State Senator Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) was first elected back in 1998 – so he has been through more than one state budget crisis. When he was asked about our current state budget crisis he told the O.C. Register, “I’ve never seen it this bad. Is this the worst? Yeah, this is the worst.”
Correa is a rare Democrat in that he does not like to raise taxes, and the current budget stalemate is due to the fact that neither side wants to budge on taxes. The Republicans don’t want to raise taxes – and the Democrats don’t want to make many more budget cuts.
Add to the mix the fact that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has his own basket of goodies that he wants to add to the budget, and you have a volatile mess on your hands.
“As a stop gap, the governor has ordered the state Department of Personnel to adopt a plan to furlough state employees for two days a month without pay and to begin layoffs of state workers. State employees, however, are trying to block the order,” according to the O.C. Register.
Former Republican Assemblyman Ray Haynes says that asking Republicans to raise taxes is like asking Democrats to end collective bargaining – it is a career killer for Republicans.
“Democrats are asking Republicans to end their political lives, but are not willing to end their own. Democrat constituency groups are asking Republican constituency groups to sell out their core principles, but are not willing to sell out any of their own,” Haynes explains, in the Sacramento Bee.
That doesnt’ seem like a fair thing for the Democrats to do. But then they could care less if the Republicans anger their base.
It seems reasonable for the Democrats to budge on some of the cuts proposed by the Republicans. Click here to see what some of those cuts are. Unfortunately most involve cutting education.
The Democrats proposed tax increases will mostly target what is left of our middle class. Click here to see what those proposals are.
I don’t see any resolution to this mess on the horizon…and the state will soon run out of money. What a mess. I wonder what Governor Gray Davis would have done, in Schwarzenegger’s place? Or Governor Pete Wilson?
The unemployment rates below are for November and were released on December 19, 2008
48 CALIFORNIA 8.4
Seem to me that with over 8 percent unemployed and the state, counties and cities hurting for taxes and business failing right and left, it is apparent that the 8.4 percent that no longer have a job were the only ones paying taxes and doing productive work.
So rehired the productive 8.4 percent and layoff the 90 plus percent of dead weight.
Cook, tell me did the Republicans ever envision a need to raise taxes when they began this no taxes campaign?
Doesn’t the current economic crisis demand a complete overhaul of the tax system in California?
Isn’t the fact that both parties are unable to work together to produce a valid budget much less such a rebuilding of the tax code proof that all of them are unfit to serve in office and therefore should be recalled?
If they can’t do the work, get them out of the kitchen. We recalled a Governor now we need to recall the entire Senate and Assembly too?
Seems to me that when the immigrant is not working the world stops working. When we stopped them from getting licenses that 23 dollars a pop not to mention insurance. The last 10 year planning period California had to cut down traffic by 20% but still has to pay for the deficit that we are lacking in gas and registration taxes. So that means that the licenses and registrations will go up too. Day laborers pay taxes with a itin and they pay taxes on their businesses even if it is only a profit loss statement. When the United States stopped welcoming the immigrant they went against what the United States used to stand for. The United States cut our noses to spite our faces. The produce and canned vegetables have gone up sufficiently to realize that the immigrant did make a difference in the United States. Now they have the richest man in the world. You know the old saying “You reap what you sow” no one to reap the harvest the prices go up. A can of Fruit Cocktail now costs 2.75 now that is a shame. It will be a bigger depression than 29 No money and no food.
Lou is a real maverick; he takes contributions from both ends of the spectrum, promises the sky, guarantees election victory from the misled brown masses, and then sits firmly in the middle, doing nothing. Is he a DINO? Or even another MINO? Mexican In Name Only–the OC has a slew of ’em!