Big Day for Californians

[drbill]

zeN||- Norcaldiver mirrored exactly what I said previously, only he added the specific legislation, etc. I don't know that Arnold can repeal the return to full VLF himself or overturn that legislation.

Lal7176- after stealing their land, do we now go against the very treaties our government signed with the native tribes of our state? My understanding (and, admittedly, I could be wrong on this) is that the tribes, being sovereign nations, are not subject to such taxation. Much as we may need their money, I'm quite amused by the fact they have found a way to legally "steal" back from the culture that took their lands by force, took the very basis for their existence (the ecological systems on which they depended).

In addition, what about the large mandated spending created by the voters of our state through the initiative process. I think the voters, as angry as they are, should realize their role in creating this problem rather than simply blaming the politicians for everything. No single person got us into this fix.

For the sake of our state I do hope Arnold can bring our economy and state budget around. One thing I will be keeping an eye on (as I pack) is what happens to the State's lawsuit against Enron and the other Texas energy companies Bush and Arnold are reportedly tied in with. If that $8 billion lawsuit disappears, I will be very suspect of Arnold's real intentions.

Dr. Bill (an ecologist but not an economist)

 

[Arnaud]

That's probably why his two close advisers are Pete Wilson and Dick Riordan, two new comers on the political scene

There's usually two paths for non-career politicians. They either stay the course, and soon enough, they go back to their non-political career. Or they become just like the others.

Anyway, Ah-Nold is a moderate and I'm hoping that Maria will make sure he remains that way. No kidding on this one.

Now, can we repeal this stupid recall procedure or should Ah-nold start planning for his next gubernatorial campaign...6 months from now?

 

[Mo2vation]

back off of the 'cado and sprouts nonsense. JJ (your twin separated at birth) likely had that for dinner last night as he watched our election results...

 

[norcaldiver]

Zen, 1st off, nice comeback. We'll see how much you pay, and if it's less, I'm sure you're going to be paying more for something else-most likely in a local tax, which Arnie has no control over and is what the VLF is hurting.

Just for your reading enjoyment, from the Republican side of the house, so it MUST be true....meh Vehicle License Fee: Overview and Current Status

So by getting rid of the VLF, you may just be paying more in local sales tax of prop tax next year.

Davis, can't be held responable, we'll, to a point, yes, but he didn't just go willy nilly. Every CEO in the state and especially in Slilcon Valley went crazy and then the dot com bust hit and everyone got caught over spending.
He was actually set up on this one to fail...whoever else would have been elected he he wasn't would have also been in the same boat.

The Legislature’s Tax Conference Committee in 1998, when the VLF was proposed to be cut, stated:
-The Governor’s projections show that the state will spend more than it collects in revenues in four of the next five years.
-Neither the Legislative Analyst nor the Governor assumes an economic downturn in the foreseeable future.
-The Legislative Analyst’s forecast shows that, using the Governor’s expenditure assumptions, even a billion dollar tax cut would leave the state with a bare one- percent reserve in 1999-00 and 0.3 percent reserve in 2000-01.

In fact, between 1987-88 and 1997-98, VLF collections increased by an average of 5.9 percent per year. How are you going to go so long using this money and then just take it away, hand it over to someone else, and expect them to keep their head above water? You can't...they new this was a bad move and would screw the next governor.

 

[Karl_in_Calif]

45% of Californians voted to keep Gray Davis in office while 48% voted for Arnold Schwartzennegger as the replacement governor. It looks like with all the groaping and prostitution and bars that Arnold is the kind of candidate that the Democrat swing votes likes to like.

I like his movies.

 

[Mo2vation]

But the biggest reason is the same reason any of us get into trouble: living beyond our means.

Could Davis have locked in lower energy costs, but missed the boat by a couple of weeks (some believe days...)? Yes.

Did a half-dozen Gov's before him continue to sign in social program after social program and relaxed immigration legislation that we can't pay for? Yes.

Is LAUSD (the largest single school district in the country, I believe) and its bloated, Byzantine bureaucracy, with school scores not rising and teachers still among the lowest paid educated professionals in the nation, erect a zillion dollar marble encrusted building and give themselves a fat raise recently? Yes.

Have you BEEN to the DMV lately? Scary.

Does California now have the worst credit rating of any state in the nation? Yes

We didn’t get here overnight. It isn’t going to get fixed overnight. The idea of raising my property taxes (I already pay over $5000 a year) any more is killing me. The idea of making me pay over $3000 to simply register our two cars is also killing me.

But we have got to spend less than we take in – or we need to raise taxes. I believe more in the former than the latter. Its my strong assertion that fiscal mis-management and poor choices have contributed more to the current financial situation facing our state (i.e.; runaway spending) than lack of production (i.e.: not taking in enough, or not making enough).

Maybe because I don’t leave a big footprint on the state, and don’t demand much from my government its making my view of things a bit slanted. I pay, I pay, I pay. I pay crazy taxes on my home. I pay a sales tax that is among the highest in the nation (8.75%), I pay big bucks for auto registration, I pay a huge amount in state income taxes, I drive a lot and pay a huge amount each year in gasoline taxes. In return I get my streets swept (sometimes) my trash picked up, my roads maintained, I get fire, police and the like. I work hard and pay for my own health insurance – Like many of us, I feel like I’m paying a disproportionate amount into the state for what I’m actually taking out of it. read: I'm paying more each year, but not actually taking more.

This feeling of disenfranchisement and, well, general ill-will towards our leadership is what drives recalls. I got no issues with the recall. In another country we would have simply rolled in and strung the guy up. I’m not sure the most qualified candidate won (although the most popular surely did) but we’ll see. Nothing happens quickly – it took decades to get here, it will likely take as long or longer to get back in the black. But there needs to be a steadfast commitment from Excramento to get us back in the black. We can't continue to run in deficit.

K

 

[Karl_in_Calif]

Good summary, Mo2vation.

Vouchers could solve the education system problems. When people vote with their feet, the market fixes things like a charm.

De-regulation of energy was a Republican idea, and it came back to bite Gray Davis, who is not a Republican. Life is cruel, especially political life.

Prop 13 in 1980(?) doomed state governmental funding, and then-Gov Jerry Brown fought against Prop 13, and Gov Jerry Brown was kicked out of office for speaking the truth about the future effect that it would have.

Trying to spend less than we take in is ultimately what got Gov Gray Davis fired.

The problems of California are structural. Gray Davis simply got the blame for it.

California needs an across the board tax hike. There is no other solution.

I already got my triple-X DMV bill in the mail. It hurts. But tax hikes always hurt. I will pay it, like the rest of my bills, on time.

 

[Mo2vation]

Prop 13 is good for taxpayers...you and me. But it requires the cooperation and discipline of the government. You can't take in less and spend at the same rate (or more...)

The initiative is/was the will of the people. It is/was a good idea. But the missing link is the cooperative effort.

I don't think de-regulation is a bad thing. It brought us 5 cents a minute for long distance. It enables me to get from LAX to JFK and back for $250. Do I believe private business can do a better job than a state / federal government for most services? Yup. Sure do.

But its a two edged sword. Privatize the DMV and it may rock. privatize the post office and it would suck. It would cost 40 cents to send a letter downtown and 3 bucks to send the same letter to Big Bear.

School vouchers... now you're on interesting ground. My wife is a teacher for LAUSD - you can only imagine the warm discussions we have about this. We are on separate ends of that issue.

It sounds pretty - "just spend less..." - I know. But its their job to get elected, not to fix stuff. Its sad, but its true. Social spending wins elections in California. Are we a wealthy state, I belive we are. But there is a very large part of our population that relies very heavily on many of these programs, and state funded services. And, in turn, there is no shortage of lawyers, spokesman and organizations ready to put a face and a voice on these nice folks, and point a finger at who's trying to move their cheese.

This is not going to be an easy fix.

K

 

[Karl_in_Calif]

On a news show interview, Jerry Brown said that any governor will be lucky to accomplish one single thing while in office. So that is what he should concentrate on, and not spread himself thin on a multitude of issues.

I hope that Arnie concentrates on one thing, whatever that is.

School vouchers in the State of California would be a worthy accomplishment. It might spell the extinction of public education, but at least all the kids who want to learn will then indeed end up in a school with competent teachers.

I doubt that Arnie will be able to solve any, if all, of California's multitude of problems. I hope he therefore takes Jerry Brown's advice.

 

[whitelief]

I bet he starts a tax on fills, along with his new wetsuit tax

-David