Posted on 01/15/2017 9:58:11 AM PST by Jim Robinson
Despite tax collection increasing by 50 percent in the last 9 years, California’s public pension insolvency is forcing Gov. Jerry Brown to propose a dangerously unpopular 42 percent increase in gasoline taxes and a 141 percent increase in vehicle registration fees. Breitbart News reported on January 9 that Gov. Brown announced that for the first time since 2012, California’s $122.8 billion General Fund Budget is in deficit by $1.6 billion. Despite a near bankruptcy during the financial crisis, California’s tax revenues have increased by about $43 billion in the last 9 years. Brown on Monday only suggested relatively painless spending reductions to close the budget gap. He was very careful to not suggest highly controversial increases in gasoline tax or vehicle fees.
Democrat governors have been regularly spiking gas taxes and vehicle registration fees for decades. But 12 years ago, Democrat Gov. Gray Davis was recalled by voters after he pushed the state legislature to pass a vehicle registration fee increase from $46 to $158.
The legislature cancelled the increase and Democrats have avoided gas and vehicle increases since. When the Assembly tried to revive a gasoline tax last year, the issue was dropped after polls showed 63 percent voter opposed any increase.
Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger destroyed his popularity by pushing through the Proposition 1-A high-speed rail initiative in 2008 that added about 11 cents a gallon to the price of gasoline — for a project now referred to by Bloomberg News as a “fiasco.”
Gov. Brown’s willingness to try raising gasoline taxes by 17 cents a gallon, and on vehicle registration fees by $65, is a sign of the insolvency risk from the exploding cost of California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) public pensions. Brown’s draft 2017-2018 budget already includes a $524 million increase for the public pension...
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
There are three ways out of this spiral of death: the state prints its own money (it can't), it gets relief from an outside source (federal bailout - good luck with that given Trump - or selling Malibu to the Chinese), or it...(hushed voice)...trims spending. OK, that last one is crazy talk...
Screw you, Moonbeam. Cancel your train to nowhere and you’ll get billions.
Being in the belly of the beast here in SoCal, I can say these tax increase proposals will NOT be unpopular. In 2016 the people of this state voted overwhelmingly for several of Jerry Browns supported tax increases on themselves. They will support this too. Remember Trump barely broke 30% in CA. This is the stupid state.
“A bum begging for more of your money.”
Do you think the begging will stop at the state line?
No they want to spend money. Just someone else’s money. Never their own.
You haven’t been paying attention...Republicans have been losing ground since the nineties
With all the illegals who won’t leave but they do have drivers licenses, you are waaaaay out numbered. The South had different issues. The dems moved too far left and that left conservatives uncomfortable. But don’t kid yourself, many republicans down here are dems turned repub for power
I mean really, why should lazy, low IQ, undistinguished government employees who watch porn all day, not get even higher inflation adjusted income when they officially stop going to work? It would be unfair otherwise after all it is not their fault they are too stupid and unproductive obtain and hold a real job, so they should be compensated even better than those who can do that work. /s
Nah! Sun's out and surf's up bro!
Glad to have you here. We need all the help we can get.
Nothing would speed the adoption of electric vehicles faster.
Here’s what you do, Gov. Brown. Instead of your proposed gas tax have a 1-time 10% tax on the ASSETS of all California citizens and occupants. After all, why should out of state tourists and businessmen and truckers be forced to pay not only for the state’s profligate spending, but payments for which they will never gain any benefit unless they were retired Ca. public employees? Then stand back and cover your ears while the wailing and gnashing of teeth begins.
You want all the whistles and bells, people of the Golden State? Then YOU pay for it...
And a not-so-certainly permanent Democrat majority.
* Close Calpers.
* Give everyone a lump sum distribution of what is left ( aka 65% of what your benefit is ).
* And on exit offer an annuity like GM Did or a One Lump Sum Rollover to an IRA.
* Be a nice guy and provide Fee Only Financial advice for the transition year.
Post the divestiture follow L Brooks Patterson's model in Oakland County Michigan of going to a 401a Yes their is such a beast, google it.
Oh dear! Where in CA did you move?
We escaped in 2015 to East Tennessee—best thing we ever did.
Where it said ‘Jerry Brown’s draft tax plan’, I thought it said Jerry Brown’s ‘daft’ tax plan.
Made more sense the second way.
“Highways should be privatized with a elimination of gas taxes”
I LIKE IT!!!!
Sell off ALL of their now-freeways. California could likely get the Trillion or so dollars needed to fully fund CALPERS and with that, can go back to nice, juicy, pensions for for their state workers while running up another Trillion in liabilities.
Meanwhile the fact that drivers will have to pay 20 cents to 1 dollar per mile (market rate, based on other privatization of highways) to travel on what are now freeways will not affect me!!! - as I live in Texas. Only the losers in California will have to pay through the teeth for the next 75 years (typical length of time that toll road operators are given to ‘operate’ their roads, without any regulation on tolling levels), and they DESERVE IT, having voted Democrat in such numbers.
Same as Mitch Daniels did with the Indiana Toll Road (although smaller scale there) - got him a HUGE glob of money to hand out to his friends...and made him very popular in the state, since the people paying the now-doubled tolling levels generally don’t live in the state (the highway only runs through the northern edge of Indiana). Everyone wins with the doubled tolls!!!!
Can’t see any downside - unless you’re one of the DEPLORABLES that actually uses those roads (rather than flies over them in private jets).
big daddy - I like your thinking to privatize all roads, but let’s start with the interstates first.
eliminate federal gas tax.
use proceeds to pay down a yuge chunk of federal
debt
then keep going.
once DJT has drained the swamp there will be trillions innexcess Federal real estate to be sold and converted to productive use.
All of us who gave a damn already fled California. Still a few military and vets left and their families, that’s about it.
The rest are illegals and liberals.
California is broke.
The CalPERS cow has mastitis.
It's only fair. When he was running for governor after being a mayor (of Oakland), there was an article about CalPERS and how JB started the insolvency path during his first stint as governor, deliberately causing problems for his successor.
God led me here. I didn't plan on being here. I'd never been to California at all until just before Thanksgiving.
Of course not. But thats why the answer is always “NO”.
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