CA: Budget impasse down to $2 billion

Mercury News ^ | 7/4/03 | Ann E. Marimow

[NormsRevenge]

SACRAMENTO - The stalemate over how to fix California's massive $38.2 billion budget shortfall appears to come down to a dispute over what to do about less than $2 billion.

Republicans and Democrats -- at least in the Senate -- have reached agreement on cuts and borrowing that will plug most of the deficit.

[Torie]

Then agitate to put employers in prison that hire them, and create an indentity card, and a data base, to make forgery very difficult. Absent that, illegals will always be with us. Every industrial democratic nation gives free schooling to all children who live within its bordies. To not do so, is close to a crime against humanity. I will not subscribe to that, and will strenuously oppose it. I will NOT favor any policy making children victims of culture wars, failed public policy, nativist fears, pinch pennies, or anything of that ilk, ever.

[Torie]

It is time to let the contracts run out. Meanwhile, privitize, privitize. Get school vouchers going. Get the layoffs going up, up and away. Does that help?

[Carry_Okie]

You may think it a natural right, but that doesn't mean that the children of parents here illegally have a natural right to my confiscated property by which to fund that education. Neither the United States, nor the State of California has the constitutional power to educate illegal aliens. They have usurped that power under the color of authority at the whim of a judge.

[SierraWasp]

"Would California be in the budget crisis it is in without giving benefits to illegals?"

We had that all resolved with Prop 187 till Davis drove it into the courts who in turn, drove it into the ground. Which, in turn, triggered the first recall effort against devious Davis, our failed gubernutcase!!!

[Dog Gone]

I'm not a big fan of UT, either. It's not quite as liberal as Berkeley, but it's getting there.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Excellent points!

[Torie]

We need another ballot intiative. SO many are out and about, might as well add one more.

[Carry_Okie]

The easy way to privatize is piecemeal by individual markets within the schools. I've actually put forward proposals on HOW to do that.

[Torie]

Is that in your book too? :)

[Torie]

bordies

I like that. Very Cockney.

[McGavin999]

That's fine. They can pay for it. My method would insure that voters voting for something would have to pay for it and the voters voting against it would not. The ultimate free enterprise. You vote YES, the next day you get your portion of the tax bill for the project. The entire cost of doing something would be divided among the YES voters, if it was something popular the cost would be relatively small, if it wasn't you might find yourself with a $10 billion tax bill. :o)

[Torie]

Now deal with the free loader syndrome, and what your little idea unravel before your very eyes.

[Carry_Okie]

No. It operates under the same architecture though. Enforce the U.S. Supreme Court decision re Communications Workers v. Beck (487 US 735, 1988). That cuts off the vast bulk of the union money.

Assist formation of corporate service associations. Offer State funding for local school districts to divest into smaller, more personalized institutions.

Use the private and home education market to develop and test learning tools and services. Private validation services could assess product performance against product claims. School boards would be free to select guaranteed products for use in public schools. Of course, in order to be able to guarantee those products and services the providers would have to control the means of delivery, n'est ce pas? Bye bye CTA! This effectively and incrementally privatizes the schools from within.

Insurance on the guarantee would cover the cost of remedial education if the product fails to meet warranted performance.

Veto any bill requiring home and private educators to conform to State teacher certification standards.

Veto any bill requiring State supervision of home schools.

Analyze any Federal program for insufficient funds and unintended consequences suspecting unfunded mandates. Cite New York v. United States (505 US 144, 1992). Reject any Federal program that isn't fully funded and lay off the staff required to administer those funds. Sell the office space.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Privatize the state prisons

OK, I like that one!

slash edubiz bureaucracy

and I agree with that!

repeal Davis Bacon

That is an excellent move!

end all public employee defined benefit pensions, and put them all onto a 401k basis

Ok, reduce the slush fund that Willie Brown, and other politicians are involved with!

We probably need more!

Need a slash and burn Business Manager to REALLY find where all of the slush funds are hidden!

[Torie]

None of that will get very far. You need to cut checks to empower the lower middle class and below to exit. Only that will precipitate systemic reform, as the teacher's union panics over the empty desk and pink slip syndrome.

[Torie]

You didn't know I had red meat tendencies in me did you? There are so many layers in Torie's mind. It confuses even me sometimes.

[101viking]

"Every industrial democratic nation gives free schooling to all children who live within its bordies."

In a utopian world, every child has the right to an education, and I am willing to conceed that "every industrial democratic nation gives free education to all children who live within it's borders," for arguements sake.

However, I am not aware of any great number of so-called "democratic industrialized nations" that have as poorly enforced immigration and border policies as the U.S. The situation here cannot obfuscated by saying..."gee them other guys do it so it makes it ok if we do too." This is the same arguement I get from my teenage daughter, and it is irrelevant.

[jocko12]

NO NEW TAXES OF ANY KIND.KEEP CUTTING PROGRAMS!!!!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

You didn't know I had red meat tendencies in me did you?

I am surprised.

But you be happy with Arnold I think!

[Torie]

You are victimizing the child of the illegal alien, who is not at fault, and truncating that child's oppotunities and future. I find that profoundly offensive. It doesn't comport with my values at all. I must oppose it.