CA: As budget crisis worsens, state's politicians finally get serious

Sac Bee ^ | 4/30/03 | Dan Walters

[NormsRevenge]

California's monumental budget crisis has been languishing for months, with Capitol politicians seemingly too stunned by its political and financial dimensions to make the tough spending and tax decisions required to resolve it.

But this week, with state revenues continuing to plummet and the crisis growing worse by the minute, there were signs that politicians were getting serious about it.

[NormsRevenge]

"We're kidding ourselves if we think we can do this without a new revenue source," Peace said, citing both bankers' limits and legal questions about deficit spending.

The demRats don;t even want to try and cut spending. Bastards!

[NormsRevenge]

Ping 2

[goldstategop]

Without a constitutional amendment to put a real cap on new spending any talk of a spending deal with the Democrats amounts to putting a finger in the dike and hoping it doesn't blow wide open.

[Lancey Howard]

The Republicans' budget plan -- which they said would minimize deep reductions in health, welfare, education and local government spending that Davis had proposed -- frames the budget showdown as loans vs. taxes.

This part I don't get.
Why would Republicans be interested in propping up the Democrat vote-buying scheme?
Especially since Davis has already provided cover by proposing larger cuts himself?

[Saundra Duffy]

RECALL DAVIS.

[goldstategop]

Well its to smoke out the Dems who say Republicans have no real solution to California's budget mess. Now that there's an offer on the table, they have to decide if they want to continue to fiddle while Sacramento burns or work together with the opposition to spark an economic recovery in the tarnished Golden State.

[Lancey Howard]

Some Republicans are open to raising taxes temporarily to pay off the accumulated deficit, $10 billion or more

This is another part I don't get.
There is no such thing as a "temporary tax". Who are these "few" Republicans who would even entertain such a scumbaggy thought? (I'm sure that one is that idiot doctor who voted for the Democrat budget last time, but who are the others?)

[Joe Hadenuf]

The should all resign in disgrace or be jailed.

Every single one of them....

If they can't balance a stupid budget before it becomes out of control, they have no GD business in the position..

[Malesherbes]

They are so "stunned" that they also decided to extend full state benefits to all illegal immigrants.

This is the state of my birth and fortunately I don't live there any more. It's sad and I've abandoned all hope for the place.

[goldstategop]

Agreed. A "temporary" tax once raised never gets rescinded. Any Republican idiotic enough to vote for one should face a challenge in the primary.

[goldstategop]

The NDP used to run British Columbia like a socialist fiefdom for decades. Now the conservative BC Liberals have 76 of 79 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Left Coast is a lost cause only if we give up for good. Its time to fight back!

[hattend]

"We will not compromise on taxes," Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, declared as the GOP package was unveiled.

They've said this since Davis was re-elected. Hope the CAGOP can resist the urge to cave.

[Reeses]

Democrats fear that the GOP-backed borrowing will require so much repayment money that spending will be restricted for years.

That's the power of deficit spending, the only thing that reliably works to keep the socialists restrained. It's against conservative nature to borrow money to pay ongoing expenses but it's the cheapest way ever discovered to reverse government growth.

[freeper12]

>> by borrowing money to pay state pension obligations and

Borrowing money to pay of debts?? Sounds like a good plan to me...pretty much what we are doing at the federal level too... which is currently being run by all republicans...where are the spending cuts?

[goldstategop]

I agree. I just love massive public debt. Conservatives need to learn to love it since nothing will kill socialism faster than having to pay obligations due first.

[freeper12]

>>That's the power of deficit spending, the only thing that reliably works to keep the socialists restrained. It's against conservative nature to borrow money to pay ongoing expenses but it's the cheapest way ever discovered to reverse government growth.

So if my wife spends too much money, and I think she is spending too much, you advice would be for me to spend even *more* money than her so that all of our available income goes towards paying of the interest and principal of the money I over-spent? That'll teach her a good lesson....</sarcasm>

How about just not spending the money in the first place? With a republican president, republican senate and a republican house, where are the spending cuts?

>>It's against conservative nature to borrow money to pay ongoing expenses

Then I guess there are no conservative republicans in washington because they do seem to borrowing an awful lot of money to pay for current spending and I don't hear much complaining about it...

[Reeses]

if my wife spends too much money

What to do depends on how financially reasonable she is. If she can keep the spending under control then it's cheaper to pay off the credit cards every month. If she's out of control, it's cheaper to let the credit cards stay maxed out and pay the interest on the cards. The high interest may be wasted money but its cheaper than what she'll do if you pay down the cards.

Conservatives have little control over the socialists. The cheapest way to handle them is let them max out all their credit cards and then pay only the interest. This is what Reagan discovered. He not only kept socialism in control in America, he also used the technique to bankrupt the USSR.

A side benefit of deficit spending is that conservative investors are the main beneficiaries of the interest paid on the debt.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ok!

calgov2002:

calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. 

calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. 

Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register

[freeper12]

>>If she can keep the spending under control then it's cheaper to pay off the credit cards every month

OK, so with a republican president, house and senate, should be easy to keep spending under control them right? So why are we still borrowing to pay for stuff we want now?...the answer is, the republicans never had any intentions on "shrinking the size of government"...it was just a way to get elected.

>>let the credit cards stay maxed out and pay the interest on the cards.

Only difference is that there is no credit limit on the governments credit cards...they just keep on spending and plan on letting some future generation be saddled with outrageous interest and principal payments...a pretty selfish state of affairs...brought to you by democrats and republicans equally to blame.

[Reeses]

there is no credit limit on the governments credit cards

The California socialists have found out there is a limit. The state's credit score is now just above a junk bond rating. New socialist spending has become too painful and expensive. Democrat controlled spending is finally slowing down, though two years late.

I agree the Republicans haven't been cutting spending and are not conservatives. What I think has happened is the Republican Party has moved to the left to the point that it is now the populist party. The Democrats have been forced further to the left to differentiate themselves and have become outright red socialists. At some point a new party will appear on the right, and the Democrats will fall off the map. It's been observed that as institutions age they tend to move to the left, until someday they go bankrupt.