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So, Governor Brown and the Sacramento Democrats, finally giving up on getting ANY co-operation from Sacramento Republicans on the matter of revenue, have come up with an extremely harsh but balanced budget – as they had promised to – cutting $650 million each from the University of California system and the CSU system, $150 million from state courts, and $2.8 billion in deferred payments to K-12 and community colleges, ON TOP of $400 million taken from community colleges.
And this is the best-case scenario! It depends on a very optimistic expectation of an extra $4 billion in tax receipts (since those HAVE been coming in higher than expected.) If that revenue doesn’t come in, there’s a trigger built into this budget that will cut EVEN MORE: $2.5 billion more in spending cuts to schools and other programs in the middle of the fiscal year; shortened school years, increased community college fees, $100 million more from in-home support services, half a billion from school bus transportation, and $100 million more in cuts from UC and CSU each.
And Orange County is singled out for special punishment. Since our 1994 (Dave-Ellis-related) bankruptcy, we’d been getting $48 million a year from vehicle license fees to help us pay back our loans – that is now on the chopping block, to the great howling chagrin of both suave Lou Correa and Don “Spanky” Wagner.
Well, our fine Orange County Supervisors are none too pleased about this – especially that last bit – and they sent me this press release which I believe you are all intended to see:
Proposed State Budget Would Result In $48 Million Cut for Orange County
(Santa Ana, CA) — The proposed State Budget agreement would cut $48 million in guaranteed funding for Orange County.
“The proposal before the California Legislature would cut $48 million that Orange County receives from Vehicle License Fees,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Campbell. “The loss of revenue would force the County to make major program cuts that would affect public safety programs in the Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department and Office of the District Attorney. At its core, this will mean the County will have to close jail beds, reduce the number of prosecutors in courtrooms and close juvenile detention facilities. It would also mean significant cuts to critical public health programs including community clinics and social services. This action threatens the viability of core safety net services at a time when people need these services most of all.”
Orange County has already made dramatic cuts to its programs over the past four years in response to the economic downturn. The County has demonstrated fiscal responsibility by four consecutive years of Net County Cost reductions and by reducing the number of budgeted employee positions by 1,400 over the last four years while handling increased caseloads in many safety net service areas. This diversion of funding from Orange County threatens the ability of the County to main a minimum level of service and may jeopardize public health and safety.
Ironically, the Board of Supervisors today approved a balanced County budget for Fiscal Year 2011-12.
Hey wait a second, aren’t these people, who are complaining about all these cuts, Orange County Republicans?
People who are most certainly friends and supporters of useless assemblymen like Wagner, Mansoor, Harkey, Silva, Miller and Hagman, and useless Senators like Harman, Huff, Wyland, and Mimi Walters? Grover Norquist disciples who lifted not a finger to prevent this catastrophe, and whose only motive is to break California’s government, to “shrink it till it can be drowned?”
Did these disgruntled Supervisors ever once put any pressure on our Republican legislators to at least vote with Jerry to allow US TAXPAYERS to decide on the ballot if we wanted to extend some of our modest taxes to PREVENT this catastrophe?
Sounds like a case of sowing the wind, reaping the whirlwind, and then typical right-wing whining. Also, it reminds me of when my dog has so much fun tearing apart his chew toy, and is then inexpressibly sad when it won’t squeak like it used to.
As usual, we citizens are going to have to take the desperate revenue situation into our own hands, if we want our state to remain the civilized and promising place it always was. Very soon we’re going to get to vote on:
- An oil extraction fee, in this one and only oil-producing state that doesn’t have one;
- A 1%-on-1% tax; that is, a 1% tax raise on the top 1% of income earners – billionaires and multi-millionaires;
- Another (hopefully successful) attempt to terminate Schwarzenegger’s corporate tax loopholes;
- and a reform of Prop 13 to a “split-roll assessment system“ – protecting the original “mom-and-pop” property owners the Proposition was intended to protect, while taxing commercial property at current market rates, finally ending one of California’s greatest and longest swindles.
***************
Oh, PS. Did you hear the one – stop me if you’ve heard it – where Governor Brown put OCEA head Nick Berardino onto the OC Fair Board, to rub elbows and egos with plutocrat crooks Dave Ellis and Dale Dykema? No?
Well, that’s it. That’s the joke. And it’s true. And it’s hilarious. Fair Board meetings will be not-to-miss now. And do you really think Jerry’s gonna sell the property?
Cutting back prosecutors and the jails they put people in sounds great to me, unless it means they will just be stuffed even more like sardines in a can. And yes, the Republicans (I included Correa) are hypocrites. But why aren’t you also bashing the Democrats for going along (not all the way, but most of the way) with the Tea Party agenda of destroying government? And Brown just vetoed a bill that would have given farm workers an actual right to join unions. Brown is an opportunist, no conscience in his soul. And the Democrats, though better in California than elsewhere, are corporate controlled cowards as a whole. We are in a war right now, let’s face it. It’s a civil war being fought all over the world through the budget process and free market bullshit is the weapon of choice. Democrats and their “liberal” counterparts all over the world at all levels are part of the problem along with the right. They are not on our side any more than the Republicans and the corporate fascists. It’s time to grow up, stop the Obama and Jerry Brown fantasies, and admit who our enemies are so that we know who to fight.
It is always the Republicans fault that our state has problems. I know, with a Democratic majority that has ruled forever, don’t blame them, its not their fault.
We do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem and nobody wants to solve it. We still are not quite number one in the world in taxation, but it is a goal that Democrats hope to reach some day.
Our biggest problem is that both parties suffer from the same affliction, they can’t bring themselves to do the right thing. Maybe crazy Jerry will do something, time will tell, but he did contribute to the problem the first time around.
Time to go after some of that inflated union contract money, their pensions are not sustainable. Time to eliminate all of the highly paid commissions to pay off your political supporters or termed out hacks.
As for taxes, we all pay too much. The problem is that Federal and State tax codes are over the top. Designed to help someone they need to pander too. It would be nice if you just paid a specific tax rate and there were no deductions or tax credits. Imagine not having to buy Turbo Tax or pay to have your taxes done because it is so easy. I know, you will say I am biased, that I just don’t have enough money to buy my very own politician so that I can have my very own loophole.
My favorite is “allow US TAXPAYERS to decide”. That’s a laugh, since more people don’t pay (income) taxes than those of us that do, we would have to change the voting laws to eliminate them. We have voters who vote for every bond measure because they don’t pay the taxes that will go to paying off those bonds. Next thing you get is a bullet train from nowhere to nowhere.
Its time to forget the hacks and embrace doing the right thing. Because they have never done the right thing, we all get to see the cuts to things like education and public safety.
Thank you for letting me rant, I have become sick and tired of our elected officials serving themselves and not the people.
When the economy is suffering and unemployment is so high, there IS indeed a revenue problem. That’s economics 101.
And that doesn’t necessarily need to be solved by more taxes on the poor and middle class.
anon. Fasten your seat belt.
Several months ago I addressed pending legislation in the states of Washington and Oregon to impose an odometer use tax on every mile we drive on their freeways. Earlier this week I read that the federal government is sending out a trial balloon to get reaction for a similar tax scheme from all of us.
I would opine that the poor and middle class would be hit harder as there is no correlation to what we may earn per hour or month as they check our annual mileage for taxing purposes.
i.e. You may earn $10 per hour while I am paid $100 per hour writing for Vern, yet we both drive 15,000 miles per year and will be assessed the same tax. Go figure.
PS: None of the bloggers on the Juice are compensated
Larry, well said, but Democrats do not care about facts – like the car tax, cigarette tax, and other regressive taxes hit the poor harder than the rich. They also do not care about the fact that Republicans were willing (erroneously, in my opinion) to consider putting tax hikes on the ballot, but Democrats were not willing to address the real revenue problems, like the lack of a spending cap and public employee benefits. In the end, the Democrats caved to their union masters and passed another gimmicky budget (perhaps I was too quick to offer praise to Moonbeam for vetoing an earlier gimmicky budget). The Democrats have put us in this position and now they simply want us to give them more money to dole out to their unions and push us further toward the brink. What classy leadership.
By the way, there is a story in the Register today that the average family of 4 will save $1,000 per year thanks to the expiring car tax increase, the increased dependent exemption, and the already-expired income tax increase. Question to all you libs supporting higher taxes – don’t you think that $1,000 will come in handy in this economy? No, you would rather we give even more to the black hole in Sacramento.
auto’s do not cover the cost of the roads they use.
Maybe a per mile tax instead of a per gallon tax is in order.
Cook. While president Obama wants the rich to pay a higher federal income tax rate you are OK with having the poor pay the same mileage fee for driving on our highways as those tooling around in luxury cars?
Where is your motorist fairness doctrine? We should get a clunker discount. Wait a minute. President Obama had us turn in our clunkers to stimulate US auto sales. What he doesn’t know is that I still drive one.
We can solve this challenge by simply changing to a flat tax, however I am now going way off the thread.
My favorite is “allow US TAXPAYERS to decide”. That’s a laugh, since more people don’t pay (income) taxes than those of us that do…
Thanks for being honest enough to write (income) in parentheses at least. And there you should see where it ISN’T a laugh to let us decide – The taxes in question which would have been extended included sales tax and vehicle license fee taxes. So maybe don’t laugh so hard – they do affect us all.
I was trying to be honest, because a ton of the debt we are stuck with is due to those who don’t pay income taxes voting yes on every bond issue there is. Why not have a bullet train that travels between 2 points that have no real population centers, they don’t have to pay for it.
The amazing thing is that if we ever did clean up all of this and do the right thing for the people, we would find out that there is a lot of money left over to do things to be socially responsible.
Of course if someone can help me get on one of these state boards that pay me $100,000 for 6 meetings, I will keep my mouth shut…………..
Me too, I want one of those board seats too.
Actually, Mike, California isn’t even close to being number one for taxes, not even for the rich and corporations who have many loopholes that bring their tax rate way down to about half, as I recall from a recent excellent LA Times expose of that stupid myth.
If the board wants to make up the 48 million why do not they ask their rich friends for it, I am sure they could take donations.
As posted elsewhere:
Let’s visit our basic math class.
A billion dollars equals a thousand million (1,000,000,000,000 = 1,000,000,000 X 1,000).
The County budget as described here is $5.6B ($5,600,000,000) OR fifty six thousand million.
The state is threatening to take back $48,000,000.
By my calculation that equals a cut of: .0085714. OR LESS THAN 1%.
Please, I have never been good at math (in addition to spelling according to Dan C. and Jubal) so correct me if these figures are wrong.
LISTENING TO BILL CAMPBELL CRY ABOUT CUTS IS HOLLOW POLITICS.
I love when someone does the math on these. Whats the quote? “Liars, damn liars, and statistics.” Thanks KLND
Do we have any billionaires in California? Who make this state their official residence? Name one.
Northern California
Archie Aldis Emmerson-Anderson $1.6 Billion
Central Valley
Ernest Gallo-Modesto $1.3 Billion
Alexander Spanos-Stockton $1.1 Billion
Joyce Raley Teel-Sacramento $1.1 Billion
Los Angeles Area
Kirk Kerkorian-Los Angeles-$15 Billion
Donald Bren-Newport Beach $8.5 Billion
Sumner Redstone-Beverly Hills $8.0 Billion
Eli Broad-Los Angeles $6.0 Billion
Bradley Hughes-Malibu $5.3 Billion
David Geffen-Los Angeles $4.7 Billion
David Murdock-Los Angeles $4.2 Billion
Jeffrey Skoll-Los Angeles $4.2 Billion
Patrick Soon-Shiong-Los Angeles $3.5 Billion
Steven Udvar-Hazy-Beverly Hills $3.2 Billion
A. Jerrold Perenchio-Bel Air $3.0 Billion
Steven Spielberg-Pacific Palisades $3.0 Billion
Haim Saban-Beverly Hills $2.8 Billion
Roland Arnall-Holmby Hills $2.5 Billion
Ronald Burkle-Los Angeles $2.5 Billion
Alfred Mann-Los Angeles $2.5 Billion
Henry Nichols III-Laguna Hills $2.2 Billion
Franklin Booth Jr-Los Angeles $2.1 Billion
Michael Milken-Beverly Hills $2.1 Billion
Henry Samueli-Newport Beach $2.1 Billion
Tom Gores-Beverly Hills $2.0 Billion
David Hearst Jr-Los Angeles $2.0 Billion
George Hearst Jr-Los Angeles $2.0 Billion
Anthony Pritzker-Los Angeles $2.0 Billion
John Anderson-Bel Air $1.9 Billion
Charles Munger-Los Angeles $1.9 Billion
Edward Roski Jr-Los Angeles $1.8 Billion
George Aryros-Newport Beach $1.7 Billion
Louis Gonda-Beverly Hills $1.7 Billion
Alan Casden-Beverly Hills $1.6 Billion
Igor Olenicoff-Newport Beach $1.6 Billion
Leslie Gonda-Beverly Hills $1.4 Billion
Gary Michelson-Los Angeles $1.4 Billion
Robert Day-Los Angeles $1.3 Billion
Roy Disney-Los Angeles $1.3 Billion
William Hilton-Los Angeles $1.3 Billion
Timothy Blixseth-Rancho Mirage $1.2 Billion
Alec Gores-Beverly Hills $1.2 Billion
William Gross-Laguna Beach $1.2 Billion
George Joseph-Los Angeles $1.1 Billion
Jonathan Lovelace-Los Angeles $1.1 Billion
Michael Eisner-Los Angeles $1.0 Billion
Santa Barbara County
Thomas Barrack-Santa Barbara $1.0 Billion
San Diego Area
Ernest Rady-San Diego $2.2 Billion
Charles Brandes-San Diego $2.0 Billion
Irwin Jacobs-La Jolla $1.7 Billion
Theodore Waitt-San Diego $1.7 Billion
San Francisco Bay Area
Lawrence Ellison-Woodside $21.5 Billion
Sergey Brin-Palo Alto $16.6 Billion
Larry Page-San Francisco $16.6 Billion
Eric Schmidt-Atherton $6.2 Billion
Steve Jobs-Palo Alto $5.7 Billion
Charles Johnson-San Mateo $5.6 Billion
Charles Schwab-Atherton $5.2 Billion
Rupert Johnson Jr-San Mateo $4.6 Billion
George Lucas-Marin $3.6 Billion
Gordon Moore-Woodside $3.6 Billion
Riley Bechtel-San Francisco $2.7 Billion
Steven Bechtel Jr-San Francisco $2.7 Billion
George Roberts-San Francisco $2.6 Billion
Ray Dolby-San Francisco $2.5 Billion
David Filo-Palo Alto $2.5 Billion
John Sobrato-Atherton $2.4 Billion
Gordon Getty-San Francisco $2.3 Billion
Jess Jackson-Healdsburg $2.2 Billion
Jerry Yang-Los Altos $2.2 Billion
William Randolph Hearst III-San Francisco $2.1 Billion
Omid Kordestani-Atherton $2.1 Billion
Phoebe Hearst Cooke-San Francisco $2.0 Billion
Daniel Pritzker-Marin $2.0 Billion
John Pritzer-San Francisco $2.0 Billion
Andreas von Bechtolsheim-Palo Alto $1.9 Billion
John Morgridge-Portola Valley $1.8 Billion
Kavitark Shriram-Mountain View $1.7 Billion
John J Fisher-San Francisco $1.5 Billion
Robert Naify-San Francisco $1.5 Billion
Thomas Siebel-San Mateo $1.5 Billion
David Cheriton-Mountain View $1.4 Billion
Scott Cook-Woodside $1.4 Billion
Robert Fisher-San Francisco $1.4 Billion
William Fisher-San Francisco $1.4 Billion
Carl Berg-Atherton $1.3 Billion
Kenneth Fisher-Woodside $1.3 Billion
Manny Mashouf-Brisbane $1.3 Billion
Margaret Whitman-Atherton $1.3 Billion
Marc Benioff-San Francisco $1.0 Billion
Weili Dai-Los Altos Hills $1.0 Billion
L John Doerr-Woodside $1.0 Billion
Richard Perry-Palo Alto $1.0 Billion
Arthur Rock-San Francisco $1.0 Billion
Sehat Sutardja-Los Altos Hills $1.0 Billion
Thanks Alex. Yes, we do have a few BILLIONAIRES in California.
And funny thing is, most of them don’t whine too much if they have to pay a little more taxes. This whole Grover Norquist Republican anti-tax crusade thing isn’t about being extra nice and generous to billionaires and corporations, as I argued in my previous article “In Search of the Mythical Job Creators.” – It’s about starving the government of resources.
Yep, that’s just the billionaires. The list of millionaires would be too long to post.
Well, that settles it as far as I’m concerned. No doubt in my mind how to solve the state’s budget problems now!
Out of curiosity, what was the reason for your question The714? Were you challenging a previous comment or trying to say there are no billionaires?
Ken, the vast majority of the County’s budget is made up of State and Federal government pass-throughs. the $50 million from VLF originally used to pay down the bankruptcy debt will have to be made up from County General Funds that total less than $700 million. So the % is really about 7 or 8 %.
Of course the County could finally get rid of the dead wood and start playing hardball with the unions on the “bonus” programs that are little more than automatic raises.
*Thanks to Willie Brown….the State of California entered they lovely “la la land” of tax
the wealthy counties more….then return to them whatever the State felt like giving back. John Moorlach is legend about bringing up the “Donor County” concept. Well, when you throw all the beer money into a bucket and let your teenage son take the keys to your car and divy the money around…..OC…could fall a little short.
All of this depends of course on the idea that business is going to improve in California over the next couple of years.
Basically, we can all “stand by to stand by” for now.
Vern, please be serious. Have you taken 5 minutes to look at the insane growth in CA government spending since 2000? Please do and get back to me with an answer to the following two questions:
1. Do you think the growth in CA government spending since 2000 is reasonable?
2. Do you think that, before the CA state government raises taxes, an honest assessment of current spending priorities and a comprehensive audit of waste, fraud, abuse and accountability in every CA state agency – including CDCR, UC and CSU systems is warranted?
Well, Rob, I don’t know what article you think you are responding to. I sure never said spending shouldn’t be cut. My first few paragraphs just dispassionately detailed all the cuts Brown and the Dems are making, which are very extreme and painful, but I was careful not to place any value judgment on that as it wasn’t the essence of my post.
It IS a shame that when you look for places to cut, you find that there’s really not that much waste to be identified, and a lot of the cuts necessarily come out of EDUCATION, which, from the point of view of the long-term good of the state, is like cutting off your balls to spite your groin. But I didn’t say that in my article.
I DID say that we also need more revenue, and named off four great places for it. Jerry DID come to power with a few promises, which I’ve observed him trying very hard to keep: A Balanced Budget with no GIMMICKS (done) – This budget accomplished with an even mix of spending cuts and revenue increases (That seems so far impossible to accomplish unless we citizens jump into the breach) – And no tax increases without the citizens voting on it ( he kept that promise and didn’t have to.) He was obviously very naive to think that EVEN ONE of today’s Republicans would meet him halfway.
So your questions: #1, OK, no, especially since we didn’t have the revenue to keep up with it. and #2, SURE, who could be against an honest assessment of all that? But I think the sooner the better on the revenue measures I listed.
Vern, thanks – yes, you did outline 4 revenue proposals, all of which are essentially tax increases. The cuts you described are not enough to compensate for the increased spending which landed us in this spot. We should not be seeking to increase revenue in response to unsustainable spending – the point of my post. Before coming to the citizens and businesses, the state should make sure its own house is in order – and Brown offering prison guards unlimited vacation cash-outs as payback fro their electoral support is just one small example.
> Jerry DID come to power with a few promises, which I’ve
> observed him trying very hard to keep: A Balanced Budget with
> no GIMMICKS (done) – This budget accomplished with an
> even mix of spending cuts and revenue increases (That seems
> so far impossible to accomplish unless we citizens jump
> into the breach) – And no tax increases without the citizens voting
> on it ( he kept that promise and didn’t have to.)
Governor Brown pushed an agenda that deliberately limited the discussion about “tax increases” to only continuing a series of highly regressive taxes that hit the working class the hardest.
If he had championed even modestly raising taxes on multi-millionaires and mega-billionaires to help balance the state budget, he would have received overwhelming support from Californians.
Opinion poll after opinion poll–conducted by everyone from the California Federation of Teachers to the Public Policy Institute of California, showed that support for taxing the rich was at astronomical levels.
These same polls, incidentally, showed that all of the schemes Brown was peddling–basically, continuing the triad of regressive sales, car, and income taxes–would fail by huge majorities if a special election were held.
Despite evidence suggesting a majority of Californians were opposed to Brown’s tax plan, he spent his time flying from one group of wealthy businessmen to another asking them to support it.
> He was obviously very naive to think that EVEN ONE
> of today’s Republicans would meet him halfway.
Given numerous opinion polls showed that Brown’s tax plan was very unpopular, it is not the least bit surprising that the Republicans in the state legislature didn’t want to work with him on this issue.
And I’m quite sure that Brown, the clever rascal that he is–a political animal–knew beforehand that the Republicans weren’t going to help him sell his incredibly bad plan to millions of Californians.
You can blame the Republicans all you want, but the fact is Brown and the Democratic-controlled state legislature passed the state budget and are fully responsible for all the carnage it will cause.
Brown had a chance to blow the Republicans right out of the water by supporting increasing taxation on the rich, but he instead aligned himself with California Chamber of Commerce.
Not the least bit surprising since the Democrats–including Brown, the so-called “lesser of two evils”–are in bed with big business interests just as much as the Republicans are.
Screw them both, I say.
What “insane growth in CA government spending since 2000”?
Adjusted for population and inflation the growth in CA government spending is negative through 2011.
Where do you get your facts? John and Ken?
http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/the_california_budget_-_some_facts_and_pictures.html
Gosh, let’s see – from a link you provided:
EXPENDITURE TOTALS INCLUDING FEDERAL FUNDS –
1999-00: $122,167.4 billion
2010-11: $227,931.4 billion
Yeah?
1. Quimby said “adjusting for population and inflation.”
2. You picked two 2-year periods a decade apart.
3. Did you see “including federal funds?”
So, how is Quimby wrong?
Adjusted for population and inflation the growth in CA government spending is negative through 2011. (Mayor Quimby)
The earth is flat. Boy do I have a great deal for you on some swap land in Florida.
Cook: The earth is flat. Boy do I have a great deal for you on some swap land in Florida.
The simple-minded snark of a guy who’s swallowed the propaganda of anti-government zealots for so many decades that even when presented with facts to the contrary they seem Looking-Glass Absurd and Impossible.
http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/the_california_budget_-_some_facts_and_pictures.html
Read, Cook. Learn something.
Lets not forget that, in the Democrat controlled fantasy world that is the California’s government, any reduction in spending towards programs (including education) which were TEMPORARILY funded by federal stimulus funds is a “cut” deserving much hand-wringing, consternation and condemnation of Republicans. Any elimination or rollback of a yet to be actually funded projected increase is a “cut.”
If education got a boost from federal stimulus funds, not matching that boost with NEW state spending means Republicans hate children. God forbid we stop abuses like $154 multimillion-dollar administration buildings or a $578 million community school or a $300 million contaminated high school. Those are just a few LAUSD examples.
How about UC Berkeley spending $3 million on a MA-based consultant to figure out how to SAVE money?
Worse still – Democrats that came hat in hand asking for a “temporary” tax increase now scream and yell, rend hair and predict disaster when Republicans hold them to their promise and let the “temporary” taxes actually expire as scheduled.
If you actually did read the story all these comments are attached to, it’s our Board of Supervisors – all five Republicans – who are screaming and yelling. That was the whole irony I was pointing out.
Oil extraction fees make perfect sense. Oil companies are not charity cases. Even Sarah Palin was smart enough to approve them in Alaska although that’s a pretty sad endorsement. It’s time these companies pay their fair share to the state for stealing our resources.
Alex, Alex. Stealing our resources? Do you travel by foot or a bicycle.
I do both. I’m not a fan of un-sustainability. I drive only when necessary.
Oil companies should pay their fair share is all. Most of the time when they drill for oil it’s coming from places outside of their property lines or it’s in areas they don’t own. In some ways it is stealing from the people of California. If they could bottle up our nice weather, they would steal that too even if it meant the demise of our state.
Alex. speaking of bottles. Do you remember when Mount St. Helens exploded in 1980 and capitalists were quick to sell bottles of ash? We both missed a golden opportunity to make a quick buck.
And a great way to help clean up after a natural disaster. There are plenty of volcanoes here in California that can go off someday too, including a super volcano:
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/others/others_03.html
Solutions to California’s budget crisis:
1) revolution from the bottom up through radical unions utilizing wildcat, hot cargo and sit down and or slow down strikes or outright walkouts, plus a boycott of major corporations that fuck workers (like Wal Mart), hotels in Disneyland area, etc.; Get the hell out of the way, scabs!
2) Lock all billionaire bank accounts and property holdings pending audits, then confiscate 50 percent of all assets, or more if needed or desired, using proceeds to fund health care, affordable housing, college, and other social programs and public transportation; hell, just lock up the billionaires themselves until things get sorted out (require them to use free public defenders who fall asleep in court, like most of the rest of us have to);
3) Release all non-violent prisoners and abolish state prisons;
4) Increase taxes on the rich and corporations after returning to a majority vote requirement for tax increases (except for small businesses and the lower middle class, poor)
5) Place a 75 percent tax on gas at the pump
6) Turn major cities into pedestrian friendly/auto unfriendly urban areas to decrease pollution and increase local shopping revenues;
7) Encourage, even require, cities to provide community gardening and home gardening, co-opts, etc.
8) tax all church income, encourage humanism and atheism in your personal lives;
9) workers take over all major corporations
10) phase out subsidized farming and irrigation in San Joaquin Valley.
11) ban corporate funding of political campaigns of any kind, indirectly or directly.
12) ban billionaires from running for political office;
13) limit campaign contributions to $100 per person
14) Free campaign funding provided by government (use the Norwegian system that bans candidate advertising and requires candidates to participate in public debates).
Solorio has now introduced a bill to fight this $48 million punishment of Orange County. He is joined by Norby, Harkey, and Senator Correa.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/introduces-306832-lawmaker-undo.html
I suppose this is the right thing for them to do, as they are representatives of this county. Yet, those of us who had been wanting and trying so hard to meet spending cuts halfway with revenue increases HAD started muttering about cutting extra from areas that stubbornly elect inflexible no-tax representatives – essentially refusing to pay for the services they expect – and it seems like this could be construed as an example of that idea.
The problem is really less the Republicans per se, than selfish deluded California voters, who have long had what’s called the “Two Santa Claus Theory” – believing that they can continue to get all the great services they are used to, and also continue to pay as little taxes as possible. I don’t celebrate the budget cuts outlined in the story above, but SOMETHING needs to wake Californians up to the desperate need for new revenues. And it DOESN’T have to come from us long-suffering middle & working classes.
And this IS the game plan, John Earl and Duane Roberts. Patience, young radicals!
Patience? Why should we have patience? Are you kidding? Seriously, are you joking? Didn’t you also say that about Obama? “Patience? We don’t need no stinken patience. We need revolution.”
Adjusted for population and inflation the growth in CA government spending is negative through 2011. (Mayor Quimby)
The simple-minded snark of a guy who’s swallowed the propaganda of anti-government zealots for so many decades that even when presented with facts to the contrary they seem Looking-Glass Absurd and Impossible. (Vern)
Vern and Quimby, Computers cost thousands of dollars in the 80’s. and now the computers cost hundreds of dollars and are much more powerful.
Please explain that one with population and inflation.
Apples and croutons, Cook.