California Legislature: 2000-2009
The California government’s finance situation is shattered. Their spending reaches almost $200 billion a year, $136 billion of it raised in CA, $54 billion from the Feds. But their state raised revenues currently are $42 billion dollars short of the $136 they need.
They spend $136 billion but raise just $94 billion.
The Democrats in the Legislature and the Governor, who is Republican but in name only, think this will work:
- raise taxes by $14 billion
- raise $10 billion in long term debt
- cut spending by $16 billion
Let’s ignore that their plan only adds up to $40 billion. They can probably cover the $2 billion by kiting checks.
The plan only cuts $14 billion dollars. Does anybody really think they couldn’t cut the budget much more and run the state just fine? Sure things might not happen, like some roads or bridge. And some bureaucrats would get the ax, but the state would continue to function just fine.
Reducing spending to 2004 levels would just about cover it.
Did California suck 4 years ago? Not really. They got by just fine. In fact, I bet they could cut back to 2000 levels, have a fine state, and run a SURPLUS.
Liberals have no end of uses for your money. They will keep spending it as long as you are willing to give it to them.
It is no surprise, to me at least, that the states in dire trouble now are those with liberal one party rule.
February 17th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/BudgetSummary/BS_SCH2.pdf
The more you make the more they take and that isn’t enough.
Add FIT and SSIT, plus property and sales taxes and you get 38 per cent.
February 17th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Too bad they don’t carve out San Diego as a Hong Kong to the rest of California’s China. I’d like to retire in SD, but they keep making the entire state untenable.