Posted on 05/21/2009 1:20:26 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California's struggle to fund its budget deficit faced fresh problems on Thursday, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner refused to use bank bailout money to help state finances, and the state's fiscal watchdog objected to a plan to sell warrants to raise cash.
California faces thousands of job cuts and deep spending cuts to state health, education and other services as the nationwide economic slump has reduced tax revenues.
On Wednesday, voters soundly defeated ballot measures to bolster the state's finances, leaving Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers facing a budget gap of more than $21 billion.
Early Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during testimony before a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee, said the Treasury was not able to tap the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program for bank bailouts to help California.
California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer had earlier this month urged the U.S. Treasury to extend guarantees for short-term debt to financially strapped states and local governments facing declining revenues.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
No to California,
No to New York,
No
No
NO.
We’ll soon see how long this lasts.
Hell no to bailing out CA. They’re not too big to fail.
Giving them a handout would merely be a band-aid on a much bigger problem - their out of control spending!
They don’t need a dime from D.C. They need to stop over-spending and start living within their means.
It's Tightwad Timmy!!!
.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner heads back to his seat to testify about the Obama administration's budget proposals and goals for economic recovery and reform after a break in his testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government and Financial Services on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 21, 2009. (L) Picture taken with slow shutter speed. REUTERS/Jim Bourg
In many ways , it still is, politics and lunatics aside. ;-)
It still is a great place. It's just our "public servants" who suck.
Geithner works for Goldman Sachs.
I came up with a scheme years ago that would eliminate most of California’s deficit. Simply convert most non-violent crimes to fines—big ones. Fines that cannot be appealed to a judge, only to a State administrator.
If you cannot pay the fine, the fine remains on the books until it can be paid. But if you commit a second offense with an outstanding fine, you go to jail.
For example, there are a lot of first time, non accident DUIs, tens of thousands of them, every year. If instead of arrest, you are sent home and your car is towed unless a friend can drive it, and you are given a fine of $20,000.
There are a LOT of people in California who would pay that much to not have a DUI on their record. And it is for first time offenders only.
But it could cover the gamut. If you are not licensed to do so, and you are caught with marijuana, you better have a $100 bill on you to pay your fine. If you do, then have a nice day. You get a receipt. Smoking tobacco in a prohibited place, another $100.
Jaywalking, $20. Underage drinking $200. Possession of false ID, $500. Giving false information to a police officer, $500. Failure to register vehicle, $500. Suspended license, $1000. Shoplifting, $1000. Simple assault, $1000. Check fraud, $1000 + amount of check. Vandalism, $1000 + amount of damage.
The list goes on and on. And I might add that it is a progressive tax, while at the same time, it discourages repeat offenders.
Think of it as a way of teaching Californians personal responsibility.
Note the subtle use of language here. Who wouldn't want to "bolster" the state's finances? Doesn't it seem stupid (or niggardly) NOT to want to "bolster" the state if one is given the opportunity? What they don't state is what it would cost to "bolster" the state's finances. Fortunately, Californians decided that the cost was too high and sent our state a powerful message on Tuesday. We'll see if Arnie and his friends are listening.
You know, California could easily hve become a wealthy oil state but chose to pursue idiocies such as Schwarzenegger’s hydrogen highway idea. Now we see the Federal Government doing likewise.
'Shnegger blew it and he's done ... any GOP inroads will more than likely be wiped out in 2012.
My letter to the Sac Bee:
Dear Bee:
Here's what now:
1. Eliminate all services to illegals except any emergency care needed to get them back to their country.
2. Privatize 2 prisons. Rinse, repeat.
3. Cut pay for all state employees making over 3,000 a month.
4. Reduce or eliminate the state capital gain tax.
5. Reduce the state income tax by 2%.
6. Reduce administrative positions in school districts.
7. Build 20 nuclear power plants in the next 20 years.
8. Eliminate legislative staff positions like the elevator operators in the capitol building.
9. Cut state and local pensions back to the level of 1998.
10. Prohibit public employee unions from contributing to those with whom they negotiate their contracts and who approve their contracts.
11. Cal spends 9,000 a year per school student. I propose we give vouchers in ten school districts for $7,000 per student. A classroom of 25 would cost $175,000 instead of $225,000. They could easily pay the teacher half of that and use the rest for admin, equipment, supplies etc.
There are 6.3 million students in Cal. If you do the entire system, you save $12 bill a year and introduce competition into the education system.
12. More oil exploration and drilling.
State Representatives in Texas make $7200/year
State Representatives in Calif make $116,000/year
California is broke
Texas has a surplus.
Gitener is not interested in states succeeding. States must fail to impose martial law.
Ya never know. Moonbeam may be back.. talk about karma.
I don’t know that any inroads have been made by the Ca GOP lately other than fighting a stalling action as much as possible.
The deck is pretty much stacked as long as ill-informed and illegal votes are cast here.
Any attempts at redistricting are pretty much doomed as the same players effectively are still around as last time Pete Wilson signed off on an abominable redistricting scheme, that being the same Pete Wilson that is advising Meg Whitman.
and we (Texas) overpay our Representatives!
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