the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants
- Thomas Jefferson
Californians face the double-whammy of a bankrupt state and a bankrupt national government; both plan increasing taxes to levels never seen before. (That will be highly destructive – to citizens first, but ultimately for the occupants of the governing bodies of each. My bet - it won’t be long before the current occupants of both governments are cowering in caves while outside politically suggestive hangman nooses are brandished.)
Awwnold is ‘borrowing’ up to $2 billion in property tax revenue from County Governments – plunging the state into further debt, and depriving municipalities of needed street and infrastructure repairs. That along with raping Trust Funds won’t stave off total bankruptcy. It is a near certainty that all measures addressing the state deficit will fail on Tuesday – so Awwnold threatens to release thousands from prison in your neighborhood – as CA debt surges toward $70 billion, property values fall 36%, nationally only “12.5 percent.” Highways leading out of the state are moving 150,000+ former Californians elsewhere – every month.
Duffus, duh… 0 said he would renegotiate NAFTA and save US jobs. But, he gave up on that, ceding US trucking jobs to Mexicans from Mexico. Now, he has created a trade war with Canada by ordering that Fed-gov money be spent only on US made products. Canadians responded by shutting out billions of dollars worth of US products from being used in Canadian projects. Meanwhile, 0 works to take over policy in state governments across the nation. You take Fed money, 0 calls the shots.
One nice piece of news – 65 percent of Americans believe all leftist print media will be extinct in ten years. I’d say sooner. Conservatives won’t read them, and too many leftists can’t read them.
...this should be fascinating over the coming weeks.
Gee, Grey Davis got recalled for less than this.
Yet they keep voting for Democrats.
If only the GOP had the nerve and the smarts to capitalise on this.
I’m surprised the propositions are lacking. It seems like California voters have done whatever the teachers union has said in the past.
The only problem is that California voters also vote for every spending measure put on the ballot.
California voters are primarily to blame for the budget mess.
In recent years Californians have voted to build a $45+ billion dollar high speed train from San Francisco to Los Angeles, billions in corporate welfare to private firms doing stem cell research, and every school funding proposition “for the children” that comes along.
Californians have also voted down attempts to reign in the power of the unions, who are responsible for pushing most of the spending increases in Sacramento.
It’ll be a cold day in He!! before you see those corrupt bunch in Sacrament cutting anything. They will just ignore the will of the people and just go on as usual. Kalifornia is in the toilet and has been for many years.
Let’s hope and pray that ALL these ballot measures fail, and fail big.
Kalifornians shouldn’t be worried. The Feds will bail Kalifornia out of this mess. Like the banks and GM, it’s too big to fail.
Rasmussen would probably get similar percentages on many of the same questions in just about every state in the Union, even though those other states aren’t facing the same kind of vote as we are in California. I think there’s a groundswell of resentment toward big government growing again in the U.S. The tea parties are the tip of the iceberg.
Voting them all out of office would be a sufficient pay cut.
I call BS here. California voters continue to vote for politicians who increase both spending and taxes. They have had ample opportunity to select fiscal conservatives to reduce government excesses. And at each and every one of those opportunities, they chose excess instead.
In other words, you will pay Californians to continue living a life style that is beyond their means and retirement benefits et cetera that far exceed yours.
Enjoy.
He played Conan the Barbarian, he thinks he is Richard the Lion Heart - but in the end, he was an actor on the court stage, the court Jester; Arnold the fool.
Californians will vote next Tuesday on a series of budget-related propositions... Seventy-three percent (73%) of California voters oppose raising state income taxes to eliminate the budget deficit. Raising the state sales tax is opposed by 69% ... 69% favor major cuts in government spending to eliminate the budget deficit. Just 16% oppose the spending cuts... Ninety percent (90%) of voters say legislators should not get a pay raise if they fail to pass a balanced budget. Just five percent (5%) disagree... Seventy percent (70%) believe that if the legislators can't balance the budget, they should take a significant pay cut.
MAJOR HEALTH CUTS PROPOSED IN GOVERNOR'S BUDGET PROPOSALS
* Governor To Ask Federal Government for Permission for a $750 Million Medi-Cal Cut
* Cuts Would Harm Health System & Economy; Hundreds of Millions in Lost Federal Funds
* Governor Rejects Proposing Long-Term Revenues Needed to Prevent Devastating Cuts
DEVASTATING TO WHO?
Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced several proposal cuts to fill a $15.4-21.3 billion deficit in the 2009-10 budget year. The economic crisis has caused the budget agreed to by the Governor and legislative leaders to fall out of balance.
So the answer to your fiscally foolish stupidity is make the citizens pay more taxes?
The Governor's "2009-10 May Revision General Fund Proposals," available at the Department of Finance website at http://www.dof.ca.gov/, includes a package of largely cuts to fill a $15.4 billion shortfall, and then additional “contingency proposals” if Propositions 1C (and to a lesser extent, 1D & 1E) fail on the May 19th ballot next week.
"To look for new revenues is out of the question," said the Governor at his press conference. His package includes cuts, borrowing, selling state-owned properties, eliminating some state agencies and boards, accelerating revenues, shifting funds and laying off 5,000 state employees.
Sell the Cow Palace, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; San Quentin State Prison and Cal Expo. Privatize them would help the economy anyway. Put death row in Corcoran.
SPECIFIC HEALTH CUTS: There are nearly $2 billion in additional cuts to health and human services. If Propositions 1C (as well as 1D and 1E) are rejected, there is an additional $600 million cuts in health and human services.
* The biggest health cut is a $750 million cut to Medi-Cal, contingent on negotiating a waiver from the federal government. The Schwarzenegger Administration wants to revisit rollbacks in eligibility that are now restricted by the federal government in order for California to accept billions in federal stimulus dollars. Those rollbacks were not explicitly specified in the Governor's summary, but have included in the past:
* the denial of Medi-Cal coverage to hundreds of thousands low-income parents under the poverty level (a range from around $13-$18,000/year for a family of three); and.
* the imposition of quarterly status reports on children, with the savings coming from over 250,000 children dropping coverage as a result.
Did'nt obama impose the tobacco tax for SCHIP for children?
* Since these previous proposals do not add up to $750 million in savings, even after full implementation over several years, other cuts and savings would have to be found as well to meet this goal.
* Other specific health cuts include:
* $132.2 million in reduced health benefits to those in CALPERS;
* $125 million in reducing health services for legal immigrants;
Legal immigrants need free healthcare?
* $36.8 million by cutting rates for family planning services;
Planned parenthood??? Abortion?
* $20 million by cutting payments to private hospitals, a 10% cut in general support; and
* $2.7 million by eliminating application assisters that help children & families enroll in coverage
In Medi-Cal, there is also a new prescription drug purchasing effort to save $75 million, and a new anti-fraud initiative targeted at adult day health centers, pharmacy, doctors, durable medical equipment, and transportation, with the goal of saving $47.9 million.
There are other human services cuts as well, to IHSS home care, SSI/SSP for seniors, CALWORKS for low-income families, and also includes the elimination of CAPI and CFAP for legal immigrants.
CALIFORNIA FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CFAP). INFORMATION. CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR IMMIGRANTS (CAPI)
* If Proposition 1C fails, the projected budget deficit grows by $5 billion. If Proposition 1D & 1E fail, the deficit grows by nearly $1 billion. In those circumstances, the Governor's "contingency budget" include:
* $54.4 million in eliminating Healthy Families coverage for over 225,000 children (who are betweeen 2005-250% of the federal poverty level, or between $36,000-$45,000 for a family of three)
* $60 million out of Proposition 99 funded-programs, redirecting money from county health funds, clinics, the Breast Cancar Early Detection, Asthma, rural health, the Access for Infants and Mothers program which provides prenatal care, and the Major Risk Medical Insurance Program, which provides coverage for those denied for "pre-existing conditions."
Mr Mip is a good program but the insured pay a hefty price for it.
* $25.5 million in reducing adult day health care benefits to three days a week;
huh???
* $24.6 million to local health jurisdictions of HIV education and prevention;
Don't have casual sex or pay the price. I just saved them 24.6 million.
* $10 million cut in maternal, child and adolescent health grants;
huh?
* $8.8 million through a 10% rate reduction for certain substance abuse treatment services in Medi-Cal;
Don't do drugs or pay the price. I just saved them 8.8 million.
* $2.9 million in suspending a comprehensive school-based prevention program on dental disease.
THE POLITICS OF THE PROPOSITIONS: The Governor used his press announcement to argue for the package of proposition on the May 19th ballot next week. His document says the budget depends on the passage of 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, even though Propositions 1A and 1B do not have an impact on this or next year's budget. Proposition 1C, which would provide a cash advance from lottery proceeds, is the ballot measure that would make the major difference.
Some health advocates, including Health Access California, argue that Prop 1A, even though it would bring in revenues in 2011-12, includes a constitutional spending cap that would make it harder to ever restore these cuts, even when the economy improves and the state has more revenue.
Regardless of what happens with the fate of the propositions, there is an ugly budget with awful choices on cuts and/or taxes this year, and there continues to be a long-term mismatch between the revenues the state brings in, and the education, health and other vital services that Californians expect and deserve.
The work of consumer and health advocates is to continue to demonstrate the impact of these proposed cuts, not just to directly impacted Californians who will lose their coverage or care, but to the health system and economy as a whole, and all Californians as a result.
We were to accept 16 billion in tax increases for welfare to thrive? All of these are not fair but where is the responsibility on some of these programs that are handed out forever and ever to anyone who signs up?
The big government socialists have IGNORED that law for THIRTY YEARS!
I'd bet some quick math would show a current SURPLUS of $50B if this law had been followed ONLY SINCE SCHWARTZENKENNEDY HAD BEEN ELECTED.
We are being herded and sheared like fat sheep.
I’ll believe it when I see it. Even if the voters do endorse spending cuts, the politicians will find a way around it.
the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants
- Thomas Jefferson