Posted on 06/21/2010 1:04:03 PM PDT by Steelfish
Report: California on 'Verge of System Failure' 21 Jun 2010 By: Julie Crawshaw
Think of it as Greece on the Pacific: A place with beautiful scenery where the government spent so far beyond its means that mass layoffs, welfare reductions that leave a million children and the poor and elderly without needed services and failing infrastructure are now the norm.
California’s fiscal hole reportedly is now so large that the state would have to free 168,000 prison inmates and permanently close 240 university and community college campuses to balance its budget in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
“We are on the verge of system failure,” Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, told the Globe and Mail.
“We have to get some federal money,” Ross says. “It would be bad for the U.S. and, arguably, bad for the world to do the shock-therapy approach.”
Peter Dreier, a professor of politics at Occidental College, calls this a classic American dilemma.
“Americans expect a lot of their government,” Dreier says. “But politicians have convinced them they’re not getting what they want.”
Budget analysts say Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has no choice but to ask Washington for bailout funds, and that Washington has no choice but to agree because not bailing out the Golden State could put the entire U.S. economy at risk.
It seems that California — which at one time had the third-largest economy in the world — is like the biggest U.S. banks: Too big to fail.
Neither Democrat Jerry Brown nor Republican Meg Whitman has offered details in their campaigns to become the state’s next governor about how to close this year’s $19 billion budget deficit or handle next year’s anticipated $37 billion deficit, the Mercury News reports.
(Excerpt) Read more at moneynews.com ...
Don't make brash assumptions. I'd hazard to say that there a lot of normal Americans that wouldn't mind seeing a preview of what is going to happen to the rest of this country if Obama is allowed to continue. You know, sort of like being the opportunity to have a little precognition of impending doom in the attempt that we may learn from it and prevent the occurrence from spreading to other parts of the country.
California’s fiscal hole reportedly is now so large that the state would have to free 168,000 prison inmates and permanently close 240 university and community college campuses to balance its budget in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Sure, that would be 1 way to close the shortfall. Another would be to reduce public employee salaries and retiree benefits. You cannot expect to retire @55 and collect benefits for 30 years with your pension based on your highest salary. It didn’t work in Greece and it won’t work much longer in California.
A third world state with first world debt obligations and a second world government, I’m saying their doomed.
As a lifelong California resident, all I can say is LET IT FAIL...
NO BAILOUTS....
THE LEECHES IN THIS STATE MADE THEIR BED...LET THEM LIE IN IT!
And for the rest of the country...LET THIS BE A LESSON! Government can not...will NEVER be the solution to society’s problems. Nothing but insolvency awaits those who believe thus.
It's to late...we've already passed the point of no return. There's no painless/bloodless way back from here.
“We have to get some OTHER PEOPLES' money,” is what he means............
“Americans expect a lot of their government,” Dreier says. “But politicians have convinced them they’re not getting what they want.”
Huh? I see government getting in the way and over controlling. All I want from the government is the basics.
This has got to be a was-dude.....
Fire the unions!
Crash Baby, Crash!
As a former CA resident now in nearly-as-bad NY State, both States need to learn a hard lesson on fiscal responsibility. Sorry, but there is no other way.
I have an idea.
I’ll bet that there are wealthy Texans (a.k.a. ants) that would loan the foolish grasshoppers enough money to bail them out for a year or so at reasonable interest rates. Say, 9 to 11 per cent.
They can put up state and municipal parks as collateral. They seem to be very fond of these; there are a lot of them, and many of them are sweet pieces of real estate.
If they default on the loans, then the investors get title to the parks, along with carte blanche to develop them for profit free from encumbrance by silly Kalifornia labor, environmental, etc. laws — that part would be written into the promissory note. If foreclosure becomes necessary, investors could put up condos, nuclear waste dumps, hog farms, whatever their hearts desire.
Oh, and by the way, interest and principal payments must be tendered ON TIME in US Dollars. No funny Kalifornia “IOUs” or any such nonsense.
I bet this could be made to work.
And to Ross the other 49 states say NO!
Dear CA, your request for a taxpayer funded bailout to enable you to continue to pay bloated state salaries and pensions has been received. The answer from the American taxpayer is: DENIED!!!
Owe the bank 1,000,000, they own you.
Owe them 1,000,000,000,000, you own them.
Why don’t they ask Mexico for a bailout? < / sarc >
Yeah!!! A regular Kalimexithon!!! Ask (in Spanish, of course) for as many pesos as each ‘citzen’ can stand from their earnings.......
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