California grinds to a halt
posted at 12:52 pm on February 17, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Let the recriminations begin. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says that he will lay off 10,000 workers starting today and end the few remaining public-works projects still in progress as the California legislature failed to reach an agreement to hike taxes by over $14 billion in order to close a massive hole in state finances. Republicans refused to go along:
With lawmakers still unable to deliver a budget after three days of intense negotiations, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prepared to lay off 10,000 government workers and his administration said it would halt the last 275 state-funded public works projects still in operation.
The projects, which cost $3.8 billion and include upgrades to 18 bridges and roads in Los Angeles County to protect them from collapsing in earthquakes, had been allowed to continue as others were suspended because the state was running out of cash. …
Schwarzenegger had delayed sending out pink slips since Friday, hoping that lawmakers would soon approve a budget. But they failed Monday to find a third GOP vote in the state Senate to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to pass a budget — a requirement that essentially gives the minority Republicans veto power. A spokesman for Schwarzenegger said layoff notices would go out today. …
State Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) was viewed as the most likely candidate to provide the final vote, but by Monday evening legislative leaders had not agreed to his demands. The dominant Democrats need three Republican votes in each house to pass the budget; leaders in the Assembly said the votes were available in the lower house.
In the tax revolt of the 1970s, conservatives managed to amend the state constitution to require supermajorities in each chamber for tax increases. They intended to use that as a tool to force better fiscal discipline on state government — a great idea, but unfortunately ultimately ineffective. California just found other ways to raise money, usually through fee hikes. It also did nothing to control spending, as the state’s enormous $105 billion annual budget proves.
Republicans have almost no power in the state legislature apart from this supermajority requirement, so it’s not surprising that they’re reluctant to pass up a chance to use it to get spending cuts. Democrats heavily invested in nanny-state policies over the past few decades, though, and refuse to consider large-scale rollbacks of state government programs. Doing so would jeopardize their standing among key constituencies, especially public-sector unions like AFSCME and SEIU. Instead, they want to bulldoze Republicans into jacking up taxes even higher, making the state that much less competitive and forcing business relocation to increase.
However, Republicans did manage some interesting concessions in this package. They claim over $15 billion in cuts to the budget, as well as greater private contracting on public-works projects, a real sore spot for Californians who wait years for state agencies to complete projects that should take months. They also got approval for a referendum to limit the legislature’s ability to raid the treasury during boom times, which might have prevented the crisis they face now had it been in place three or four years ago.
Is that enough? If the Republicans refuse to budge, Democrats will likely play chicken and blame the layoffs of public employees on the GOP, especially given the concessions already made. Newt Gingrich lost that game in 1995 when he played it with Bill Clinton. Republicans had more strength in 1995, too, than they have had in California over the last decade.
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jeanie on February 17, 2009 at 7:42 PM
Could we at least put a wall around San Diego and preserve the city as a bastion of freedom, ala Berlin? I have many fond memories of that place from my military days and I’m not willing to give it to the fruitball libs just yet.
Bishop on February 17, 2009 at 7:45 PM
The operative word being “were.” As in, past tense. How about now? Or in the last 25 years?
Again, do you understand why that kind of research and the money to fund it was at those universities? Favorable environmental and business regulations and tax policy (combined with good weather) and enormous amounts of federal defense spending. The weather’s still here, nearly everything else is gone.
Californians and the state itself are not inherently superior. Policies have consequences. Period.
By the way, “go read a book” is not a valid critique of someone else’s point and it’s not “slander”, it’s the simple relating of facts. It just makes you sound like a pretend snob and does not validate your view, especially since you don’t seem to know anything beyond “Computers are from California! And they have universities there, too!” I was born in California 47 years ago and have lived plenty of its history in the first person.
Django on February 17, 2009 at 7:45 PM
That is called Texas.
http://governor.state.tx.us/files/press-office/Governors_Budget_2010-11.pdf
Fellow Texans,
I submit my state budget and priorities for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 as required by the Texas Government Code and
the Texas Constitution.
As our nation’s economy struggles, experts conservatively predict that states will be forced to close more than an
estimated $100 billion budget shortfall over the next two years, and news reports detail deliberations about the
difficult budget cuts and significant tax hikes those states must contemplate in light of their present financial condition
and outlook. Texas is not immune to these challenges, and, the Comptroller’s recent revenue estimate indicates that
our next two years will be tight.
In spite of this tightening financial picture, we are fortunate that Texas is not among those states facing the crippling
shortfall that so many states must address; however, our comparatively stronger economy and better financial picture
did not come easy. Together, we worked to solve a $10 billion budget shortfall in 2003 by setting priorities instead
of raising taxes. Our vigilance in maintaining low taxes, establishing a stable and predictable regulatory climate, and
setting budget priorities, has attracted new businesses, new jobs, and new Texans to the Lone Star State over the past
five years. We must maintain that same commitment in today’s challenging economic climate.
A little more than 20 years ago, Texas suffered from high unemployment and the collapse of real estate markets
and the state’s oil and gas industry. In the years since, Texas has diversified its economy and attracted business and
industry in most every sector of the economy. Today Texas is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other
state, and enjoys recognition as the “Best State for Business” according to CNBC, the “Best State to Do Business” by
CEO Magazine for the third year in a row, and the state best suited to weather the financial turmoil by the Financial
Times of London. While recent booms in oil and gas have been good for Texas, it is our diverse economy that puts our
state at the top of these lists and makes us the seventh largest economy in the world.
Texas can maintain its competitive advantage and weather this current financial crisis only if we remain committed to
the vision that brought us here: a government that is limited in size and mission, but meets essential state needs. Our
state will feel the strain of a slower economy this next biennium, but it is important that Texas remains a place where
the government burden is low, and people are free to build their businesses, invest their capital, and chart their own
path toward prosperity.
Writing the state’s 2010-11 budget in this economic environment is the most significant challenge facing the 81st
Texas Legislature. Therefore, I have adopted the Legislative Budget Board’s Legislative Budget Estimates for 2010-11,
for purposes of compliance with Government Code 401.0445-.046. I believe Texas is best served if the Governor and
the Legislature work together over the next 126 days to jointly craft a budget that reflects our principled commitments
to this state. I look forward to working with the Texas Legislature to finalize a responsible budget that keeps Texas
a great place to live and work, and ensures we will weather the nation’s financial crisis with the strength and vision
characteristic of this great state.
izoneguy on February 17, 2009 at 7:46 PM
Harry, and everyone else posting from California, please email your representatives, up to and including Ahnuld, and let them know that you are planning to take your business and your tax dollars to a more responsibly-run state.
Maybe if they get enough of these communications, it’ll help them figure out what they are doing wrong.
califcon on February 17, 2009 at 7:47 PM
Hell No, we won’t pay
California go away!
(repeat until the Gestapo arrives)
BobMbx on February 17, 2009 at 7:49 PM
Finally the CA government lays someone off… Pinch Me….
Constitution1st on February 17, 2009 at 7:53 PM
Let California be a lesson to the rest of America. Libtards can’t run things except when they run them into the ground.
Mojave Mark on February 17, 2009 at 7:54 PM
I found out today while listening to a state legislator that Californians have been sold a bill of liberal crap goods,
This budget has the largest tax and fee hikes in the history of state taxes.
Car registration fees alone will double.
Its a liberal wet dream come true.
If its enacted we can kiss the rest of the businesses here that haven’t already been run off by incredibly draconian taxes and regulation to get the hell out of Dodge ASAP.
Its the poor dumb bastards like me in this state that will tighten their belts and carry the burden. Anybody on the dole I pay for? Belt tightening? Not a damn bit!
Everybody gets a raise except the 30% of the people, who pay for your sorry asses.
Hang in the Ca. GOP! Let the damn state go to bankruptcy court!
Speakup on February 17, 2009 at 7:55 PM
Finally the CA government lays someone off… Pinch Me….
Constitution1st on February 17, 2009 at 7:53 PM
They were all cops and firefighters, country clerks and DMV jerkwads are too important to let go.
Bishop on February 17, 2009 at 7:55 PM
Bishop: Certainly. That and the areas home to the stars would add a much needed element of contrast. And, it would give the liberal Hollywood people someone to pity which seems to please them a lot. You could have sections like Disney–each with it’s own particular character.
The possibilities are endless.
jeanie on February 17, 2009 at 7:55 PM
That is how they’re un-American.
Well, you could always build a wall to keep us in.
GunRunner on February 17, 2009 at 5:52 PM
Or kill off offshoring on the large scale.
sethstorm on February 17, 2009 at 7:25 PM
Oh a Financial Wall! Oh (Hee hee) Sethstorm! I just love a Man who is so Authoritarian!!!
GunRunner on February 17, 2009 at 8:00 PM
izoneguy:
Exactly.
juliesa on February 17, 2009 at 8:04 PM
http://www.sacbee.com/1098/story/1627728.html
The Sacramento Bee has posted a tax calculator to show people how much in new taxes they will pay under the new budget. A family of four with $75,000 in annual income will pay $1150 more than they are paying now. People aren’t going to take this sitting down.
Mark1971 on February 17, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Actually this is being done to a very high extreme.
But how many emails and phone calls do you think pelosi and her ilk actually read and or care about. These elected officials on the left don’t give a crap about anything that deviates from their agenda.
You can have millions of people (actually there is) voicing their opinion and their intent on leaving, they simply don’t care.
And the saddest thing is, most of the people voting these morons in office time and time again, don’t have a friggin clue. They continue to vote party line and if you were to ask them in person what they voted for, they still don’t have a clue.
Its essentially hopeless.
Sometimes the only way to make people wake up and pay attention, is when they hit rock bottom. California is there already and hopefully, in the future, people will open up their brains to see what’s going on. But i’m not going to hold my breath to see that happen. It may never happen.
Once their taxes go up and fees rise and freedoms get eroded and the job market has gone to hell, they’ll sit there and complain about it, but they’ll still vote these friggin liberals in office.
I honestly believe that the libs/dems in this state are mentally challenged. I’ve seen too many examples of friends, neighbors and others (even living in the central valley – much more conservative than the rest of the state) that i’ve given up.
These people are doomed to reap what they sow. That includes the voters and the people they vote in.
Sorry about the rant, but i’m a little pissed off…
RedbonePro on February 17, 2009 at 8:06 PM
We need a mixture of spending cuts and tax cuts in California. But we all know they won’t do that. First of all, ELIMINATE THE PROPERTY TAX!! How can we say we have land ownership in this country when we confiscate people’s land when they don’t pay their property taxes? That’s called renting, not ownership.
Libertarian Joseph on February 17, 2009 at 8:08 PM
And to think that the has beens at SNL are passing up all this good material.
jeanie on February 17, 2009 at 8:09 PM
Yup.
Businesses here are already heading out in a big-time way.
This will only expedite it.
I run a small business and if this goes thru, i’m outta here in 30-40 days max.
Screw this.
RedbonePro on February 17, 2009 at 8:10 PM
Here in Texas, we don’t want or need any wacky Californians coming here. Enough have sold their bungalos for millions and came here to screw up the housing market, inflating our home prices and property taxes too.
Californians should fire every politician first, then trim all the fat from government starting with school administration.
RobertJ78704 on February 17, 2009 at 8:13 PM
I may just move to Texas. More and more it has been on my mind.
Geronimo on February 17, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Libertarian Joseph on February 17, 2009 at 8:08 PM
Mine are about 150$ a month and every ballot there are measures to increase by 10 or 20 a month and its always for the schools or the levies.
goat on February 17, 2009 at 8:14 PM
Sorry, I was dreaming of rails, buckets of tar and a truck load of feathers.
Speakup on February 17, 2009 at 8:16 PM
RobertJ78704 on February 17, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Don’t worry most of those leaving are conservative business owners like me from the central valley.
goat on February 17, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Toyota runs a manufacturing plant in Long Beach. It’s the first manufacturing plant Toyota had in the U.S. – and it’s actually Unionized. Truck beds for the Toyota’s Fremont, California assembly plant are manufactured there. The paint booth permit came up for renewal. The permit renewal was denied. The Democrat representing the area stated that type of business was undesirable. The operation had to be relocated after nearly 30 years of operation which predated Toyota’s ownership.
When re-zoning industrial areas near Downtown L.A., L.A. City Council representatives stated they wanted to ban “undesirable” businesses and encourage “desirable” business. When asked what businesses were “undesirable” examples including “old industrial, polluting companies.” When asked what were considered desirable industries, no specific examples could be provided.
Employees of the “undesirable” companies – eg. manufacturing – earn roughly 30% more per household than employees of “desirable.”
California’s policy makers are economically harming the very people they claim to be so concerned about. Then attempting to make up the difference through State entitlement programs.
Perfesser on February 17, 2009 at 8:19 PM
Californians have tried to take back control of their state only to be shot down by liberals and their activist judges.
The prop 8 backlash fiasco is only the latest in a long line of mafia brotherhood actions.
Speakup on February 17, 2009 at 8:20 PM
and so it begins.
DFCtomm on February 17, 2009 at 8:20 PM
I just don’t get your argument regarding defense infrastructure. Infrastructure of any kind requires spending, and in case of defense, by the government. Technology, on the other hand, can be *sold* to bring *in* money. How can defense spending be sustained without advances in innovation? I think you fail to understand how liberal policies can spur innovation by pushing funds to universities. Question for you: why do all the best universities reside in the so-called liberal states?
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 8:27 PM
So I’m sure Hollywood will step in a close the gap right?
Many of them said that they were finally going to do something other then their normal hookers and blow now that Obama was elected right?
Well here is their chance! It might hurt, but I’m sure Hollywood could pony up the money if they paid some “fair” windfall taxes.
18-1 on February 17, 2009 at 8:30 PM
Yup, we’ve got to stay and fight.
Put pressure on the GOP to be fiscally conservative! Write letters to the editors! (Even if you don’t subscribed to the paper.)
PattyJ on February 17, 2009 at 8:30 PM
That’s my point, exactly. To remain consistently at the top, a society is forced to evolve, and thereby accept new elements which are called liberal. Any species that stops evolving is dead.
In Rome’s long history, it had changed a lot, pulling in cultures and laws from outlying provinces. As for sexual deviants, they were there from the beginning in Greece, and that did not prevent the creation of one of greatest civilizations.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 8:31 PM
As long as you get a job and don’t support the libturds then you welcome to come!!
izoneguy on February 17, 2009 at 8:35 PM
california…
Said it before, I’ll say it again…
They made their bed,
now burn in it.
ALSO: Please do not move to my state of Texas. We’re doing just fine here and don’t want you coming here and screwing things up.
Handel on February 17, 2009 at 8:35 PM
What you are seeing are the effects of years of leftwing propaganda.
Generally speaking Americans are now indoctrinated into the leftwing mind set from the moment they enter public school in kindergarten until they graduate from college.
Traditionally once these people starts getting paychecks, their minds are opened and they move right, but the propaganda has been getting more effective and alternate voices more marginalized. This is why the left is so keen on political censorship.
So we are hitting the point where people are refusing to believe their “lying” eyes because Saint Uhbama and his ilk keep whispering sweet nothings in their ears.
Someone mentioned a Toyota factory the government in CA drove out – well, I’m sure the coming unicorn and clean energy factories will provide far better jobs!
18-1 on February 17, 2009 at 8:37 PM
WRONG!!
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Jobs/Warner_Brothers_to_outsource_jobs_to_India/articleshow/4095364.cms
NEW DELHI: In a move that could ruffle a few feathers in the Barack Obama administration, American entertainment giant Warner Bros has said it will be outsourcing jobs to India.
It is believed that about 200 positions are to be outsourced to India and Poland by Warner Bros, which will slash as many as ten per cent of its 8,000-strong workforce in the coming days. “While no final decision have been made internationally, the company expects the layoffs, elimination of open positions and outsourcing to affect nearly 800 positions worldwide, or approximately ten per cent of its 8,000 employees,” a Warner Bros official said.
About 200 open positions and 300 outsourced jobs would be affected as part of the reduction, while another 300 employees would be laid-off, the official said, adding that jobs would be outsourced to India.
izoneguy on February 17, 2009 at 8:37 PM
Well, there are very significant changes happening in Texas, too : and it is showing a very liberal trend recently. Austin has always been the SFO of TX, but I was surprised to learn that Dallas and Houston have also gone for Democrats in the presidential election.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 8:38 PM
Good, every state should cut 50% of the people out, CA, grow up or chang.
foxone on February 17, 2009 at 8:39 PM
That is not necesarilly true, Texas and Alabama both have some excellent universities. Besides most universities were established long before some states became liberal bastions.
goat on February 17, 2009 at 8:39 PM
Here’s the problem with calling the Legislators: There’s about 120 Legislators in the California Assembly and Senate. Only 19 come from competive districts. The rest come from “safe seats.” In other words, when the district lines were re-drawn after the 2000 Census it was done in a manner that gauranteed whomever the district’s dominant political party nominated gets a gauranteed election to that office. The result? Only 19 member of the California Legislature have to listen to their constituents. The rest are hand-picked by their respective parties, not the electorate. “Carpet bagging” testifies to this phenomenon and extends into the local-city-council level of elections. This also gaurantees a permanent majority to the party in power (which is also the party that has the most influence on re-drawing districts).
In 1990 and 2000, re-districting in California became dramatically politicized. (Research the districts for clear, laugh-out-loud examples of gerrymandering.) Consider the result of a political class being insulated from voters that’s being demonstrated by California. Now consider what might happen nationally if the 2010 Census – instead of professional, competent census takers / statisticians – were run by an appointed political operative….
Perfesser on February 17, 2009 at 8:43 PM
Agreed. However the coasts have typically been more liberal than the midwest or south. I believe having people from other cultures coming in is a part of the reason for the blossoming of advanced research. In my experience, it always requires a person of a very different training to challenge a widely-held concept : in other words, research produced in an echo chamber is likely of dubious quality.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 8:44 PM
Wind power uses about 10 times the concrete and steel than one nuclear plant does for about the same output besides blighting landscapes. Solar panel manufacturing is very dirty business with more GHG emissions than a coal plant and lots of very toxic chemicals.
goat on February 17, 2009 at 8:46 PM
“This country had to fight a war to get California and damn it, we’ll probably have to fight another war to get rid of it.”
- William Tecumseh Sherman
PackerBronco on February 17, 2009 at 8:49 PM
I have worked since I was 16. I know of a tech company out there that I could possibly get a job with. Grandpa was a die hard Texan and died with his cowboy hat and boots on.
Yeah, I like Texas.
Geronimo on February 17, 2009 at 8:50 PM
Haven’t these Socialists and country club Republicans figured out there is a limit to what they can spend?
Guess not.
Dr. ZhivBlago on February 17, 2009 at 8:51 PM
Because liberal states have a higher percentage of people who are clueless about making their way in the real world and thus, like perpetual adolescents, must seek the shelter of academia.
PackerBronco on February 17, 2009 at 8:52 PM
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 8:44 PM
I went to school in the south with students from at least twelve other countries. A school BTW that wins national academic contests year after year.
goat on February 17, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Correction :)
Libertarian Joseph on February 17, 2009 at 8:52 PM
I just watched some douchey hip commercial for California. You know the one with Ahnold saying Cow-lee-for-knee-ya. I just thought of being taxed to death and a government that wants to tax it’s way to prosperity. I would never spend a nickel in that state as a matter of principle. I doubt I’m alone with this sentiment.
pc on February 17, 2009 at 8:56 PM
Excellent quote.
DFCtomm on February 17, 2009 at 8:58 PM
Did this comment come right out of DKos? As I mentioned before, the whole semiconductor revolution was born amidst the so-called academia (in Berkely, to be precise). Technology, as we know it, would have been utterly impossible without university research, where we can proudly boast to be at the top. While a job rotating a machine handle can easily be outsourced to Malaysia, a job to create a new industry can be here to stay.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 8:59 PM
Ca. should lay off at least 50% of its employees, with no back pay. The state will run better that way!
PS: I live in Ca.
xplodeit on February 17, 2009 at 9:01 PM
Best according to who? By what metric?
For all here on HA, this is a typical liberal argument tactic. Simply by responding in the negative (by claiming there are good schools elsewhere) you concede the argument as true.
Don’t offer equivalencies; challenge the statement.
BobMbx on February 17, 2009 at 9:04 PM
My comment was not intended as an insult to folks who graduated from universities in the South, I apologize if it came across that way. FWIW, I did my undergrads from a reputed school in Texas, which has consistently maintained a top 10 rank in engineering. I guess I am against the viewpoint that a political ideology can fully determine the financial condition of a state or a country. All ideologies have deficiencies, which is why they are called ideals to begin with.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 9:05 PM
History doesn’t really back that up. To take the most extreme case – German science kept up with the Allies in WWII, even though the former’s xenophobic racialism drove some of their best scientists to the Allies.
To a lesser extent modern Japan is another example of this same process – a scientific giant not interested in multicultural kumbayaism
Oh, and another note the Northeast, when Harvard was founded, was *much* less “liberal” then the South.
The Puritans were “religious fundamentalists” and while Virginians of the time may have been dirty capitalist pigdogs they weren’t comparatively religious.
18-1 on February 17, 2009 at 9:06 PM
Excuse me?!? These clowns are still making media buys???
califcon on February 17, 2009 at 9:08 PM
According to any university ranking system, dear sir. Pick up any advancing field (biotechnology, nano-tech, neurobiology) and you will find it hard to find a university ranking which does not have an overwhelming majority of universities from blue states in their ranks. Look, I am not trying to go into a liberal v/s conservative debate here, what I am trying to say is the ideal course for a society is neither liberal nor conservative but somewhere in between.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 9:09 PM
Look at what happened to Japan’s semiconductor industry: it has all but folded recently, and according to comments from their CEO’s, that was brought about by cocooning themselves from outside research. In fact, a big reason why tech has grown so much is because it had contributions from people across the world. If you want to look at a supreme example of the failure of the insular, look no further than the Windows operating system. By protecting their source code, Microsoft has become extremely susceptible to bugs, whereas open-source code gives people the opportunity to review and rectify bugs and hence is usually a lot cleaner.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 9:17 PM
And where on the scale do place the ideology of the US at the current time, and which direction is moving? Is this movement, in your opinion, unbalancing the conservative/liberal scale?
BobMbx on February 17, 2009 at 9:18 PM
It is moving too much to the left, and too suddenly, and that scares me (reminds me of Santayana’s quote everytime). But, just bashing liberals (here in HA, or conservatives in the left leaning blogs) without a sustained and valid arguments on the pros and cons, is a non-starter, IMHO.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 9:20 PM
California is the U.S. after we baloon the federal government under the 0 administration.
DrStock on February 17, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Peter,
Did you by any chance go to UTA? I taught there for a while.
texette on February 17, 2009 at 9:26 PM
Yes, I did go to UT Austin (engineering). Which dept did you teach?
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 9:28 PM
I taught in 3 different departments, including seminars to select engineering students.
texette on February 17, 2009 at 9:31 PM
It’s interesting that CA didn’t issue any tax refund checks, but maintained their liberal spending programs. The tax returns are not CA funds that they give as gifts, they are the funds of citizens that were nice enough to give CA a interest free loan for a year. Is anyone forming a class action suit?
DFCtomm on February 17, 2009 at 9:33 PM
Cool, great to meet you. I do miss Austin, the hippies give the city a certain color (regardless of their political affiliations), and besides, once a Longhorn, always a Longhorn.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 9:33 PM
You asked a general question and I gave you a general answer. Of course there are exceptions and that is one of them.
However as I heard quoted elsewhere, it’s a good thing that Flight 93 was not carrying the Harvard Faculty because they would have still been arguing whether it was right to do anything about the hijacking as the plane crashed into the White House.
On the other hand, I would have been fine with the Harvard Faculty standing directly underneath the plane …
PackerBronco on February 17, 2009 at 9:34 PM
All my brothers went to A&M, although one did go to UT law school. He got voted Aggiest Aggie at UT.
texette on February 17, 2009 at 9:35 PM
Oh, bashing liberals is fun as long as it’s done with the implied “wink”. Which is how you should interpret what I write.
PackerBronco on February 17, 2009 at 9:36 PM
For two weeks I have sent countless faxes, emails and have flooded them with calls. I faxed them pictures of Tea Bags. This morning I did follow up calls. They best not raise taxes and they need to stop with some of the wasteful initiatives that passed last Nov. Ca. is a crap State. But I have to live here until we sell our home. Would be great if a bunch of people put their homes up for sale. They don’t really have to sell them. Might panic a bunch of Reps. I won’t stop either.
sheebe on February 17, 2009 at 9:37 PM
See Arnold’s head spinning – scroll down.
Entelechy on February 17, 2009 at 9:37 PM
That would be a good start. It will never happen, but that indeed is the solution to the mess here. Or it is at least a start to the unraveling of what the state government has created.
RedbonePro on February 17, 2009 at 9:40 PM
Californians, calculate your tax increases, per household, for the next 5 years.
Entelechy on February 17, 2009 at 9:41 PM
What you are referring to is a hackneyed stereotype, not so different from the Dems’ perception of southerners. I have met folks in Harvard who have made a ton of money day-trading, and have some of the shrewdest business senses around. But hold on to your perceptions, if it gives you comfort :)
By the way, I read your comment about the wink, and I relaxed a bit more. Actually, the reason why I keep coming to this blog (and a select few others) is because of the rational arguments a lot of people bring to the table, which is why I have a knee-jerk reaction to folks who make blanket statements like “shut down CA”. I have similar responses to the left-leaning bloggers when they make such statements, too.
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 9:42 PM
Damn straight. The fact that the property tax exists just shows me how stupid society really is. The second I knew what a property tax was I was perplexed by its existence. Nobody who pays property tax owns their land, the government rents it to you cheaper than the market value after you have bought the “privilege” from someone else for hundreds of thousands of dollars at least. This is very communistic. Then the Feds inflate housing prices to imaginary levels and basically turned houses into college tuition. And they have the balls to call it a “ownership society”.
LevStrauss on February 17, 2009 at 9:42 PM
Ouch, I am guessing that was not pleasant :)
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 9:46 PM
Great minds think a like. I to feel the same way. We live on the Central Coast of Ca. We live in a rural area and there is no sewer pipes. We all have Septic tanks and we have a huge chunk of land for irrigating rain water. We have 1.2 acres. But the retention pond is a big chunk. We pay property taxes on land that we cannot use. Property taxes should be illegal.
sheebe on February 17, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Peter,
Actually, it was considered quite an honor and has served him well. He’s one of the Texas superlawyers.
texette on February 17, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Hear, hear, I live here.
Entelechy on February 17, 2009 at 10:13 PM
Indeed, especially the ‘green’ experiments ones, while going for broke…Children are in charge in CA and in Wash. D.C., and pretty much all over.
Entelechy on February 17, 2009 at 10:17 PM
What has a university produced that has earned income other than a football team?
Johan Klaus on February 17, 2009 at 10:18 PM
It’s interesting that CA didn’t issue any tax refund checks, but maintained their liberal spending programs. The tax returns are not CA funds that they give as gifts, they are the funds of citizens that were nice enough to give CA a interest free loan for a year. Is anyone forming a class action suit?
DFCtomm on February 17, 2009 at 9:33 PM
If you are expecting a tax refund and haven’t filed yet have it applied to next year’s taxes then Ca is sending an IOU to itself.
goat on February 17, 2009 at 10:26 PM
Which universities do you mean and why do you use the term “so-called”?
INC on February 17, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Which universities are you thinking of?
Why do you use the term “so-called”?
INC on February 17, 2009 at 10:29 PM
Sorry for duplicate comments. The first one must have looped and done several orbits around cyberspace because it wasn’t showing up.
INC on February 17, 2009 at 10:30 PM
Most of the advances are made by private enterprise.
Johan Klaus on February 17, 2009 at 10:31 PM
For the last 40 years or so, what “research” exactly has any liberal done? It’s all “gender studies”, “ethnic studies”, “queer theory”, etc. Not exactly research and, in case you hadn’t noticed, “echo chamber” is exactly the type of environment most of those people live in while doing said “research”.
venividivici on February 17, 2009 at 10:38 PM
FIFY.
sethstorm on February 17, 2009 at 10:38 PM
In the past, DoD funded research at places like MIT, CalTech, USC, Berkley, etc..
The purpose of this research was military-specific, and geared to produce a needed technology or advancement of a current technology. The “failures” of such research, and the successes also, were adopted by private enterprise as commercial products, processes, or services.
While private enterprise is the engine behind “gadgetry”, it is the research schools that developed the base theory or design of technologies.
Today, advancing a technology is expensive. Inventing a new technology (if there is such a thing anymore) is vastly more expensive, with no promise of a return. Private enterprise does not do this.
BobMbx on February 17, 2009 at 10:45 PM
what I am trying to say is the ideal course for a society is neither liberal nor conservative but somewhere in between.
Unborn babies would like some clarification on their status in regards to “somewhere in-between.”
Bishop on February 17, 2009 at 10:53 PM
http://www.citywatchla.com/content/view/2013/
RealDemocrat on February 17, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Dear Friends: California is on the brink of having one of the GOP Senators break. A group of these courageous senate members have blocked package of a horrendous tax-increasing budget buster (a special state Porkulus package). Please write in support of them staying strong, and fighting bigger government. The main link to the California Senate Caucus is here: CSSRC!
One important note; you can’t effectively use web-mail if you aren’t a citizen of the district. I have taken the liberty of summarizing the effective fax numbers here:
Aanestad, Sam (4) – 916-445-5570
Ashburn, Roy (18) – 916-322-3304
Benoit, John J. (37) – 916-327-2187
Cogdill, Dave (14) 916-327-3523
Cox, Dave (1) 916-324-2680
Denham, Jeff (12) 916-445-0773
Dutton, Robert (31) ????
Harman, Tom (35) 916-445-9263
Hollingsworth, Dennis (36) 916-447-9008
Huff, Bob (29) 916-324-0922
Maldonado, Abel (15) ????
Runner, George (17) 916-445-4662
Strickland, Tony (19) 916-324-7544
Walters, Mimi (33) 916-335-9754
Wyland, Mark (38) 916-446-7382
It took me under an hour to print out a letter supporting their fight, telling them what I would do if the tax-and-spenders won (no GOP donation and we would leave the state), and faxing them all. Even if you don’t live in California, it is worth your time to fight the decay that is sure to spread if we lose this budget battle. Thanks, in advance, for fighting the good fight.
Mutnodjmet on February 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Ain’t that the darn truth.
jimmy2shoes on February 17, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Please fax California GOP Senators in support of their fight, NOW! A compete list of the senators and fax number is here.
Mutnodjmet on February 17, 2009 at 10:58 PM
So goes California, so goes America approximately 20 years later.
SouthernGent on February 17, 2009 at 11:00 PM
No, the people will take it bent over, BOHICA!
As long as you keep electing the same tired bastards into office, you are going to keep taking it in the ass.
belad on February 17, 2009 at 11:02 PM
As VP Biden would say; “Four words;”
“Cause and Effect.”
Star20 on February 17, 2009 at 11:03 PM
We could go on and on about this, but some of the most pioneering works in the present day computer technology (from computer architecture to semiconducting materials) were done in the most liberal universities like Harvard, MIT, and Berkeley. In fact, the biggest chunk of private grants made to a university comes through technology companies, not through government endowments to liberal arts (not that I am demeaning the importance of the latter). So, again, please pause before you generalize …
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 11:10 PM
Simple answer to that : let the states decide!
peter_griffin on February 17, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Better yet put a wall around the Bay Area and LA and let the rest of us be free. Those two areas rule the whole state and distort its image in a bad way.
goat on February 17, 2009 at 11:15 PM
The greatest advancement in memory and cpu advancement is actually taking place right now … in Texas at Rice University.
Not a Texan, but to generalize that the most pioneering technological efforts are coming from Harvard (hardly), MIT (yes), and Berkeley (some) and/or other liberal universities is total crap …
IrishSamurai on February 17, 2009 at 11:17 PM
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