Posted on 07/14/2004 9:45:41 AM PDT by pogo101
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and local government officials plan a full-court PR offensive Wednesday on behalf of their latest proposal for shifting local money to the state for two years and then blocking future such transfers.
... (SNIP) ...
So the governor who promised to attack California’s long-term, structural problems has abandoned that goal in this case in exchange for a couple billion dollars of short-term help with his budget problems. California needs a major overhaul of its entire system for financing state and local government. As part of such a reform, it might make sense to give the locals protection from future, arbitrary changes in the distribution of tax revenue. But instead of leading that discussion and using his power and popularity to enact it, Schwarzenegger is grabbing his $1.3 billion for two years and then trying to lock a dysfunctional system into the constitution.
... SNIP ... Why bother?
It would be far better to give the locals the iron-clad protection they seek – in exchange for a complete, rational overhaul of the entire system that fixes disincentives, connects responsibility for revenues to the spending of those revenues, and gives local governments a greater ability to raise money for their own programs, with voter approval. All of these things Schwarzenegger supports in principle. But he is not willing to fight for them, at least not now.
He has lost the chance to do that this year. There isn't time with the budget hanging in the balance.
So maybe the governor should just take the $1.3 billion, as he proposed in January, and let the locals make the case for their own ballot initiative, Proposition 65, in November. If that’s what voters want to do, then we’re stuck with it. But if it fails, then he can bring everybody back to the table on Nov. 3 and work on a true reform worth putting his prestige behind, and one that creates a legacy on this issue of which he could be proud.
Here is a copy of the latest framework.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Arnold had been steam rolled on the state budget. Its basically Gray Davis II.
That is what I hoping. Although I have long lived in CA, I don't pretend to understand the budget process well. Last Sunday, Jill Stewart -- a journalist who did such a great job of proving the LA Times' bias during the recall election -- ran an Op-Ed in the LA Daily News essentially arguing, "Yes, it's not a lot of progress THIS year, but then that's because (1) Arnold came into office with too little time to have a full "budget season" of negotiations, and (2) he won't have the Performance Review reports that he wanted until AFTER this year's budget is done.
Excuses....Excuses....Another whiney RINO....
Shove your personal attacks where the sun don't shine, jerk. I'm just reporting what Jill Stewart said in her Sunday column. If you don't have something constructive to say, go back to the couch and turn Springer back on.
Dude, I wasn't attacking you. I don't think I was attacking anybody. I just don't think Arnold is the right guy for the job. Calm down a little. Take a chill pill.
Ya but... The way Arnold was talkin, you'da thought he was gonna take a BULL-DOZER to the barn, not justa shovel!!! He was gonna blow up da boxes on alla them organizational charts!!! He was gonna "Cut, cut, cut!"
Now he's let the Guards, the Indians, the Schools, the Pension beneficiaries off the hook and had minimal impact on Workers Comp!!! Granted he's doing more than Dufus, but nowhere near the thunderous, thrilling, movietone rhetoric he propounded!!!
I think he's busted his pickaxe on "the mess!" With all the Borrow, borrow, borrow, instead of "Cut, cut, cut," we're gettin Nowhere, nowhere, nowhere!!! Phooey on 5 to 10 Years!!! Phooey on a Sierra-Nevada Conservancy property tax revenue shrinker and economy buster, especially right now!!!
Well, the reason the LA Times did its puff piece on McClintock, when it did so, IMO was to try to dilute the Arnold vote, which it most feared.
Had Tom been the front-runner, or running 2d with over 20%, do you really think the LA Times still would have covered him as favorably? That it would NOT have run extensive slam pieces on how his cuts would hurt "the children," "the environment," selling off parks, etc.? IMO, clearly it would have crucified Tom in that situation.
I'll betcha the LA Times endorsed Tom's last general election opponent, Daniel Gonzalez. Couldn't verify that online.
The Indians?
Yes! Indian Gaming!! That compact he negotiated is no good!!!
They should leave the Indians alone and let them get on with it. Plain fact of the matter is that no-one gave a flying f*ck about them until they started making money.
Along with promoting crime, traffic, gambling addictions and numerous additional impacts on communities they neighbor, but want to remain seperate from, regardless of those adverse impacts! But that's payback to the white european descentants and their missionaries, right? I thought so... Phffffffft!!!
The Indians have money and you want it, that's the bottom line. I must have missed all those Indians going around promoting all these evils you speak of.
Yep! You sure did!! And your danged right I want them taxed for all the infrastructure they enjoy without taxes and I want them just as burdened with regulations as I am in order to conduct my business in this formerly free land.
You can bet they want every danged thing I've fought and worked for and I used to admire the fact that they'd join up and fight the Japanese on Iwo Jima like everybody else!
But now... they don't wanna share the country anymore... they wanna be a sovereign entity and they just want to milk the poor ignorant gamblers, especially the aged on Social Security lookin for just one more stupid JACKPOT!!!
Indians pay federal income, FICA and social security taxes. If they live and work on a reservation then they're exempt from paying state income and property taxes. As for them milking the poor ignorant gamblers what's your opinion on the California Lottery then?
Same thing... Just as stupid, except that slot machines are really "money milking machines!" Like I said... Payback's a bich!!! (except that none of my family ever encountered an Indian in their entire history!)(and if they had, they'd probably have treated them quite nicely)
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