California only hours away from total ruin

Drudge ^ | 6/30/03

[meandog]

LOS ANGELES -- Any day now, community colleges here may begin telling faculty members that they cannot be paid and students that summer classes are canceled.

Nursing homes are losing so much state aid that many soon may have to shut down or limit their services, a prospect that has elderly residents confused and frightened.

As many as 30,000 government workers who had been expecting pay raises in the fall are instead receiving formal notices warning that they could lose their jobs by then, because the state is broke.

This is life in California, on the brink of a fiscal disaster.

The nation's most populous state, home to one of the world's largest economies, has been staring in disbelief at the same dire predicament for months: a $38 billion deficit, the largest shortfall in its history and an extreme example of the budget woes afflicting many states. But now it has only hours left to solve the problem.

[kellynla]

Tom McClintok (on the air now) says the CA has hired 13K new gov't employees since January while the state has lost over 20K private sector employees...

[justshutupandtakeit]

Thanks muy mucho.

[Merdoug]

Bush loves illegal Mexican aliens. More slaves for big business. He will gladly bail out California with our money.

[Blood of Tyrants]

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

We're hearing it all over the US as state government who have overspent during the '90's are now finding the coffers empty and unable to fund their big government programs. Of course their solution is to raise taxes instead of dumping even the most wasteful of programs or cutting a nickel of the most bloated department's budget.

[Bob]

I expect to see U.S. taxpayers bail out California too.

Yep... that's exactly what's going to happen. And nothing will be done about the millions of illegals crashing the borders. They'll keep coming, and we'll keep spending.

And just what the he!! is the state of California supposed to do about enforcing U.S. (i.e. federal) immigration laws?

[ScottinSacto]

That is one big paint brush you are wielding...this state worker saved taxpayers over a million bucks last year...and it is on an ongoing basis. But I too wish we could eliminate the turds that keep floating in the punchbowl of state employment. Unfortunately, the ones that will be laid off during this debacle are mostly the newer employees that actually do some work. What will be left are those with senority and the security of knowing they can't be fired unless they run through the office naked with their hair on fire...and only then if they are screaming racial slurs too.

[george wythe]

marginalized themselves that the rest of the country won't give you the time of day.

Gee, aren't you being a tad too harsh?

California is one of the most beautiful places in the world and the fifth largest economy in the universe.

California will be back like a roaring lion once the current losers are kicked out of office.

I do agree with you that the federal government should let the state government hit bottom before the federal government offers any help. Otherwise, sending money to California will be the equivalent of throwing good money after bad money.

[NathanR]

I presume July 1 is an important date but don't know why or to what extent.

It is the beguinning of the Fiscal Year, just like Oct 1 is the beguinning of the federal fiscal year.

[savedbygrace]

Art IV Sec 3 requires the Consent of the State legislature and the federal Congress for that to happen.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

And just what the he!! is the state of California supposed to do about enforcing U.S. (i.e. federal) immigration laws?

Where are you reading that into my post?

If the federal government controlled illegal immigration by closing the borders and deporting those illegally in the country, then all the taxpayers wouldn't be forced to bail out states paying mandated costs such as education and medical for these people. Davis may be an irresponsible liberal governor, but the fault of illegal immigration is squarely on the shoulders of the feds.

[Styria]

California could stop aiding and abeting those criminals.

[Grampa Dave]

Good! Probably a very large % of the full time employees do little if anything re real work in providing educational courses for the students.

Personally, I'm tired of paying taxes for the courses which are often hobby courses. Let the students pay full bore costs for art, photography, wine making, how to paint your house and how to compost courses. My wife gets no tax $'s in her RN CME courses re the cost of the course. The actual costs are bore by the RNs. The costs vary depending on the instructor, cost of meeting room and those expenses. Costs have risen each year. As a result the good courses are sold out, and the crappy ones never sell out even at lower costs.

[SierraWasp]

"...CA has hired 13K new gov't employees since January while the state has lost over 20K private sector employees..."

Government is the ONLY growth industry in CA! County government is the LARGEST employer in our county that butts up against Sacramento county!!!

C.O., the bankers may not be our friends, but they can't possibly be more money grubbing and malicious than the predominant political party has been. Even when we had a surplus just a couple of years ago I was saying "we don't have a government surplus... What we have is SURPLUS GOVERNMENT!

Man-o-man, sometimes I hate it when I'm right!!!

[Grampa Dave]

If that happened, the Lt. Governor would become governor.

He is the Mexican American who likes to use the N word to describe blacks in California.

[Carry_Okie]

And just what the he!! is the state of California supposed to do about enforcing U.S. (i.e. federal) immigration laws?

Reinstate Prop 187, passed by an overwhelming majority of the voters of the State of California. Gray Davis dropped the lawsuit seeking to overturn the court injunction against it.

[Grampa Dave]

A little add on. If a Foster event happened to Davis after the recall is approved, apparently the election would go on. Also, if Davis resigns after the recall is approved, the election will go on.

[Shooter 2.5]

Just call Lex Luther and have him cut off the first fifty miles of coastline and drop it into the Pacific.

If you look at the precincts that voted for Davis, they're right there. California is a pretty nice place except for the folks on the coastline.

[Grampa Dave]

Oh Geez, here we go again. Wasp was right again! Full rants about being right will come forth from him to FR!

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Gray Davis dropped the lawsuit seeking to overturn the court injunction against it.

That's the irresponsible part. Davis can't control illegal immigration, but he did have it in his power to make things less attractive for the illegals financially.

[SierraWasp]

Tom McKlintock is the only fiscally responsible politician in CA that received the highest statewide vote count of Republicans in last Novembers election.

Tom, Tom, he's our man! If Dems can't fix it, Tom sure can!