners would be clobbered by the new top tax rate of 50% which comes in next year. It was due to hit people earning more than £150,000 when it comes into force next April but today... Daily Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403762/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 16:16:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2402986/posts Kate Campigne Piercy, director of government reform for the Illinois Policy Institute, recently penned an interesting piece for The Chicago Tribune that informed us all that the Illinois Commerce Dept. bought $2,821 worth of Hot Sauce during fiscal year 2009. That's not all, either. What's the need for a typewriter in a computer-centric world? The Illinois Employment Security Department spent $245.80 on a Brother ML100 Typewriter -- in addition to $12,176.54 on a Canon Microfilm/ Fiche Printer. The governor's office shelled out $20,692.24 on "subscriptions." The Commerce Department spent $3,770 for golf carts, $280 on soy crayons and $2,821 on... Publius Forum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2402986/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 18:09:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394257/posts Dozens of students at the University of California, Davis, ended a standoff at the main administration building Tuesday night after administrators agreed to some of their demands, officials said. No one was arrested and students left Mrak Hall at about 11:15 p.m., said Sylvia Wright, a university spokeswoman. About 150 students packed the building's lobby at the height of Tuesday's protest, which began about 5 p.m. when students were asked to leave and refused. The number dropped to about 90 later in the night. Last week, authorities at UC Davis arrested 52 people - including 47 students - who protested... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394257/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:43:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393779/posts NEW YORK -- Saying the state faces an unprecedented fiscal crisis, New York Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday sought emergency legislation that would give him authority to implement a one-time, across-the-board reduction in state payments to close a $3.2 billion budget gap for the current year. The proposed bill includes a legislative finding that the state's deficit "presents a genuine danger that the state will lack the funds necessary to make payments as they come due," Mr. Paterson said in a Web address. The state's "extremely precarious and worsening fiscal situation" necessitates the payment denials that the legislation would allow,... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393779/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:18:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2393201/posts Shocking, but true! The ultra-liberal New York Times is concerned about the national debt and deficit spending? I can't believe my eyes! This ranks right up there with Socialist France, formerly Communist Russia, and Communist China warning our government that they're spending too much money. Has the "Old Gray Lady" awakened to the realization that money doesn't grow on trees? THE FREEDOM POST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2393201/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:33:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2392261/posts Former director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Douglas Holtz-Eakin, testified before the Senate Committee on the Budget on Nov. 10, giving a sharp rebuke of the Obama administration's out-of-control spending... THE FREEDOM POST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2392261/posts#comment Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:11:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2391530/posts An anti-tax recall movement against Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, has failed to gather enough valid signatures to go to the ballot, the California secretary of state's office announced Friday. "I'm elated. I'm euphoric," Adams said Friday. "People generally don't like recalls," he said. "I'm up for re-election in June, in the primary. Voters will have their say then." The recall effort was launched after Adams provided one of three GOP votes needed in the Assembly to pass temporary income tax increases last February. Tim Whitacre, who is active in Orange County GOP circles and managed the recall campaign, could not... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2391530/posts#comment Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:45:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391039/posts In a fast-paced world, life can sometimes be daunting. Fortunately, the state of Michigan has online advice for almost every aspect of life, from shopping to gardening, eating to driving. Sure, some of it may be painfully obvious, nitpicky or bizarre, but just remember: The state knows what's best for you. Mackinac Center for Public Policy http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391039/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:28:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390994/posts When Mac Taylor, the Legislature's chief budget adviser, declared this week that the state budget enacted just four months ago is already billions of dollars upside down, no one in the Capitol should have been surprised. Anyone with half a brain and a hand calculator could figure out that many assumptions on which the budget was based, both spending and revenues, were unrealistic, some of them conjured out of thin air to "balance" an inherently unbalanced budget for political reasons. Taylor told legislators that the current budget is $6.3 billion out of balance and the 2010-11 budget has another $14.4... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390994/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:33:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390359/posts State Budgets: California's slide into fiscal oblivion continues, with no end in sight. Despite lots of budget cuts this year, a $21 billion deficit looms. The politicians' solution? Stop selling high-definition TVs in the state. It's starting to become routine. Last February, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new spending plan with "real, lasting reforms" that would help close its $36 billion-plus deficit and ensure the state never got so out of fiscal whack again. And just four months ago the Governator and California's worst-in-the-country legislature agreed to a plan to close a $24 billion budget gap by cutting spending amid... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390359/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:15:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390388/posts WASHINGTON -- Mayors from four U.S. cities said they are facing a once-in-a-generation fiscal crisis and that federal stimulus funds have, so far, been largely unhelpful in helping them balance budgets hit by steep drops in nearly every source of municipal revenue. The comments, from mayors of Philadelphia, San Jose, Calif; Mesa, Ariz., and Bowling Green, Ky., at a panel discussion sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the National League of Cities, underscore how the recession for local government is far from over. Mesa's mayor, Scott Smith, said the steep drops in sales-tax revenue, the city's primary source of money,... Online.wsj.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2390388/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:51:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389889/posts More grim news Wednesday for state workers: California's general fund faces a $21 billion deficit through the middle of 2011. The red ink could flow for years to come, according to a forecast by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.The state's 200,000 or so workers, already taking a 15 percent pay hit from three furlough days per month, knew this was coming. What does the state's rotten financial picture mean to them?• Real job cuts. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger already has ordered 7,000 jobs eliminated from the deficit-ridden general fund. And as this column reported a few months ago, the administration has... SacBee: State Worker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389889/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:45:19 GMT