Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Act NOW To Oppose California's Backroom Budget Deal
Info here ! Will be updated as much as possible.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I Hear California's Got Itself A Budget Deal
And It's worse than I could have dreamed of in a nightmare.
I'm posting this where I can:
TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
This unexpectedly short-sighted budget deal spits in the face of everything about which I have written the Governor and my representatives. My concern for the fragility of the state economy, and high unemployment, were given the collective Bronx cheer with a dangerously contractionary, all-cuts budget, right smack in the middle of the "Great Recession." I have lost count of the folks I know who have lost their jobs, but why should politicians care? No one is laying them off.
My concern for future economic and social instability resulting from growing income inequality? Icily ignored, with giveaways to oil companies without even the tax on extraction which every other state which produces oil has, and preservation of the most recent corporate tax cut giveaways in the billions, as well. Oh, you weren't aware that we had recent tax cuts for big corporations, which couldn't possibly be rescinded to help balance the budget because...well, just because?
My moral and religious conviction that balancing the budget on the backs of the poor, the sick, the frail elderly, children, and citizens of the future to pay our bills of today is WRONG...my concern that the pool of educated workers which once attracted business to our state is being killed off like the goose which laid the golden eggs...
And my horror at seeing the seduction of the people who are too busy to see through snake oil salesmen, who work longer hours than citizens of any other country, who are being told that they don't have to pay taxes to preserve a functioning government and civilization; it's just that illegal aliens and welfare cheats are taking their hard-earned money...this is called a Big Lie and the scapegoating technique was made very famous in the last century by a pretty horrific historical figure whose last name began with "H"...
But representatives seemingly care nothing about any of this. Despite being reputedly the highest-paid ones in the nation.
In fact, they have done what they could to worsen these situations, on every point. And to reassure me about my night terrors, the ones I get about more wildfires, I note that the scoundrels raided the local coffers to take away the funds we need for things like fire and police protection? I would have paid some taxes, you know. I'm not a blithering idiot who believes that the magic money fairy will come and pay off the bond debt my own generation racked up, or the costs of the new hotter and drier climate.
Oh, well, ok. I am not being represented at all. I don't even get the courtesy of form letters in reply to my own. I vote for moderates, but what happens to them? Bribes? Blackmail? They are turned to Borg drones? Whatever. Please immediately exempt me from paying all state taxes until I have representation. Move over, "tea party" organizers (what do you PUT in that tea? Kool-Aid?) I get my spot on the lawn in front of the government building as well.
My passionate political support will go to any and all legislators, regardless of party affiliation, who have the cajones to vote NO to this noisome abortion of a budget, a sickening, slimy backroom deal.. And you know what? It's time to recall everyone who votes to pass it.
Giving in to bullies is never the best choice. That's a "girly man" thing to do.
Nor is giving more to the extremely wealthy and telling lies to the rest of us a mark of genius. For one thing, not everyone falls for those lies. Surprise! You heard it here first.
I'm posting this where I can:
TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
This unexpectedly short-sighted budget deal spits in the face of everything about which I have written the Governor and my representatives. My concern for the fragility of the state economy, and high unemployment, were given the collective Bronx cheer with a dangerously contractionary, all-cuts budget, right smack in the middle of the "Great Recession." I have lost count of the folks I know who have lost their jobs, but why should politicians care? No one is laying them off.
My concern for future economic and social instability resulting from growing income inequality? Icily ignored, with giveaways to oil companies without even the tax on extraction which every other state which produces oil has, and preservation of the most recent corporate tax cut giveaways in the billions, as well. Oh, you weren't aware that we had recent tax cuts for big corporations, which couldn't possibly be rescinded to help balance the budget because...well, just because?
My moral and religious conviction that balancing the budget on the backs of the poor, the sick, the frail elderly, children, and citizens of the future to pay our bills of today is WRONG...my concern that the pool of educated workers which once attracted business to our state is being killed off like the goose which laid the golden eggs...
And my horror at seeing the seduction of the people who are too busy to see through snake oil salesmen, who work longer hours than citizens of any other country, who are being told that they don't have to pay taxes to preserve a functioning government and civilization; it's just that illegal aliens and welfare cheats are taking their hard-earned money...this is called a Big Lie and the scapegoating technique was made very famous in the last century by a pretty horrific historical figure whose last name began with "H"...
But representatives seemingly care nothing about any of this. Despite being reputedly the highest-paid ones in the nation.
In fact, they have done what they could to worsen these situations, on every point. And to reassure me about my night terrors, the ones I get about more wildfires, I note that the scoundrels raided the local coffers to take away the funds we need for things like fire and police protection? I would have paid some taxes, you know. I'm not a blithering idiot who believes that the magic money fairy will come and pay off the bond debt my own generation racked up, or the costs of the new hotter and drier climate.
Oh, well, ok. I am not being represented at all. I don't even get the courtesy of form letters in reply to my own. I vote for moderates, but what happens to them? Bribes? Blackmail? They are turned to Borg drones? Whatever. Please immediately exempt me from paying all state taxes until I have representation. Move over, "tea party" organizers (what do you PUT in that tea? Kool-Aid?) I get my spot on the lawn in front of the government building as well.
My passionate political support will go to any and all legislators, regardless of party affiliation, who have the cajones to vote NO to this noisome abortion of a budget, a sickening, slimy backroom deal.. And you know what? It's time to recall everyone who votes to pass it.
Giving in to bullies is never the best choice. That's a "girly man" thing to do.
Nor is giving more to the extremely wealthy and telling lies to the rest of us a mark of genius. For one thing, not everyone falls for those lies. Surprise! You heard it here first.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Hey there folks at Blogger
The drag-stuff-around-to-make-the-layout-look-nice function is broken. Just FYI!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
A Protest Rally!
Cool!
Anybody going to a major city tomorrow?
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s complete failure to provide leadership in dealing with the budget crisis has led to a $26 billion gap, and his budget ‘solutions’ include eviscerating many vital services that all Californians depend upon. He has displayed a startling lack of empathy to those whose lives would be devastated by his deep, unnecessary cuts.
(from New York Times Magazine, 7/5/09)
"Schwarzenegger reclined deeply in his chair, lighted an eight-inch cigar and declared himself 'perfectly fine,' despite the fiscal debacle and personal heartsickness all around him. 'Someone else might walk out of here every day depressed, but I don’t walk out of here depressed,' Schwarzenegger said. Whatever happens, 'I will sit down in my Jacuzzi tonight,' he said. 'I’m going to lay back with a stogie.'"
That kind of flip attitude may fly in Hollywood, but it doesn’t sit well with the millions of Californians whose lives are on the line in this crisis.
While Governor Schwarzenegger kicks back with his cigar, middle class families are suffering, police and firefighters are facing layoffs, and seniors, kids and people with disabilities are getting hit the hardest by the budget crisis. In fact, the Governor has imposed a new fee on low-income seniors and people with disabilities who receive home health care. He cut $10 billion dollars for education, and has proposed another $6 billion in cuts, slashing education by nearly 25%. And he eviscerated services for seniors, kids and people with disabilities by cutting over $1 billion from vital programs.
Unless he changes course, the Governor’s legacy will be broken promises and his utter failure to lead in a time of crisis. We can’t sit back while he lets California's future go up in smoke- we must act now to put a stop to the Governor's bad budget proposals.
HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION:
*Join the Facebook group: "Gov. Schwarzenegger- Don't Let California's Future Go Up in Smoke!".
*Call the Governor at (916) 445-2841 today, and tell him "Governor, if you want someone to blame for the state’s problems, you need to start by looking in the mirror."
*Attend a protest at the Governor's offices on WEDNESDAY July 15th at 11:30am- see locations and details below.
*Urge your friends, family and co-workers to call the Governor and attend an event in your area.
On Wednesday at 11:30am, attend a protest at one of the Governor's five offices:
*In San Francisco at 455 Golden Gate Ave
(Coming up to SF from the South Bay? Join the caravan departing from 2102 Almaden Rd in San Jose at 930am)
*In Sacramento at the State Capitol South Steps
*In Fresno at 2550 Mariposa Mall
*In Los Angeles at 300 South Spring St.
*In San Diego at 1350 Front St. (starts at 12:15pm)
Download the flyer at http://www.calaborfed.org/PDFS/2009/LEGISLATIVE/JULY15-RALLY.pdf
Contact Info
Email: info@calaborfed.org
Office: California Labor Federation
Anybody going to a major city tomorrow?
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s complete failure to provide leadership in dealing with the budget crisis has led to a $26 billion gap, and his budget ‘solutions’ include eviscerating many vital services that all Californians depend upon. He has displayed a startling lack of empathy to those whose lives would be devastated by his deep, unnecessary cuts.
(from New York Times Magazine, 7/5/09)
"Schwarzenegger reclined deeply in his chair, lighted an eight-inch cigar and declared himself 'perfectly fine,' despite the fiscal debacle and personal heartsickness all around him. 'Someone else might walk out of here every day depressed, but I don’t walk out of here depressed,' Schwarzenegger said. Whatever happens, 'I will sit down in my Jacuzzi tonight,' he said. 'I’m going to lay back with a stogie.'"
That kind of flip attitude may fly in Hollywood, but it doesn’t sit well with the millions of Californians whose lives are on the line in this crisis.
While Governor Schwarzenegger kicks back with his cigar, middle class families are suffering, police and firefighters are facing layoffs, and seniors, kids and people with disabilities are getting hit the hardest by the budget crisis. In fact, the Governor has imposed a new fee on low-income seniors and people with disabilities who receive home health care. He cut $10 billion dollars for education, and has proposed another $6 billion in cuts, slashing education by nearly 25%. And he eviscerated services for seniors, kids and people with disabilities by cutting over $1 billion from vital programs.
Unless he changes course, the Governor’s legacy will be broken promises and his utter failure to lead in a time of crisis. We can’t sit back while he lets California's future go up in smoke- we must act now to put a stop to the Governor's bad budget proposals.
HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION:
*Join the Facebook group: "Gov. Schwarzenegger- Don't Let California's Future Go Up in Smoke!".
*Call the Governor at (916) 445-2841 today, and tell him "Governor, if you want someone to blame for the state’s problems, you need to start by looking in the mirror."
*Attend a protest at the Governor's offices on WEDNESDAY July 15th at 11:30am- see locations and details below.
*Urge your friends, family and co-workers to call the Governor and attend an event in your area.
On Wednesday at 11:30am, attend a protest at one of the Governor's five offices:
*In San Francisco at 455 Golden Gate Ave
(Coming up to SF from the South Bay? Join the caravan departing from 2102 Almaden Rd in San Jose at 930am)
*In Sacramento at the State Capitol South Steps
*In Fresno at 2550 Mariposa Mall
*In Los Angeles at 300 South Spring St.
*In San Diego at 1350 Front St. (starts at 12:15pm)
Download the flyer at http://www.calaborfed.org/PDFS/2009/LEGISLATIVE/JULY15-RALLY.pdf
Contact Info
Email: info@calaborfed.org
Office: California Labor Federation
From The While Rome Burns Dept.
Oddly, the majority Dems sent the Gov a budget full of the deep cuts he insisted upon, even though they will hurt the most vulnerable AND risk contracting the economy further during this very nasty recession...but the Gov would not sign it! Now he's on tv insisting on more pandering to the extreme right wing which is holding the budget negotiations hostage. The change in districting, to get rid of "safe" seats and make it harder for extremists to win elections, can't come soon enough...just hope it works.
And that 2/3 requirement to raise any taxes, even to repeal recent tax cuts in an time of fiscal emergency, as well as to pass a budget, has got to go. No other large states have this requirement. In fact, only two other states share this requirement at all. How much does CA have in common with Arkansas and Rhode Island?
While the "tea parties" (I didn't see any free tea to be scored at the local one here so don't bother going just for that) are playing on... another downgrade in CA bonds hit, yes that is CA bonds which were once holding the very highest rating. I'm old enough to remember, are you? Only one of many real COSTS to the recurring budget delays. Geniuses at work.
The tea parties are not exactly historically correct, anyway. The protesters throwing tea into Boston Harbor were opposing taxation without representation. If anyone is over-represented right now, it is the radical right, as they proudly refuse to allow a budget to go forward and cost us all a lot of money when we are trying to cope with a massive budget deficit. Our heroes.
Although I make a distinction between the radicals and moderate Republicans. I gave up bashing the GOP for the New Year. After all, I used to BE a Republican. And I'm still in trouble with a lot of liberals, believe it or not my Republican friends, for things like wanting to see the pension system for state workers revamped for future employees (since I don't see how the state can stand up under the projected future costs) and wanting to see some unions asked to make concessions in this fiscal emergency, such as the prison worker lobby. But I see a huge difference between an "I liked IKE" Republican and one of the Zombies For Voodoo Economics Redux. All someone like Limbaugh has to do is call on them and out they trot to do...stupid things. Well let's charitably say possibly uninformed things.
Clue: if an economy looks to be circling the drain, is more contraction the very best thing to do?
Yeah, you could say I've gotten a bit tired of Milton Friedman. I had him thrown at me a lot in school and suffered from overexposure a long time ago, anyway.
"Trickle down" economics. Guess what DID trickle down...ok way TMI. But predictable. If I predicted it, and I did, truly anyone could have who wasn't bewitched by Reagan, who was unfortunately sold on the theory, and was an excellent speechwriter and speechmaker. But at least when Reagan fell for it, it hadn't recently been tried and spectacularly failed. I'm amazed at the policymakers who can't remember as far back as the crash of...September/October. Of 2008! What ARE they smoking?
Ok Californians you have some serious work to do right NOW:
Dear Governor, Please sign the damn thing. Thank You, Average Citizen
Write or call him! I think the office is tired of hearing from me...
And please find out who your state legislators ARE (you have one for the state Senate and one for the state Assembly) and either support them for passing a compromise budget or tell them that holding it up is NOT making them look good.
Btw this whole IOU thing is still so whacked that it seems like aliens on an LSD trip took hold of our state government by stealth and steered it right over a cliff, just because they thought it was fun to do.
Pass. The. Budget. Now. It's your frigging job description, guys. The rest of us would have compromised on both sides, passed it on time, and be out enjoying the summer weather. Just sayin'.
P.S. And another friend just told me of their job loss. I have LOST COUNT of the folks I know who lost their jobs. Yep, it's the economy again, stupids...most of the electorate clusters around the moderate center and we are being eaten alive while some of you smoke stogies and others of you are still the highest-paid legislators in the country. The voters aren't just angry about taxes, for God's sake. But some of you have defined that narrowly as the problem and are using your definition for political gain, instead of passing a budget and stopping the fiscal bleeding, and frankly that pisses me off.
And that 2/3 requirement to raise any taxes, even to repeal recent tax cuts in an time of fiscal emergency, as well as to pass a budget, has got to go. No other large states have this requirement. In fact, only two other states share this requirement at all. How much does CA have in common with Arkansas and Rhode Island?
While the "tea parties" (I didn't see any free tea to be scored at the local one here so don't bother going just for that) are playing on... another downgrade in CA bonds hit, yes that is CA bonds which were once holding the very highest rating. I'm old enough to remember, are you? Only one of many real COSTS to the recurring budget delays. Geniuses at work.
The tea parties are not exactly historically correct, anyway. The protesters throwing tea into Boston Harbor were opposing taxation without representation. If anyone is over-represented right now, it is the radical right, as they proudly refuse to allow a budget to go forward and cost us all a lot of money when we are trying to cope with a massive budget deficit. Our heroes.
Although I make a distinction between the radicals and moderate Republicans. I gave up bashing the GOP for the New Year. After all, I used to BE a Republican. And I'm still in trouble with a lot of liberals, believe it or not my Republican friends, for things like wanting to see the pension system for state workers revamped for future employees (since I don't see how the state can stand up under the projected future costs) and wanting to see some unions asked to make concessions in this fiscal emergency, such as the prison worker lobby. But I see a huge difference between an "I liked IKE" Republican and one of the Zombies For Voodoo Economics Redux. All someone like Limbaugh has to do is call on them and out they trot to do...stupid things. Well let's charitably say possibly uninformed things.
Clue: if an economy looks to be circling the drain, is more contraction the very best thing to do?
Yeah, you could say I've gotten a bit tired of Milton Friedman. I had him thrown at me a lot in school and suffered from overexposure a long time ago, anyway.
"Trickle down" economics. Guess what DID trickle down...ok way TMI. But predictable. If I predicted it, and I did, truly anyone could have who wasn't bewitched by Reagan, who was unfortunately sold on the theory, and was an excellent speechwriter and speechmaker. But at least when Reagan fell for it, it hadn't recently been tried and spectacularly failed. I'm amazed at the policymakers who can't remember as far back as the crash of...September/October. Of 2008! What ARE they smoking?
Ok Californians you have some serious work to do right NOW:
Dear Governor, Please sign the damn thing. Thank You, Average Citizen
Write or call him! I think the office is tired of hearing from me...
And please find out who your state legislators ARE (you have one for the state Senate and one for the state Assembly) and either support them for passing a compromise budget or tell them that holding it up is NOT making them look good.
Btw this whole IOU thing is still so whacked that it seems like aliens on an LSD trip took hold of our state government by stealth and steered it right over a cliff, just because they thought it was fun to do.
Pass. The. Budget. Now. It's your frigging job description, guys. The rest of us would have compromised on both sides, passed it on time, and be out enjoying the summer weather. Just sayin'.
P.S. And another friend just told me of their job loss. I have LOST COUNT of the folks I know who lost their jobs. Yep, it's the economy again, stupids...most of the electorate clusters around the moderate center and we are being eaten alive while some of you smoke stogies and others of you are still the highest-paid legislators in the country. The voters aren't just angry about taxes, for God's sake. But some of you have defined that narrowly as the problem and are using your definition for political gain, instead of passing a budget and stopping the fiscal bleeding, and frankly that pisses me off.
Friday, July 10, 2009
CA Budget Negotiations Have Gone Stark Staring Mad ?!
Beautiful state, but some hideous ideas are being seriously considered.
Some UPDATED info:
Save Our State
Whatever your political flavor of choice, please take action if you are a CA resident--or ask any CA residents you know to read, sign, and pass on:
Murder Is Not An Option
...before any lives are lost.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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