Posted on 06/11/2011 5:49:39 PM PDT by SmithL
Senate Republicans blocked a tax solution to the deficit Friday, prompting Democrats to respond with a countermeasure expanding local taxation powers.
Thus began Round 2 of the state budget battle, complete with readings of letters from sheriffs and taxpayers, parliamentary gamesmanship and failed amendments on abortion funding.
With a threat of lost pay hanging over their heads, lawmakers face a Wednesday constitutional deadline to balance the budget. The Senate made procedural progress Friday by passing a slew of budget alterations on a majority vote, but state leaders still lack a bipartisan agreement.
The key divide remains taxation. Democrats want to solve the remaining $9.6 billion deficit with extensions of higher sales and vehicle taxes, as well as a return to higher income tax rates that expired last year. Democrats asserted Friday that they had already taken hard votes by slashing universities and various programs for the poor in March.
"The public doesn't like cuts and they don't like taxes," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D–Sacramento. "And as my budget director is fond of noting, I have yet to see a poll that results in a balanced budget. If there was a pain-free option to balancing the budget, we would have passed it months ago."
...Republicans say they will not vote directly for taxes, though they have entertained the idea of allowing a tax election if Democrats agree on a long-term spending limit, pension cuts and regulation rollbacks.
...A key sticking point remains whether to extend higher sales and vehicle taxes beyond June. Under a 2009 budget agreement, the state sales tax is slated to decline by one percentage point and the vehicle license fee by half a percentage point on July 1. Should that happen, it will be more difficult for lawmakers to reinstate those taxes.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
birds gotta fly, andRATS gotta tax!
even the Unions know if their are going to be any companies left in California the GOP must have more power.
“Democrats asserted Friday that they had already taken hard votes by slashing universities and various programs for the poor in March.”
Those cruel, shameless Democrats. The first thing they do is cut the safety net for the poor.
All of this is, of course, is a chastisement from God for the sins of loose morals that permeate our country, and the apostacy from Christianity; in other words, the general rebellion against God that has taken place has it consequences, and they are serious. Although we are all sinners in God's eyes, the people who comprise the aforementioned rebellion from the morality of traditioal American virtues are liberals. They hate conservatives because they relate us to those evil Christians who would force them to live their lives within some sort of moral framework, instead of the LICENSE they prefer over duty and goodness.
I really hate to sound like Beck or Hucklebee, but it's just a plain fact.
In our part of Texas, our county government has become just as bad as any Democrat led government. We now have a “view tax” in our Hill Country County, we have a tax on individual water wells and there’s more coming, this is just a start, it’s insane. Don’t think that Californians are the only idiots out there. Seems like anyone who gets into government seems to immediately start coveting other people’s money.
We must take back our way of life, we are going down the tubes at breakneck speed—OUR necks...
Well folks, the good news is we aren’t gonna tax you
more.
The bad news is we are gonna let someone ELSE tax you
more.
No, they know no such thing. In fact, they are actively attempting to sabotage Republicans by funding scumbag liberal Democrats to pretend they are "Republicans" in Republican primaries.
This sounds to me like an ideal situation where Democrat counties can tax their own Democrat voters into oblivion while Republican counties can leave their Republican voters alone. Let the scumbags tax the scumbags who voted for them. What’s not to like?
The state will collect these taxes and dole it out as they see fit. Just like they do with sales taxes.
Flush the scumbags down the toilet and elect new people who have some decency and respect.
So nobody in California has a plan to downsize government and spend less? I guess not because as Glenn Beck would say “Why that Would be.... KAa-Ray-Zee!”.
“In our part of Texas.....”
Don’t just sit there B iching about it. Go out and stir up your friends and neighbors and vote the bastards out. With pitchforks if you have to. Unless, that is, your in Travis County, in which case you mught as well be in California anyway.
That is the best stated view of what is happening I have ever seen. Thank you.
A city council can only pass ordinances with FEES attached, they cannot tax.
We are now fighting a city hall over an ordinance that requires every landlord to register their rental unit for a yearly FEE. They claim it is to be able to FIND every owner. They were using the County Tax list for mail outs, but the do not want a P.O. box. It is all too crazy to explain here.
Funny thing, when a yard needed mowing, or a car improperly parked, we sure got a notice from the City, so they did know where we lived. LIARs all.
We have all fought this for weeks now, and I think our A.G. will get involved as this is unconstitutional in that this ordinance is only for CERTAIN people and not all home owners. We are getting very orginazed to fight this
Yes, it is convuluted. We are being squeezed from the top and the bottom. In the end they still will get the money they require. FEES = Taxes.
P.S:This city council copied this ordinance from some other City, it is going across the country. If not in your area, it soon will be and you need to fight it.
Well, we’re trying to do just that but we’re also fighting the same entrenched elitist “rulers” and the “go along to get along” crowd. Incredible.
There are very few patriots these days, our country is full of “what can we do?” hand-wringers. We’ve done our part, it’s up to the sheeple to finally get their fill if that’s possible.
I can’t think of anything short of armed insurrection since we’ve tried voting and running new candidates who were defeated by the “comfortable” Old (and corrupt) Guard.
-—If there was a pain-free option to balancing the budget, we would have passed it months ago-—
There is a pain free option for not balancing the budget..... death
A dead state no longer feels pain
Yes, but even with all that you can rejoice because you have Coopers Bar be que
Actually, this bill will never be signed into law. Rationatate legislators
and governors fiercely guard their prerogatives for raising taxes and
spending revenues. It’s how they exercise their power, reward their
friends, punish their enemies and buy votes.
If they let local governmental entities have essentially unlimited
power to raise and spend their own local revenue, then those
governmental entities no longer even need a state legislature or
governor.
Furthermore, unlimited local revenue raising powers is anathema to true socialists because richer districts can raise all the money they need to spend locally without having to to subsidize the poorer districts through state levies that are redistributed by the state.
This bill represents a complete decentralization of the taxing and spending authority of the state and divestment of the state government of its principal power.
(Oh, and in the extremely unlikely event this bill DOES make it into law, then I’ve grossly underestimated just how stupid California’s Democrat state legislators and governor really are!)
‘Tis true!! Life is good.
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