California Spendin’: WSJ Notes, Rest of Media Ignore

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A hard-hitting subscription-only editorial in the Wall Street Journal today needs some reinforcement.

That's because Californians relying on Old Media for their news about the Golden State's dire financial situation are being conditioned to believe that only a tax increase will solve the state's problems.

The latest offering in that regard is a Field poll covered at the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle, headlined "Many voters think deficit fix will require higher taxes" and "Voters resigned to higher taxes to solve budget crisis," respectively. Those headlines conveniently obscure the fact that the margin of those believing that tax increases are necessary vs. those who think that the answer is totally in spending cuts is only 48%-43%.

Here is some of what the Journal had to say:

Let's start with the culture of overspending in Sacramento. State outlays have nearly tripled to $142 billion this year from $51 billion in the early 1990s. After the technology bubble burst in 2001, the state's deficit swelled to $20 billion. Voters recalled Gray Davis from the Governor's mansion in favor of Mr. Schwarzenegger, who promised to "cut up the state's credit card." In Arnold's first year, the budget was held in check, but the state still issued $9 billion in "revenue bonds" rather than shrink the size of government.

What really rescued the state was the national economic expansion, including the housing boom and the cut in capital gains and dividend taxes that helped the state's technology industry. Tax receipts rose 40% over the last four years, but Sacramento returned to spending as usual. Expenditures rose by 44%, and billions of dollars of new school and road bonds were issued. After getting trounced by labor unions in state referendums, Mr. Schwarzenegger gave up trying to change any of this.

Even with the new deficit estimates, the Governor and legislature are promoting a new government health-care plan at a cost, coincidentally, of $14 billion.

..... "Our tax policies practically invite Californians to pack up their bags and leave the state," says Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines. "We can't possibly balance our budget with new taxes." Ah, but Democrats are willing to give it a try. Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez wants to institute a new tax on Internet sales, increase corporate taxes, and double the state's hated car registration tax.

Mr. Schwarzenegger is again preaching spending restraint, which is long overdue. The tragedy is that he and his Sacramento running mates wouldn't be facing this current fiscal mess had they done more to improve the state's policies during the last one.

That California's politicians need to get a grip on spending is illustrated in this table (the spending amounts come from the editorial, the population numbers from the Census Bureau, and the inflation adjustments came from relevant December-ending figures at the Bureau of Labor Statistics):

The state is spending over 58% more per person in real terms now compared to 12 years ago, and over 12% more in real terms compared to just two years ago. Additionally, I have been told by several residents over the years that the state has pushed a lot of spending down to the counties and cities over the years, increasing the overall tax burden in the state by even more than would be indicated above. Commenter confirmation of that contention would be welcome.

The idea that tax increases are part of the remedy in California is patently absurd, but don't even expect the state's Old Media to tell you that.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

—Tom Blumer is president of a training and development company in Mason, Ohio, and is a contributing editor to NewsBusters


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"Many voters think deficit

"Many voters think deficit fix will require higher taxes" and "Voters resigned to higher taxes to solve budget crisis"

The media swings into action, greasing the skids...

"Our tax policies

"Our tax policies practically invite Californians to pack up their bags and leave the state," says Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines. "We can't possibly balance our budget with new taxes."

Hey, maybe they will pass a law that you are still liable for taxes 10 years after leaving the state, that's what the IRS says on Americans who change citizenship.  <sarcasm>

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. dscott's corollary: The line between malice and stupidity is called depraved indifference.

Schwarzenegger the Magician and Gaming tribes

The Governor signed some backroom deals with 4 larger gaming tribes.  Well, large in income, small in population.  The Pechanga Band of Mission Indians is even smaller, having terminated 25% of their tribe so that those remaining could have a larger per capita check.

Pechanga and the 3 other tribes now have 4 propositions in the Feb. 5 elections.  They are spending $45 million dollars trying to convince the people that this is a good deal.  This is in addition to the money they spent trying to keep the people from being able to vote.

Their original commercial implied that the compacts would eliminate the deficit because they would raise $9 Billion over 23 years.  They never mentioned that the budget would be short $14 BILLION just this year alone.  

In Pechanga's case, they have violated the civil rights of their people, not following their own tribal constitution, laws and customs.   NOW,they want us to believe that THIS time, they really will follow the law.   They also don't mention that they, the tribes will be solely responsible for telling CA how much they earned.   Can you say, "two sets of books?"  I think you can.  Come take a look at Original Pechanga's blog for the stories of what tribes are doing.

Stop the mad spending and our budget will be balanced.

Many voters do not think..

In other words Tom,

"Many voters think deficit fix will not require higher taxes."

(;~> gary

Fix California

Liberals would have us believe that California, the Meathead Reiner utopia of illegals, aborticide, no executions, immense taxes, immense welfare, slave labor, rich elite is the Rockefeller blueprint for America.

Yet once again sodom by the bay has turned the most prosperous nation in the 50 states of America into a place Kurt Russell should be sent in as Snake, not to escape from, but to terminate the land of sin.

For the record, what it COSTS AMERICANS in the billions for all the sexual diseases and illegals which California has created, America could invest that money in the northern Mexican states, Americanize them, HAND THE MONEY TO THE ILLEGALS to stay there and America would be farther ahead than we are now.

If Arnold wants to fix his pisser problem caused by the Californication of that state to communism, all he has to do is start a buying spree of Baja, Sonora and those other Mexican states and install politicians who represent Americans there in the same way the marching border busters are whining here.

Arnold might never be Presidenator, but he certainly if he has the balls to do it could lead a real revolution in the southwest of a plan utilizing a flood of American industry to employ, educate in English and provide medical care in a sort of Salvation Army in league with the Catholic religion in northern Mexico.
In 10 years, Mexico as a free trade zone would lift the Mexican economy into a world status as being a satellite American state. America would benefit from trade and from goods created there and not China.

I speak of no North American Union, but of an American domination and a Mexican assimilation into the 1st world community from the 3rd world.

Abraham Lincoln outlawed slavery and it is past time Arnold and the liberals get on the Conservative cause in freeing the Mexican who is a slave laborer in criminal status. No not amesty in the least, but repatriation in northern Mexico for the same jobs which they are doing here.
If Suzy liberal can't mow her lawn or diaper her own kid.........too bad!

Get off your asterisk Arnold as time is wasting. You got my contact infor here if you can't figure out the synopsis above.

 

 

 

*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS

Fix California

Spay or neuter your libs

"how would i know? if i knew everything i'd run for God" ----crpl Klinger

I’ve been told that the

I’ve been told that the federal government cannot afford to pay out my Social Security and Medicare benefits when I reach the age of 66….  so how is it the State of California and its local government entities can afford to pay out retirement benefit packages that are double, triple or more than the federal program benefits… to retirees in their 50’s? 

The majority of California’s politicians are responsive to the beneficiaries of those government union benefit packages. 

Not all taxes originate in Sacramento.  Property tax add-ons, local utility and sales taxes are other sources of taxation that have many of us planning to flee the state upon retirement.  We’ll leave it to the foreign investors to keep the gold in the Golden State. 

Here’s what’s going on in my county (at least this writer understands the situation is critical)...

http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_7241931?nclick_check=1

When will Republicans, in

When will Republicans, in general, and conservatives, in particular, dump this RHINO, Schwarzenegger?  He took office from the previous governor with the ambition to reduce taxes and spending.  Since he has been in office he has done neither.  Instead, it appears his only ambition is his own.

Another tax revolt is coming

Sooner or later, the backs of even the liberals will break with all of these crazy taxes.  It happened almost 30 years ago and it looks like it's due to happen again.

Despite what many people think, there are millions of folks here who are not tax-n-spend liberals and are frustrated with Sacramento spending money like there's no tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the population centers are full of illegal aliens, their enablers, and abortion cultists.  There are huge numbers of government employees.  They're the ones who are keeping these morons in office.  But sooner or later not even the nurses or teachers will be able to keep up with taxes and fees. 

Arnolds plan

I voted for Arnold but his announced scare tactic of letting prisoners out of jail early to save 220 million dollars prompted me to send him my not so nice opinion. Just once I would like the politicians to say that they are cutting their staffs and expenses.

Note: Just to show you how politically correct this state has become I heard this on radio news today. For humane reasons the LAPD has stopped poison rats and is collecting stay cats, having them neutered and using them for rat eradication at police stations.

Yes they keep ignoring spending in the Sacbee

The 95-96 budget was 59.1 billion and this year spending is 145.5 billion (not 142 reported by the WSJ) for a whooping 246% spending increase in just 12 years.

http://www.dof.ca.gov/Budget/Historical_Documents.php

What the media also likes to report on the budget is just the 102.5 billion general fund when they talk about it and ignore the 29 billion special fund and 14 billion bond funds that are also part of the budget to make it seem less. You can see the real numbers at the link there.