california dreaming - guardian 4.10.09

[INDY500]

Calif. governor: Tax hikes needed for $16B budget gap – USATODAY.com

Calif. governor: Tax hikes needed for $16B budget gap

SACRAMENTO (AP) – California Gov. Jerry Brown proposed more than $8 billion in cuts Monday to close a widening state budget deficit that he blamed partly on a slower-than-expected economic recovery.

The revised $15.7 billion budget shortfall (up from $ 9.2 billion in January) for the fiscal year that starts July 1 is roughly 17% of California's $91 billion general fund, the state's main checkbook for paying day-to-day operations.

The Legislature had cut tens of billions of dollars from schools, social services, higher education, courts and health care programs for the poor since the recession began in late 2007.

The higher education cuts in particular have sparked demonstrations at regents' meetings and on college campuses throughout the state.

The Democratic governor said the size of the deficit makes it virtually impossible to balance the budget with spending cuts alone, so his budget balances the cuts with the revenue he anticipates if voters approve his proposal to increase the statewide sales tax by a quarter cent and boost income taxes on those who make more than $250,000 a year. Both tax increases would be temporary.

If voters reject his tax initiative, Brown is proposing an automatic cut of $5.5 billion to K-12 schools and $250 million each to the California State University and University of California systems.

By comparison, public schools would see a 16% increase in funding if voters pass Brown's initiative.

Brown called his latest budget plan "modest, fair and temporary." The income tax hikes on the wealthy would be in effect for seven years, while the quarter-cent sales tax hike would remain for four years if voters approve.

In exchange, the governor is proposing a balanced approach that incorporates a wide range of cuts, from prison spending to child care for mothers trying to get off welfare.

Brown said his administration will work with state employee unions to achieve the 5% savings, either through a straight pay cut or reduced work hours. He issued a detailed plan for public employee pension reform earlier this year, but his proposal has not gained much traction in the Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats.

Why is governor Brown so anti-education, anti-poor and anti-union? Guess it's OK though 'cause he's gonna tax the rich.

Seriously... reasoned, pragmatic, compassionate liberals control every facet of government in California so this has gotta work, right? Right?

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by AliEnvy

I imagine something along the lines of green energy will get them (and the rest of us) out as mentioned in the article.

Oops!!

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Guess it's OK though 'cause he's gonna tax the rich.

yes. it is. why is this such an awful thing? that's how society works.

[ladyfreckles]

I never cared much for California before. I had family I visited once every few years, and friends that lived there, but I was so far away (east coast) that it didn't really matter to me. Now I live in Seattle, which in terms of real estate, is basically California outside of California. We don't have the unemployment rate, or the high taxes, but our housing prices are ridiculous. It's caused me to start paying a lot more attention to California and its... unique ways.

All I can say is, after reading up on the news regarding Cali and all of the info in this thread, I'm glad Pat didn't accept that job offer he got down in the San Fransisco/San Jose area.

[INDY500]

San Bernardino seeks bankruptcy protection - latimes.com

San Bernardino, facing the possibility of missing payroll, becomes California's third city in weeks to authorize a bankruptcy filing.

Filing for municipal bankruptcy protection will allow San Bernardino to renegotiate contracts, including those with employees, and stave off creditors while officials restructure the city's finances. Current employee pension obligations, one of the contributors to the city's financial straits, will not be affected, officials said.

High taxes, high regulation, strong public unions, robust environmentalism, open borders and one-party liberal rule.

Shouldn't this be Utopia?

[PhilsFan]

Of course not. It's out west. Utopia cannot exist outside of the northeastern United States, come on now!

[deep]

one small city in a state of 38 million does not really say much

The city in which I live is completing a new civic center



http://www.bcj.com/public/projects/project/109.html

it is coming in under budget at 127 million
we still have our triple A rating, a balanced budget, with money going into our reserve accounts.

[ladyfreckles]

Originally Posted by PhilsFan

Of course not. It's out west. Utopia cannot exist outside of the northeastern United States, come on now!

Neither can good Italian food or deli sandwiches, apparently. Oh well, I suppose it is a trade-off.

[INDY500]

There Is No California - Victor Davis Hanson - National Review Online

California’s combined income and sales taxes are among the nation’s highest, but the state’s annual deficit is still about $16 billion. It is estimated that more than 2,000 upper-income Californians are leaving per week to flee high taxes and costly regulations, yet the state government wants to raise taxes even higher. California’s business climate already ranks near the bottom in most surveys. Its teachers are among the highest paid, on average, in the nation, but its public-school students consistently test near the bottom of the nation in both math and science. The state’s public employees enjoy some of the nation’s most generous pensions and benefits, but California’s retirement systems are underfunded by about $300 billion.

“California” is a misnomer. There is no such state. Instead there are two radically different cultures and landscapes with little in common, the two equally dysfunctional in quite different ways. Apart they are unworldly; together, a disaster.

A postmodern narrow coastal corridor runs from San Diego to Berkeley; there the weather is ideal, the gentrified affluent make good money, and values are green and left-wing. This Shangri-La is juxtaposed to a vast impoverished interior, from the southern desert to the northern Central Valley, where life is becoming premodern.

On the coast, blue-chip universities like Cal Tech, Berkeley, Stanford, and UCLA in pastoral landscapes train the world’s doctors, lawyers, engineers, and businesspeople. In the hot interior of blue-collar Sacramento, Turlock, Fresno, and Bakersfield, well over half the incoming freshmen in the California State University system must take remedial math and science classes.

To fathom the nearly unbelievable statistics — as California’s population grew by 10 million from the mid-1980s to 2005, its number of Medicaid recipients increased by 7 million; one-third of the nation’s welfare recipients now reside in California.

On the coast, it’s politically incorrect to talk of illegal immigration. In the interior, residents see first-hand the bankrupting effects on schools, courts, and health care when millions arrive illegally without English-language fluency or a high-school diploma — and send back billions of dollars in remittances to Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Which presidential ticket on the ballot this November is promising higher taxes, more regulation, an energy policy dictated by environmentalists, open borders and is endorsed by public unions? In other words, which presidential candidate wants to emulate California?

[PhilsFan]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Which presidential ticket on the ballot this November is promising higher taxes, more regulation, an energy policy dictated by environmentalists, open borders and is endorsed by public unions?

That's one way to spin it.

[Irvine511]

wow, someone's nervous about Mitt 'n Paul.

[martha]

The best part of that piece? Absolutely no evidence for any of his assertions. Not a shred.

INDY California.

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by martha

The best part of that piece? Absolutely no evidence for any of his assertions. Not a shred.

Best part of your post? Absolutely no specifics on your part. Not a one.

What is false in the piece?

[Moonlit_Angel]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Which presidential ticket on the ballot this November is promising higher taxes

You mean the higher taxes he wants to enforce on the rich? 'Cause that's the only type of "higher taxes" I've heard him make reference to.

To fathom the nearly unbelievable statistics — as California’s population grew by 10 million from the mid-1980s to 2005, its number of Medicaid recipients increased by 7 million; one-third of the nation’s welfare recipients now reside in California.

*Sighs*

[martha]

Originally Posted by INDY500

Best part of your post? Absolutely no specifics on your part. Not a one.

What is false in the piece?

Didn't say it was false; said there was no evidence. Get it right for once. Just once.

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by Moonlit_Angel

You mean the higher taxes he wants to enforce on the rich? 'Cause that's the only type of "higher taxes" I've heard him make reference to.

1) I made the Obama connection, not the author.
2) I make that connection because a more progessive tax code is exactly what California has. Millions flee California because of progressive tax system | The Daily Caller

Although to be fair they don't have a millionaire tax yet.

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by martha

Didn't say it was false; said there was no evidence.

He made it up then? Whoops, sorry, that's my "nasty internet persona" lashing out.

Pick a fact and I'll see if I can find collaboration.

[Moonlit_Angel]

Originally Posted by INDY500

1) I made the Obama connection, not the author.
2) I make that connection because a more progessive tax code is exactly what California has. Millions flee California because of progressive tax system | The Daily Caller

Although to be fair they don't have a millionaire tax yet.

1, I know that, I don't think I implied otherwise, did I? If I did, then sorry for the confusion.
2, I can't comment much on California's economy specifically, 'cause the last (and only) time I was there was in 1997 for two weeks, and aside from knowing the state is struggling, I don't know a whole ton about the ins and outs of it all.

But as for that link, while there may well be some businesses that are legitimately hurting by the taxes going up, I'm also sure that there are many people who probably COULD easily pay those taxes, but just don't want to because it might mean parting with some of their precious millions. And I would imagine there are other factors involved in why these businesses are failing and/or moving as well.

[martha]

Originally Posted by INDY500

He made it up then? Whoops, sorry, that's my "nasty internet persona" lashing out.

Pick a fact and I'll see if I can find collaboration.

Can you freaking read? You are a troll.

[INDY500]

Originally Posted by martha

Can you freaking read? You are a troll.

I said I'd try and provide the evidence for you.