Posted on 05/30/2009 6:41:20 PM PDT by Lorianne
To understand why the woes of California's economy threaten the nation's, we must understand the state's road to insolvency. The Age of Reagan did not commence with the Great Communicator's inauguration in 1981. For its real beginning, we need to go back to June 1978, when Californians went to the polls and enacted Proposition 13.
By passing Howard Jarvis' malign initiative, California voters reduced the Golden State to baser metal. Under Republican Gov. Earl Warren and Democratic Gov. Pat Brown, California epitomized the postwar American dream.
Its public schools, from kindergarten through Berkeley and UCLA, were the nation's finest; its roads and aqueducts the most efficient at moving cars and water - the state's lifeblood - to their destinations. All this was funded by some of the nation's highest taxes, which fell in good measure on the state's flourishing banks and corporations.
Amid the inflation of the late 1970s, however, the California model began to crumple. As incomes and property values rose, Sacramento's tax revenue soared - but the parsimonious Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, neither spent those funds nor rebated them. With the state sitting on a $5 billion surplus, frustrated Californians grumped to the polls and passed Prop. 13, which rolled back and then froze property taxes - effectively destroying the funding base of local governments and school districts, which thereafter depended largely on Sacramento for their revenue. Ranked fifth among the states in per-pupil spending during the 1950s and '60s, California sank to Mississippi-like levels - the mid-40s - by the 1990s.
Since 1978, state and local government in California has been funded chiefly by personal income taxes. Bank and corporation taxes have been steadily reduced. In the current recession, with state unemployment at 11 percent, tax revenue has fallen off a cliff.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Of course it is, there isn’t any other Party of Big Government around that I can think of...
SF Chronicle, go figure.
Just another ‘blame the stupid voters’ screed.
Good grief. Is there no education at all in the journalistic curriculum? Can they really be this dumb?
Oh, never mind.
The Golden State was tarnished by liberalism.
That said, I'd say the state started the real downhill side with the domination of the state congress by democrats. Out of control spending and the portion of the populace that actually created the tax base refusing to go along will have only one outcome..........
For another, more realistic, view of what happened to California, check out Jack Cashill’s book, What’s the Matter With California.”
Mark
Next exciting news story: “The self destruction of liberal press in America- again the fault of Republicans”
Pure BS!
This states problems are easy to figure out! Too many leftists spending other peoples money to buy votes from other leftists who vote for them!
Now those that had money are broke because the voters who have none...stole it all!
Actually, if you take about 16 Delta counties (out of 82) from the State of Mississippi, we're about 20-30th in the nation in all statistics. Not coincidencially, these counties are in Bennie Thompson's district, and Bennie thompson is the House Butler for the Liberal Plantation.
First, understand that since Arnold's election California's revenues are up 40% and that if Arnold had kept the budget increases to inflation and population growth, they would be sitting a a very large surplus.
But Arnold spent every penny of the 40% and much, much, more. He had every opportunity to shine but he was stupid and became a liberal tax and spender.
Only a complete idiot of a politician would spend money that he knows he can’t raise thru taxes.
These people still don't get it.
I honestly don't know what it will take to wake them up
Liberalism
Liberals tend to corrupt or destroy anything they come near. ;-)
There was not a word in this entire bloviation about reducing expenditures. I would bet you dollars to donuts that per-capita government spending has gone up in California, year after year, since 1978. You can complain all you like about not having ready enough access to the citizens' wallets, but at some point, spending has to be part of the solution.
And as far as ballot-box budgeting being dominated by monied interests goes, the Yes on 1 folks outspent the No on 1 folks by a factor of 10-to-1 in the last vote, and lost lost huge anyway. The SEIU and AFSCME could have spent 100 times as much, and bought every billboard and TV commercial in the state, and they still would have lost.
Has nothing whatsoever to do with lavish government pensions or health care for illegals. Noooooooo.
I was arguing this point with a conservative friend in SoCal. He, like you, was for changing/scrapping prop 13. I say that anything that starves government of its lifeblood - money - is a good thing.
***California sank to Mississippi-like levels - the mid-40s - by the 1990s.****
As the REAL Arkansas motto used to be...”Thank God for Mississippi!” because it was always last making Arkansas second from last. Now we can say...Thank god for Mississippi and California!”
The confiscatory tax policies of this state have been stealing from the citizens for years and giving it to left-wing special interest groups by the millions. Now the chickens have come home to roost and it’s OUR FAULT???
Wow.
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