CA: Davis makes plea for federal funds

SJ Mercury News ^ | 1/15/03 | Jim Puzzanghera

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON - Gov. Gray Davis pressed Washington on Tuesday for federal money to plug California's record budget gap, saying the state and others are ``being shortchanged'' by shouldering increased costs for Medicaid and domestic security.

The governor, joined by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, also complained that eliminating the tax on stock dividends -- the centerpiece of President Bush's $674 billion economic-stimulus plan -- would drain $1 billion to $1.5 billion from California's coffers unless the state figures out a way to tax dividends separately.

[coloradan]

Kalifornistan should institute an immediate 100% income tax on dividends. That should take care of the budget problem!

[goldstategop]

I picture this phone conversation where Gray Davis calls President Bush and begs him to help California out of its hole. To which the President tartly replies: "Governor, I'd like to help but we have no money to spare and besides its a mess of your making. Your on your own to clean it up and I wish you the best of luck." Click.

[Texas_Jarhead]

cut spending and eject illegals (and their associated cost burden) is the best plan I've heard

[Dog Gone]

Dear Gray,

No.

Yours truly,
The rest of the nation

[RabidBartender]

P.S.

Not just no....

But "HELL NO".

[soycd]

Hey Gray, go ask your Hollywood Elite democRATs for a loan and quit whining.

[William Tell]

From the article: '...shouldering increased costs for Medicaid and domestic security."

While they request billions of dollars from the federal government for "security" they also outlaw the rifles the people need to make themselves secure. Five of my rifles now reside in Nevada. Perhaps Davis could just repeal the unConstitutional "assault weapons" law and restore my rights instead of hiring policemen to tyrannize me in the name of security.

[GrandMoM]

....let him sink in his own sloth!!!!

[navyblue]

Maybe Gov. Davis could reduce some of his costs by withdrawing some of the incentives for illegal aliens to come here. No need to build new schools with the accompanied benefit of reduced class size for our American students, hospitals may not go broke, elimination of governments staff due to lesser case loads and it just goes on and on.

All you pubbies that moaned and groaned when Simon lost to this clown should be happy that a Dem will be office and not a pub when this state comes to a screeching halt. I'm not happy that it is happening, it is sad. But it is inevitable! And yes, I will be one of the Californians that will be paying the price for this train wreck!

[Robert357]

Ah, don't you just love the smell of politics in the morning!

[Enterprise]

MEMO FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

TO: Governor Gray Davis

FM: President George W. Bush

RE: Request for Federal bailout funds

DT: 15 January 2003

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! But seriously, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[NormsRevenge]

LOL.. Manure and Politics in Sacramento .. It's hard to tell the difference these days.

It's sad to see that "we together" have sunk so low. I just hope Nevada doesn't close their borders for at least another 5 years.

[John O]

This is a function that should be covered by federal funds.''

There are no federal funds. There are only taxe dollars stolen from US citizens.

Likewise, when are these morons going to realize that state governments are a drag on the state's economies and need to be trimmed down royally.

[aught-6]

It was only a matter of time. Davis said in his inaugural address that the budget crisis "was not his fault"!!! Bush giveth and Davis taketh away.

[Plutarch]

Email from Tom McClintock, Republican who lost the race for Controller by a few thousand votes. He was also the most conservative candidate running for any State wide office. Puts it all into perspective.

The Dimensions of the Disaster: 21-28-36

January 8, 2003 • Speech by Senator Tom McClintock

Three numbers tell the entire story of California's fiscal meltdown: 21, 28 and 36. Understand them and you will have transformed the Byzantine mysteries of the state budget into precise mathematical order.

In the last four years, population and inflation have grown at a combined rate of 21 percent. California general fund revenues have grown 28 percent. General fund spending has grown 36 percent.

The spending lobby insists that California got into its budget mess by irresponsibly slashing car taxes, thus leaving the treasury dangerously vulnerable when the recession struck and state revenues plummeted. Without offering such specifics, Gov. Gray Davis on Monday flatly said the state wasn't responsible for the red ink.

The facts paint a quite different picture. Even after taxes were cut and after the economic bubble burst, general fund revenues have still outpaced combined population and inflation growth by fully one-third during this administration. Obviously, California isn't suffering a revenue problem.

What it has suffered is a monumental spending problem: growing 36 percent in four years.

Not that we've seen a 36 percent increase in highway or school construction or water storage or electricity generation or anything else that government is responsible for providing. We've paid for it. We just haven't gotten it.

What we have gotten is a 38 percent increase in state payroll costs, a 38 percent increase in health and welfare spending (even though the welfare caseload is down 20 percent), and a 16 percent increase in prison costs (even though the prison population is down 0.6 percent).

In fairness, local government assistance has increased to replace lost vehicle-licensee fee revenues (even while local property tax collections have ballooned).

Yet even ignoring these subventions, state spending has still streaked nine points ahead of inflation and population.

According to Democratic Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, "If we fired every state employee—I mean every Highway Patrol officer, every UC professor, every parks patrol officer—we would still be more than $6 billion short."

That's one way to look at it.

Here's another: If spending had merely kept pace with combined inflation and population growth, today's budget would still be a hefty 21 percent bigger than it was four years ago. But instead of an expected $35 billion deficit, we would today have a $5 billion surplus.

Or another: If the current year's budget was reduced just 9.5 percent across the board starting now and held there for 18 months, the entire deficit would disappear.

That would require deferring some pay raises, postponing some projects, eliminating duplication, (combining the Franchise Tax Board with the Board of Equalization, for example), selling surplus property—the same sort of things that any family would do in similar circumstances.

But of course, most families wouldn't have gotten themselves into this fix. Most families would have told you that if you spend every dime that comes in during the good years, you're going to be in big trouble in a bad year.

And that's where California is today. But instead of dealing forthrightly with the problem, California's officials will raise taxes. We already hear the ransom demand: a dollar of taxes for a dollar of cuts. If that happens, an average California family doing its best to cope with a serious recession will feel its tax bill hiked $1,800 to continue the state's spending binge.

The next time you hear that California's fiscal problems were unavoidable, or that it has already cut to the bone, or that it can't deal with the problem without some "revenue enhancements," remember how to measure a prodigal state: 21 percent increase in inflation and population; 28 percent increase in revenues; 36 percent increase in spending.

Ronald Reagan liked to say that "facts are stubborn things." And those are the stubborn facts.

If you have any difficulties with the McClintock E-Team, please e-mail us at eteam@tommcclintock.com. Thank you for your support of Tom McClintock for Controller!

[cynicom]

They voted democrat, stop begging for others to underwrite their socialism. The begging is unseemly for the worlds fifth largest economy.

[earplug]

Gray Davis could arm the masses, and then sell there service to the highest bidder.

[NormsRevenge]

Thank You, Sir! Tom deserves our support. He has been fighting the scheming socialzits in Sac for years.