Link for:
The Starving Economist
see you there!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
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 Oh, you weren't aware that we had recent tax cuts for big corporations, which couldn't possibly be rescinded to help balance the budget because...well, just because?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
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Iran Government Has Restricted The Flow Of News But Protests Continue
I'm following on Twitter, #IranElection , and also at the Huffington Post .
Friday, June 19, 2009
Mission Shrink: We've Gone From Saving Wall Street in Order to Save Main Street to Just Saving Wall Street
I knew even before he won the election that Obama was possibly right of center and the accusations of his being "socialist" were certainly false.
Oh, I'm not happy. I wish he would save MY life and enact single payer health care, for which we are already paying more than what would cover us all well (http://www.hr676.org/ .)
But Obama is what we make him. The progressive half of the country has not had the back of those who try to stand up to the radical right machine running this country since c. 1980.
We do not have massive marching in the streets when fellow citizens face death due to misguided government policies ( http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget28-2009may28,0,1322149.story ), when youth are killed in war held in the wrong country, etc.
Until we PERSONALLY are affected, for fear of losing what little we are clinging to-- whether that be the health insurance from which we haven't (yet) been dropped ( http://www.care2.com/causes/health-policy/blog/health-insurance-ive-got-mine/ ) , or our children's education which hasn't (yet) been destroyed by budget cuts -- we do butkis until we're hit.
We are divided from those for whom the bell has already tolled... divided, and therefore conquered.
And we get the economy http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12699486/paul_krugman_on_the_great_wealth_transfer/ ) , and government we PERMIT to rule over us.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Oh, I'm not happy. I wish he would save MY life and enact single payer health care, for which we are already paying more than what would cover us all well (http://www.hr676.org/ .)
But Obama is what we make him. The progressive half of the country has not had the back of those who try to stand up to the radical right machine running this country since c. 1980.
We do not have massive marching in the streets when fellow citizens face death due to misguided government policies ( http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget28-2009may28,0,1322149.story ), when youth are killed in war held in the wrong country, etc.
Until we PERSONALLY are affected, for fear of losing what little we are clinging to-- whether that be the health insurance from which we haven't (yet) been dropped ( http://www.care2.com/causes/health-policy/blog/health-insurance-ive-got-mine/ ) , or our children's education which hasn't (yet) been destroyed by budget cuts -- we do butkis until we're hit.
We are divided from those for whom the bell has already tolled... divided, and therefore conquered.
And we get the economy http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12699486/paul_krugman_on_the_great_wealth_transfer/ ) , and government we PERMIT to rule over us.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Saturday, June 13, 2009
All this arguing about a public option for health insurance
Lord, give me strength.
The thing wouldn't let ME finally be allowed to work.
Tell them they had their chance to agree to one and now that chance is gone.
The thing wouldn't let ME finally be allowed to work.
Tell them they had their chance to agree to one and now that chance is gone.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Health Care Debate Rages On
I found myself participating in this discussion. It's always interesting to encounter my fellow citizens on days when I'm stuck in bed and can't be an advocate for positive change in any other way. I can't even volunteer to make phone calls right now; I've got a very hoarse voice again. Good old lupus and Sjogren's Syndrome.
Anyway, I get out there and do my best, but then I have to take breaks. There are a lot of people who are not very nice to those of us who have had absolutely no choice but to use government-paid health care. No matter where I go, I always run in to at least one of them!
As a nation, we didn't always fear change so much. It seems amazing to think we were begun by a revolution, when I look at people clinging to the most expensive health care system in the world which still lets many of its citizens die, while leaving many others uncovered or undercovered.
Anyway, I get out there and do my best, but then I have to take breaks. There are a lot of people who are not very nice to those of us who have had absolutely no choice but to use government-paid health care. No matter where I go, I always run in to at least one of them!
As a nation, we didn't always fear change so much. It seems amazing to think we were begun by a revolution, when I look at people clinging to the most expensive health care system in the world which still lets many of its citizens die, while leaving many others uncovered or undercovered.
Monday, June 1, 2009
California Needs Help -- A Call For Volunteers
Well, the Golden State is morphing into brass.
Yet another massive state government budget deficit yawns in front of us like a chasm from the nether world, threatening to swallow up what was once a nice place to live. The elected officials on whose watch this happened seem to be collectively wringing their hands, except for our governor, who is facing the wind seemingly alone, making a list of potential solutions grim enough as to seem right out of a Dickens novel.
Clearly, this state needs help. And can't afford to pay anybody. Hence we need volunteers.
Let's get out there and get some volunteers. (Hey. You. You don't look like you're all that busy right now.)
I'm proposing we begin with finding folks who will perform these services:
Is there an economist in the house? There are a few questions for one that just little old me was able to dream up while just sitting here typing, instead of getting some real calorie-burning exercise after eating, so one can only imagine the many things that the citizens of this state would like to know--should anyone ever be available to answer their queries.
My own first question would be: how much more can the state government be cut in the short term without sending our economy into one of those circle-the-drain negative spirals which feed on themselves? (Cuts! layoffs! >less spending! but then, less revenue for the businesses which were patronized by those cutted. Then the businesses themselves respond with...cuts! layoffs! and then THOSE people don't spend as much at the businesses THEY formerly frequented. And then...guess what? Lather, rinse AND repeat! And I didn't even mention the subprime mortgage crisis once!)
We aren't exactly in boom times here, with about 12% unemployment. I read one estimate which said the state government will have ended up cutting about 1/5 of its size if current plans proceed through to a conclusion. That's a real whopper of a contraction. Can we handle a megacontraction? If not, aren't we justified in asking our federal government, to whom we send more money than any other state, for a loan at reasonable interest (no no no not more long-term borrowing; calm down everybody; take a deep breath and a chill pill) to get us past our deadline of THIS COMING JUNE 15? Does anybody else see just how scarily imminent that is? Doesn't anyone else out there have a desk calendar?
So should we be cutting more, and that fast, or would we be the very first Herbert Hoovers of the new millennium if we did so?
Ok. Now. For my second question: do the illegal immigrants present in our state now create a net cost to our economy or a net benefit? A lot of people believe the former, but I heard of one study somewhere which supports the latter. Well, we need to know. Or it will be very hard to set rational financial policy concerning their presence. All emotions aside, from a bean counter perspective...which is it? Thanks in advance. Until we know the answer I think we have to wait before we slash them from state programs. Although I admittedly do not know why we shouldn't extradite illegal aliens who are prisoners. Can't their home countries have them back? Why do we have to provide the three hots, a cot, and health care?
Some of the proposals I have read about for cuts to be made immediately are so abhorrent that I don't see why we shouldn't have something set up online for people to try to come up with better ideas. On an unpaid basis, of course. It almost seems like there have to be better ideas, if only because some of these are so totally over the top.
Firstly, I do not see why there are any proposals whatsoever to deny anyone health care which they need for survival. This is still a rich country and a rich state. I was told there is a proposal to stop treating women on state health care for breast cancer if they reach the oh-so-venerable age of 65. (Some of our mothers are 65. Some of our sisters are 65. We may even have friends who are all of 65. Dare we say some of us could even be 65 or older? I know one thing; we aren't all 25.) Some might qualify for Medicare then; ok, fine. But some won't.
Before we murder our fellow citizens, I really think we can try a few other things out first. Otherwise we have pretty much abandoned the idea of having a civilization. Not to mention that some of those "welfare scum" are probably our neighbors who were laid off and whose COBRA ran out just in time for their cancer diagnosis. It IS the economy, stupid. (That's a quote. I'm not really calling anybody stupid. Yet.)
Just as an aside, if our government health care is in that dire need of extra funding, one could shut down the insurance companies with their CEO pay and 35% administrative costs and get some of the young and healthy to pay their premiums to the government, instead of having the taxpayer alone foot the bill for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled/chronically ill (you know, the ones who pay less and cost more) while the private companies rake in the money from the healthy folk. But, if unwilling to do this, then there have to be other things we can try before we pass out death sentences. I am positive that if we all put our thinking caps on, we can come up with something better.
Secondly, I do not see why we have to toss children off of their health insurance. I know they don't vote, and I don't happen to have any of my own, but I kind of like them anyway. Just how expensive can it be to insure a bunch of kids, mostly, I presume, healthy ones? (And if it IS really expensive, then why? Just who is getting rich off of doing it? Inquiring minds would like to know.)
Taken together, the two points I raise above, for me, are the tip of the iceberg. The general theme is this: if anyone has to threaten the lives of citizens in any way (as in denying what is needed for survival) in order to balance the budget...they are in the wrong job. Hire a bean counter. Oops, I mean find a volunteer bean counter.
Speaking now privately (in a whisper) to my fellow bean counters: can any of us possibly think of anything that could be tried first instead of threatening the survival of California citizens? Do we really need to contemplate murder to balance the budget? Do we want or need that blood on our hands? Heck, what about karma and all that stuff? There's just not a single cent anybody can think of to cut anywhere first?
Well, I'm not going to be winning any popularity contests by saying what comes next, but I never win those, anyway. Once you get to know me better, you'll see why I'm no fun at parties.
Here goes: I think there are a LOT of potential cuts we just haven't explored. First of all, our state legislature is supposedly still the highest-paid in the country. If we had the money, I wouldn't begrudge them their pay. It's probably a hard job. However, before we look at killing folks, I think we could make a case that our elected officials should be making some serious sacrifices right along with the rest of us. Heck, throw in government workers, as well.
Now, I need some volunteers with calculators and who are good at accessing boring data. What I want to know is: what would we save if everyone who worked for our state government had their salary immediately brought down (if the salary is higher than) to the median income for the city in which they work?
No, I am NOT kidding. Before you kill anybody, dear government workers, you can have, without paying anything extra for it, the valuable experience of learning how the rest of us live! This will help you in your jobs! You can thank me later!
Along the same lines, there seem to be a lot of people who work for the government who have been defending vigorously the current setup we have in this state and in this country for citizens who are seeking health insurance and health care. It breaks my heart to see that we are paying for the health care of these wise ones and keeping them from the private insurance market they love so much. Let us immediately bring them closer to it. Again, what a learning experience. Cheaper and faster than getting a health economics degree. So, what about no more health care for government? Let government experts show us how to maneuver our way through the health care access morass. We await eagerly await their shining examples.
Bet you know what I'm going to talk about next! PENSION PLANS! How many of us peons out here don't have one? Loads, I'm guessing. Government pension plans are threatening to break our system anyway, as the population ages. Best not to continue to incur those kinds of long-term obligations. We've already got a heck of a lot of bonds to pay off. So, no more government pension plans. How much would we save? Admittedly, I'm not sure we can get out of the ones already promised, without horrific legal costs. Unless there are some citizen attorneys out there willing to volunteer their time?
Just GUESS what I think about the usage of free government cars. And the gas for them. Unless we are paying someone to do something like inspect buildings for safety...or plumbing...or to fight crime or fire...ok give those folks all a pass. But if someone's job is pushing paper, they don't have to go anywhere. Heck maybe they could telecommute and we could turn the utilities off and sell the buildings. Most of us have to pay for our own cars, since the public transportation in this state is lousy.
Let's look for other perks! What can we find? I don't know yet but there could be a real gold mine waiting to be discovered! I'll bring the red pencils if you bring the reading glasses! Let's cut freebies! Paperwork! Let them sweep up their own offices and take out their own trash! Starting with the most highly paid first, cos their example will be so motivating!
Is it true that if state parks are closed, for every $1 saved the economy loses over $2? If so, is closing the parks a smart idea? (I would say maybe, well, no.) What about the effect of closure upon attracting tourism and business to our state? Revenue, that is. The stuff we need more of.
Oh, and not to mention, maybe the parks keep enough of us citizens happy so we don't revolt and start nationalizing everything in sight, or refusing to pay any taxes at all, or just taking to the streets and making a big mess? The great beauty of our state and access to the outdoors is why many people live here. Maybe taking some of that away could send housing values down. We already saw what happens when those go down too fast, didn't we? Do we have to go through that again?
And why is it so expensive to maintain parks? Can't we volunteer to pick up trash? Aren't there any land use experts who care enough to volunteer their time to direct our efforts? We've got adopt-a-highway, why not adopt-a-park? Does everybody have to be paid every time they lift a little finger, or can we take a little time maybe to read about when we were a nation that worked together and raised each other's barns and stuff like that? Hmm, reading, bet they're closing the libraries...wouldn't surprise me....
And then there is education. Our per-pupil spending is still a tad on the low side. We've got an awful lot of pupils, though. And we are in a budget crisis. I don't see why it would be so dangerous to cut school days back to the number we had when I graduated high school in 1980. My use of apostrophes is a lot better than the present generations even with the abject misery I suffered by having a longer summer vacation. And maybe "teaching to the test", something my teachers didn't have to put up with, is what we can't afford right now. Also, rumor has it that there ARE cost savings we could find, if we look, in our education budget--in administrative costs, not classroom costs. Oh, and some of us WOULD volunteer as community tutors, you know. Ask us.
Supposedly if any politician comes out and tells the people the TRUTH, which is that this stupid deficit is so big and so stubborn we are going to need spending cuts, user fees, cash donations, volunteers, some low-interest borrowing and debt consolidation from somewhere, prayer, channeling of healing energies, starting at least seven different new state lotteries, renegotiation with those Indian casinos, AND TAXES (see? I said it, and lightning did not strike me down!), they will not get re-elected.
Guess I was hoping there would be a few real statesmen/women, the kind that rise up in a crisis and go down in the history books, who would care more about saving the state than getting re-elected. You know, there ARE other jobs one could do after doing the right thing. But no matter. Those of us who have little to lose are going to have to say it, then. TAXES. TAXES. TAXES.
I don't care if it was Democrats who overspent in the past or Republicans who wouldn't even close a yacht tax loophole or if aliens from outer space are controlling us all in secret. If you used a public good today, and you did, you are going to have to pay your taxes and suck it up. Only if you are self-sufficient and also don't depend on any customers or clients who are not self-sufficient (maybe some of you live in undiscovered mountain gaps?) do I want to hear whining about taxes. We ALL hate paying them. Why should anybody like them?
But I have found that aside from extremists, who terrify the representatives of our gerrymandered districts but who don't scare me much, most people really would be willing to pay a little more to get rid of this boomerang deficit we are SO, SO SICK OF EVEN HEARING ABOUT. Get rid of the damn thing already.
But we want to really be RID of it. And we don't want our money WASTED. We want it treated with a caution bordering on sheer reverence. If an official drops a quarter in a sewer, they'd better go get it, because that is a hardworking TAXPAYER'S quarter. Americans now work more hours than the citizens of any other nation in the world. On our time off we try to do laundry, grocery shopping, pay bills and re-introduce ourselves to our spouses and our children. We are tired and are having to make decisions like can we keep a child in college, or have a child, or feed the child we have, or even feed ourselves. The economy sucks. We're having a hard time. We want sympathy and we want the spenders to account for every single blood-and-sweat-soaked cent. Twice. With a paper trail.
Oh, and despite what has been assumed by some, we aren't completely dim. We know we need a more stable source of tax revenue than just the income tax, which fluctuates widely. Some of us never meant to vote in Prop. 13 savings for commercial property, btw. We could consider phasing that one out, but maybe not right now. (Recession. It's a bad one. Don't forget that.) We also are not averse to a "rainy-day" fund. It's just that this IS a rainy day (figuratively; it actually rarely rains in the summer), so it's not a great time to establish one.
We also don't need to be alone with Rhode Island and Arkansas in requiring a 2/3 vote of the legislature to pass a budget, since budget delays cost us money. We don't want to lose any more money on budget delays. We also would like to have our legislators work on more than just budget budget budget all the time. Rhode Island, as I can tell you because my family comes from there, is pretty small. 2/3 of the legislature probably goes to your block party, when you live there. I don't know much about Arkansas. But I doubt we need to use them as a model for our budget procedures. So we want this stuff fixed. We don't care if it's hard to fix. It's not impossible. We tamed a continent. We went to the moon. We invented velcro (well, someone did, somewhere.) We can fix stupid procedural stuff.
We want what we know we deserve to have. We want our kids in decent schools, our universities teeming with brilliant minds to attract research and development to our state, our sick people getting health care, our poor people allowed enough to keep from dying in the streets, our parks open, our economy back to work, our violent offenders locked up, our police and fire protection well-funded and ready at all times, our absentee ballots dammit since a lot of us have to, you know, work on voting days (betcha you all didn't know they were planning on taking those ballots away to save money), our roads drivable, our environment clean, and clear and steady progress made towards getting us out of the mess overborrowing helped to get our state into. We want our leaders to cut paperwork, duplication, waste, streamline administrative costs, bring down high salaries, slash perks. Then the silent majority of the sane will consider something like maybe a small and better-be-temporary sales tax increase, which no one likes, most don't want, is regressive, is not so hot for our economy overall, and we will most certainly all spit on it, but: we will suck it up if and only if those who work for our government do their part first.
I exempt the Governor from the call for cuts, since he is not drawing a salary. For this I wish to thank him.
However, I can't nominate him for sainthood. Two big strikes against him waiting at the pearly gastes: 1. he didthis , by stealth. Kicking the folks who are already choosing between food and medication isn't very nice. This was done so fast, btw, that not only was their no time for public comment, but some of the agencies involved found out about it first from their clients.
He's cut and is cutting state programs down to such a low level of funding that we lose the federal funds we would otherwise qualify for. In some cases those funds would pay for the majority of the program. And in all cases, the taxpayers I know want all the money back from Washington we can possibly get to be used right here in OUR state. Why should we be funding stuff in other states instead? Someone please tell Arnold to stop disqualifying us from our federal money! (I would wag a finger at him, but after years of prednisone therapy am not attractive enough to get away with it.)
Admittedly, not everyone who works for the government can afford to live with no salary like our governor does, and we don't want to restrict government service to only the wealthy. But again, before they kill citizens, before they shut the state down, that median income limit for them all is looking awfully good to me.
Or, we could replace a lot of 'em with volunteers. I personally would be happy to work on the Let's Balance The State Budget Now! Online Email Working Group. Salary $0.00. Meet me on a Yahoo list. I'll keep the light on (one tiny bulb, all the others turned off for frugality) for ya.
P.S. I know I left the illegal alien issue out. Remember, we need to know about cost/benefit. We can't afford to ignore cost/benefit right now. All other passions aside, unfortunately, this has to be about money.
P.P.S. Yeah, I'm ok with legalizing marijuana. If someone can convince the DEA to lay off because I don't want to waste any money fighting with them. And if the stuff can only be used on licensed premises, subject to a nice hefty licensing fee naturally, and of course taxed the hell out of. I'm ok with putting gangs, who seem to be doing quite well right now based on the Al Capone business model, out of business. However, I don't think kids should be exposed to marijuana, even at home. And it's got to be illegal to drive under the influence of it. And I don't want to be exposed to it. Judging by what happens to me every time I try to attend a concert, I think I'm allergic. Achoo.
P.P.S. I'm ok with gay marriage, too. Let's have those expensive celebrity weddings here in our state! Celebrants can invite everyone they know from all over the world to SPEND WILDLY! Hey, I know how to do photo editing, cheap...excuse me while I step out to make some business cards...
Try Your Hand At Balancing The Budget. I Got A Surplus, Did You? :) Oh, and you'll learn why Prop. 98, while it helps education funding, is really annoying. It's like two steps forward one step back every time you try to cut anything.
Looney. Tunes.
We can do better than this. Because we have to do better than this.
Contact California's GovernorNOW.
CA residents, please also contact your state representatives.
With lives on the line, there is no time to lose.
Yet another massive state government budget deficit yawns in front of us like a chasm from the nether world, threatening to swallow up what was once a nice place to live. The elected officials on whose watch this happened seem to be collectively wringing their hands, except for our governor, who is facing the wind seemingly alone, making a list of potential solutions grim enough as to seem right out of a Dickens novel.
Clearly, this state needs help. And can't afford to pay anybody. Hence we need volunteers.
Let's get out there and get some volunteers. (Hey. You. You don't look like you're all that busy right now.)
I'm proposing we begin with finding folks who will perform these services:
Is there an economist in the house? There are a few questions for one that just little old me was able to dream up while just sitting here typing, instead of getting some real calorie-burning exercise after eating, so one can only imagine the many things that the citizens of this state would like to know--should anyone ever be available to answer their queries.
My own first question would be: how much more can the state government be cut in the short term without sending our economy into one of those circle-the-drain negative spirals which feed on themselves? (Cuts! layoffs! >less spending! but then, less revenue for the businesses which were patronized by those cutted. Then the businesses themselves respond with...cuts! layoffs! and then THOSE people don't spend as much at the businesses THEY formerly frequented. And then...guess what? Lather, rinse AND repeat! And I didn't even mention the subprime mortgage crisis once!)
We aren't exactly in boom times here, with about 12% unemployment. I read one estimate which said the state government will have ended up cutting about 1/5 of its size if current plans proceed through to a conclusion. That's a real whopper of a contraction. Can we handle a megacontraction? If not, aren't we justified in asking our federal government, to whom we send more money than any other state, for a loan at reasonable interest (no no no not more long-term borrowing; calm down everybody; take a deep breath and a chill pill) to get us past our deadline of THIS COMING JUNE 15? Does anybody else see just how scarily imminent that is? Doesn't anyone else out there have a desk calendar?
So should we be cutting more, and that fast, or would we be the very first Herbert Hoovers of the new millennium if we did so?
Ok. Now. For my second question: do the illegal immigrants present in our state now create a net cost to our economy or a net benefit? A lot of people believe the former, but I heard of one study somewhere which supports the latter. Well, we need to know. Or it will be very hard to set rational financial policy concerning their presence. All emotions aside, from a bean counter perspective...which is it? Thanks in advance. Until we know the answer I think we have to wait before we slash them from state programs. Although I admittedly do not know why we shouldn't extradite illegal aliens who are prisoners. Can't their home countries have them back? Why do we have to provide the three hots, a cot, and health care?
Some of the proposals I have read about for cuts to be made immediately are so abhorrent that I don't see why we shouldn't have something set up online for people to try to come up with better ideas. On an unpaid basis, of course. It almost seems like there have to be better ideas, if only because some of these are so totally over the top.
Firstly, I do not see why there are any proposals whatsoever to deny anyone health care which they need for survival. This is still a rich country and a rich state. I was told there is a proposal to stop treating women on state health care for breast cancer if they reach the oh-so-venerable age of 65. (Some of our mothers are 65. Some of our sisters are 65. We may even have friends who are all of 65. Dare we say some of us could even be 65 or older? I know one thing; we aren't all 25.) Some might qualify for Medicare then; ok, fine. But some won't.
Before we murder our fellow citizens, I really think we can try a few other things out first. Otherwise we have pretty much abandoned the idea of having a civilization. Not to mention that some of those "welfare scum" are probably our neighbors who were laid off and whose COBRA ran out just in time for their cancer diagnosis. It IS the economy, stupid. (That's a quote. I'm not really calling anybody stupid. Yet.)
Just as an aside, if our government health care is in that dire need of extra funding, one could shut down the insurance companies with their CEO pay and 35% administrative costs and get some of the young and healthy to pay their premiums to the government, instead of having the taxpayer alone foot the bill for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled/chronically ill (you know, the ones who pay less and cost more) while the private companies rake in the money from the healthy folk. But, if unwilling to do this, then there have to be other things we can try before we pass out death sentences. I am positive that if we all put our thinking caps on, we can come up with something better.
Secondly, I do not see why we have to toss children off of their health insurance. I know they don't vote, and I don't happen to have any of my own, but I kind of like them anyway. Just how expensive can it be to insure a bunch of kids, mostly, I presume, healthy ones? (And if it IS really expensive, then why? Just who is getting rich off of doing it? Inquiring minds would like to know.)
Taken together, the two points I raise above, for me, are the tip of the iceberg. The general theme is this: if anyone has to threaten the lives of citizens in any way (as in denying what is needed for survival) in order to balance the budget...they are in the wrong job. Hire a bean counter. Oops, I mean find a volunteer bean counter.
Speaking now privately (in a whisper) to my fellow bean counters: can any of us possibly think of anything that could be tried first instead of threatening the survival of California citizens? Do we really need to contemplate murder to balance the budget? Do we want or need that blood on our hands? Heck, what about karma and all that stuff? There's just not a single cent anybody can think of to cut anywhere first?
Well, I'm not going to be winning any popularity contests by saying what comes next, but I never win those, anyway. Once you get to know me better, you'll see why I'm no fun at parties.
Here goes: I think there are a LOT of potential cuts we just haven't explored. First of all, our state legislature is supposedly still the highest-paid in the country. If we had the money, I wouldn't begrudge them their pay. It's probably a hard job. However, before we look at killing folks, I think we could make a case that our elected officials should be making some serious sacrifices right along with the rest of us. Heck, throw in government workers, as well.
Now, I need some volunteers with calculators and who are good at accessing boring data. What I want to know is: what would we save if everyone who worked for our state government had their salary immediately brought down (if the salary is higher than) to the median income for the city in which they work?
No, I am NOT kidding. Before you kill anybody, dear government workers, you can have, without paying anything extra for it, the valuable experience of learning how the rest of us live! This will help you in your jobs! You can thank me later!
Along the same lines, there seem to be a lot of people who work for the government who have been defending vigorously the current setup we have in this state and in this country for citizens who are seeking health insurance and health care. It breaks my heart to see that we are paying for the health care of these wise ones and keeping them from the private insurance market they love so much. Let us immediately bring them closer to it. Again, what a learning experience. Cheaper and faster than getting a health economics degree. So, what about no more health care for government? Let government experts show us how to maneuver our way through the health care access morass. We await eagerly await their shining examples.
Bet you know what I'm going to talk about next! PENSION PLANS! How many of us peons out here don't have one? Loads, I'm guessing. Government pension plans are threatening to break our system anyway, as the population ages. Best not to continue to incur those kinds of long-term obligations. We've already got a heck of a lot of bonds to pay off. So, no more government pension plans. How much would we save? Admittedly, I'm not sure we can get out of the ones already promised, without horrific legal costs. Unless there are some citizen attorneys out there willing to volunteer their time?
Just GUESS what I think about the usage of free government cars. And the gas for them. Unless we are paying someone to do something like inspect buildings for safety...or plumbing...or to fight crime or fire...ok give those folks all a pass. But if someone's job is pushing paper, they don't have to go anywhere. Heck maybe they could telecommute and we could turn the utilities off and sell the buildings. Most of us have to pay for our own cars, since the public transportation in this state is lousy.
Let's look for other perks! What can we find? I don't know yet but there could be a real gold mine waiting to be discovered! I'll bring the red pencils if you bring the reading glasses! Let's cut freebies! Paperwork! Let them sweep up their own offices and take out their own trash! Starting with the most highly paid first, cos their example will be so motivating!
Is it true that if state parks are closed, for every $1 saved the economy loses over $2? If so, is closing the parks a smart idea? (I would say maybe, well, no.) What about the effect of closure upon attracting tourism and business to our state? Revenue, that is. The stuff we need more of.
Oh, and not to mention, maybe the parks keep enough of us citizens happy so we don't revolt and start nationalizing everything in sight, or refusing to pay any taxes at all, or just taking to the streets and making a big mess? The great beauty of our state and access to the outdoors is why many people live here. Maybe taking some of that away could send housing values down. We already saw what happens when those go down too fast, didn't we? Do we have to go through that again?
And why is it so expensive to maintain parks? Can't we volunteer to pick up trash? Aren't there any land use experts who care enough to volunteer their time to direct our efforts? We've got adopt-a-highway, why not adopt-a-park? Does everybody have to be paid every time they lift a little finger, or can we take a little time maybe to read about when we were a nation that worked together and raised each other's barns and stuff like that? Hmm, reading, bet they're closing the libraries...wouldn't surprise me....
And then there is education. Our per-pupil spending is still a tad on the low side. We've got an awful lot of pupils, though. And we are in a budget crisis. I don't see why it would be so dangerous to cut school days back to the number we had when I graduated high school in 1980. My use of apostrophes is a lot better than the present generations even with the abject misery I suffered by having a longer summer vacation. And maybe "teaching to the test", something my teachers didn't have to put up with, is what we can't afford right now. Also, rumor has it that there ARE cost savings we could find, if we look, in our education budget--in administrative costs, not classroom costs. Oh, and some of us WOULD volunteer as community tutors, you know. Ask us.
Supposedly if any politician comes out and tells the people the TRUTH, which is that this stupid deficit is so big and so stubborn we are going to need spending cuts, user fees, cash donations, volunteers, some low-interest borrowing and debt consolidation from somewhere, prayer, channeling of healing energies, starting at least seven different new state lotteries, renegotiation with those Indian casinos, AND TAXES (see? I said it, and lightning did not strike me down!), they will not get re-elected.
Guess I was hoping there would be a few real statesmen/women, the kind that rise up in a crisis and go down in the history books, who would care more about saving the state than getting re-elected. You know, there ARE other jobs one could do after doing the right thing. But no matter. Those of us who have little to lose are going to have to say it, then. TAXES. TAXES. TAXES.
I don't care if it was Democrats who overspent in the past or Republicans who wouldn't even close a yacht tax loophole or if aliens from outer space are controlling us all in secret. If you used a public good today, and you did, you are going to have to pay your taxes and suck it up. Only if you are self-sufficient and also don't depend on any customers or clients who are not self-sufficient (maybe some of you live in undiscovered mountain gaps?) do I want to hear whining about taxes. We ALL hate paying them. Why should anybody like them?
But I have found that aside from extremists, who terrify the representatives of our gerrymandered districts but who don't scare me much, most people really would be willing to pay a little more to get rid of this boomerang deficit we are SO, SO SICK OF EVEN HEARING ABOUT. Get rid of the damn thing already.
But we want to really be RID of it. And we don't want our money WASTED. We want it treated with a caution bordering on sheer reverence. If an official drops a quarter in a sewer, they'd better go get it, because that is a hardworking TAXPAYER'S quarter. Americans now work more hours than the citizens of any other nation in the world. On our time off we try to do laundry, grocery shopping, pay bills and re-introduce ourselves to our spouses and our children. We are tired and are having to make decisions like can we keep a child in college, or have a child, or feed the child we have, or even feed ourselves. The economy sucks. We're having a hard time. We want sympathy and we want the spenders to account for every single blood-and-sweat-soaked cent. Twice. With a paper trail.
Oh, and despite what has been assumed by some, we aren't completely dim. We know we need a more stable source of tax revenue than just the income tax, which fluctuates widely. Some of us never meant to vote in Prop. 13 savings for commercial property, btw. We could consider phasing that one out, but maybe not right now. (Recession. It's a bad one. Don't forget that.) We also are not averse to a "rainy-day" fund. It's just that this IS a rainy day (figuratively; it actually rarely rains in the summer), so it's not a great time to establish one.
We also don't need to be alone with Rhode Island and Arkansas in requiring a 2/3 vote of the legislature to pass a budget, since budget delays cost us money. We don't want to lose any more money on budget delays. We also would like to have our legislators work on more than just budget budget budget all the time. Rhode Island, as I can tell you because my family comes from there, is pretty small. 2/3 of the legislature probably goes to your block party, when you live there. I don't know much about Arkansas. But I doubt we need to use them as a model for our budget procedures. So we want this stuff fixed. We don't care if it's hard to fix. It's not impossible. We tamed a continent. We went to the moon. We invented velcro (well, someone did, somewhere.) We can fix stupid procedural stuff.
We want what we know we deserve to have. We want our kids in decent schools, our universities teeming with brilliant minds to attract research and development to our state, our sick people getting health care, our poor people allowed enough to keep from dying in the streets, our parks open, our economy back to work, our violent offenders locked up, our police and fire protection well-funded and ready at all times, our absentee ballots dammit since a lot of us have to, you know, work on voting days (betcha you all didn't know they were planning on taking those ballots away to save money), our roads drivable, our environment clean, and clear and steady progress made towards getting us out of the mess overborrowing helped to get our state into. We want our leaders to cut paperwork, duplication, waste, streamline administrative costs, bring down high salaries, slash perks. Then the silent majority of the sane will consider something like maybe a small and better-be-temporary sales tax increase, which no one likes, most don't want, is regressive, is not so hot for our economy overall, and we will most certainly all spit on it, but: we will suck it up if and only if those who work for our government do their part first.
I exempt the Governor from the call for cuts, since he is not drawing a salary. For this I wish to thank him.
However, I can't nominate him for sainthood. Two big strikes against him waiting at the pearly gastes: 1. he didthis , by stealth. Kicking the folks who are already choosing between food and medication isn't very nice. This was done so fast, btw, that not only was their no time for public comment, but some of the agencies involved found out about it first from their clients.
He's cut and is cutting state programs down to such a low level of funding that we lose the federal funds we would otherwise qualify for. In some cases those funds would pay for the majority of the program. And in all cases, the taxpayers I know want all the money back from Washington we can possibly get to be used right here in OUR state. Why should we be funding stuff in other states instead? Someone please tell Arnold to stop disqualifying us from our federal money! (I would wag a finger at him, but after years of prednisone therapy am not attractive enough to get away with it.)
Admittedly, not everyone who works for the government can afford to live with no salary like our governor does, and we don't want to restrict government service to only the wealthy. But again, before they kill citizens, before they shut the state down, that median income limit for them all is looking awfully good to me.
Or, we could replace a lot of 'em with volunteers. I personally would be happy to work on the Let's Balance The State Budget Now! Online Email Working Group. Salary $0.00. Meet me on a Yahoo list. I'll keep the light on (one tiny bulb, all the others turned off for frugality) for ya.
P.S. I know I left the illegal alien issue out. Remember, we need to know about cost/benefit. We can't afford to ignore cost/benefit right now. All other passions aside, unfortunately, this has to be about money.
P.P.S. Yeah, I'm ok with legalizing marijuana. If someone can convince the DEA to lay off because I don't want to waste any money fighting with them. And if the stuff can only be used on licensed premises, subject to a nice hefty licensing fee naturally, and of course taxed the hell out of. I'm ok with putting gangs, who seem to be doing quite well right now based on the Al Capone business model, out of business. However, I don't think kids should be exposed to marijuana, even at home. And it's got to be illegal to drive under the influence of it. And I don't want to be exposed to it. Judging by what happens to me every time I try to attend a concert, I think I'm allergic. Achoo.
P.P.S. I'm ok with gay marriage, too. Let's have those expensive celebrity weddings here in our state! Celebrants can invite everyone they know from all over the world to SPEND WILDLY! Hey, I know how to do photo editing, cheap...excuse me while I step out to make some business cards...
Try Your Hand At Balancing The Budget. I Got A Surplus, Did You? :) Oh, and you'll learn why Prop. 98, while it helps education funding, is really annoying. It's like two steps forward one step back every time you try to cut anything.
Looney. Tunes.
We can do better than this. Because we have to do better than this.
Contact California's GovernorNOW.
CA residents, please also contact your state representatives.
With lives on the line, there is no time to lose.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
California spits at its leaders
It seems those few who voted, voted against most of the propositions that were the content of yesterday's special election.
Of course the blame game is raging today. Voters are blamed for wanting services without wanting to pay for them (imho, this is the legacy of a part of voodoo economics; the idea that cutting taxes somehow generates enough new income to pay for the services the taxes used to pay for. Voters were promised this WOULD happen and are no longer used to paying for what they wish to receive from their government.)
There is the usual bitter liberal-bashing from the fanatically anti-tax as well as the blame-it-all-on-the-illegals contingent.
There is some evidence that illegal immigrants make a net positive contribution to government revenue. I think we need to find out for certain if this is the case before making policy concerning them. I don't see what the problem is with deporting the ones who have committed major crimes, however.
As for prisoners in general, can't we send minor offenders home with ankle bracelets instead of paying for three hots and a cot for each?
I personally am ok with legalizing marijuana, since the demand for it never seems to go away, and therefore we may as well get the tax money for it and take some of the easy money away from criminal gangs. However, I don't think children should have to be exposed to it in their homes or that anyone should have to endure smoke in public (FWIW I feel the same about tobacco.) License its use to places which get permits for it. Some of us are allergic! and we also don't want anyone to be trying to drive a car with a "contact high."
I know this is heresy but I'm ok with cutting some school days. I don't remember having so many school days in my youth. It would be better than teacher layoffs. I do think our schools need a review of their administrative expenses.
Selling our state assets seems a bit silly. Once gone you can't get them back.
It's time for a lot of freebies in Sacramento to be curbed (cars and other perks) if only to help people feel that they are not tightening their belts at a time when their representatives are not. And I think elected officials should have to face the same health insurance market citizens and their employers have to face.
As for state workers, we need to remember that massive layoffs will only result in further economic contraction. Some of those workers are your customers, business owners! We could look at reforming the pension system and trimming salary/benefits at the top levels.
Citizens might be willing to bear a temporary burden of modest tax increase but only if they are certain the money is going to reduce the deficit and/or the state debt. One problem with the current crop of propositions is that more borrowing was suggested. The costs of borrowing, and the state's bottom-of-the-barrel credit rating, are one of the things that are worrying people. Our taxpayers at this point would probably rather ask for a legislature which served for free on weekends and did not get paid rather than finance any more borrowing!
Some structural reform is needed. Past propositions have hamstrung the budget in various ways. But this has to be explained clearly to the people in a nonpartisan manner. The 2/3 requirement to pass a budget has to go. It is silly to pay legislators all year to do little more than argue about the budget.
I am not sure the Prop. 13 tax savings should have applied to commercial property, although the only way to rescind this would probably have to be a slow process done in stages due to the weakness of the economy.
I would like us to consider making an affordable health insurance available for small businesses, including one-person businesses. We need to increase employment to get out of the death spiral of job cuts, contraction, lower state tax revenues received, more job cuts...
Most people probably are willing to temporarily pay a small amount more in taxes and user fees, if they don't have the radical right screaming that they don't really have to, and also have some reductions in services.
Life-saving services such as health care, firefighting, police really should be off of the chopping block, in a sane world. And the very poor should be left alone, unless you want more desperate homeless people and/or to have killed some vulnerable citizens to pass the damn budget. A courageous and moral leader has to come right out and say this to voters.
But likewise, taxpayers' money has to be carefully accounted for, to prove that it is going for necessities rather than bloat or incompetence, and to reduce deficit and debt. Or the votes are always going to be "NO."
Of course the blame game is raging today. Voters are blamed for wanting services without wanting to pay for them (imho, this is the legacy of a part of voodoo economics; the idea that cutting taxes somehow generates enough new income to pay for the services the taxes used to pay for. Voters were promised this WOULD happen and are no longer used to paying for what they wish to receive from their government.)
There is the usual bitter liberal-bashing from the fanatically anti-tax as well as the blame-it-all-on-the-illegals contingent.
There is some evidence that illegal immigrants make a net positive contribution to government revenue. I think we need to find out for certain if this is the case before making policy concerning them. I don't see what the problem is with deporting the ones who have committed major crimes, however.
As for prisoners in general, can't we send minor offenders home with ankle bracelets instead of paying for three hots and a cot for each?
I personally am ok with legalizing marijuana, since the demand for it never seems to go away, and therefore we may as well get the tax money for it and take some of the easy money away from criminal gangs. However, I don't think children should have to be exposed to it in their homes or that anyone should have to endure smoke in public (FWIW I feel the same about tobacco.) License its use to places which get permits for it. Some of us are allergic! and we also don't want anyone to be trying to drive a car with a "contact high."
I know this is heresy but I'm ok with cutting some school days. I don't remember having so many school days in my youth. It would be better than teacher layoffs. I do think our schools need a review of their administrative expenses.
Selling our state assets seems a bit silly. Once gone you can't get them back.
It's time for a lot of freebies in Sacramento to be curbed (cars and other perks) if only to help people feel that they are not tightening their belts at a time when their representatives are not. And I think elected officials should have to face the same health insurance market citizens and their employers have to face.
As for state workers, we need to remember that massive layoffs will only result in further economic contraction. Some of those workers are your customers, business owners! We could look at reforming the pension system and trimming salary/benefits at the top levels.
Citizens might be willing to bear a temporary burden of modest tax increase but only if they are certain the money is going to reduce the deficit and/or the state debt. One problem with the current crop of propositions is that more borrowing was suggested. The costs of borrowing, and the state's bottom-of-the-barrel credit rating, are one of the things that are worrying people. Our taxpayers at this point would probably rather ask for a legislature which served for free on weekends and did not get paid rather than finance any more borrowing!
Some structural reform is needed. Past propositions have hamstrung the budget in various ways. But this has to be explained clearly to the people in a nonpartisan manner. The 2/3 requirement to pass a budget has to go. It is silly to pay legislators all year to do little more than argue about the budget.
I am not sure the Prop. 13 tax savings should have applied to commercial property, although the only way to rescind this would probably have to be a slow process done in stages due to the weakness of the economy.
I would like us to consider making an affordable health insurance available for small businesses, including one-person businesses. We need to increase employment to get out of the death spiral of job cuts, contraction, lower state tax revenues received, more job cuts...
Most people probably are willing to temporarily pay a small amount more in taxes and user fees, if they don't have the radical right screaming that they don't really have to, and also have some reductions in services.
Life-saving services such as health care, firefighting, police really should be off of the chopping block, in a sane world. And the very poor should be left alone, unless you want more desperate homeless people and/or to have killed some vulnerable citizens to pass the damn budget. A courageous and moral leader has to come right out and say this to voters.
But likewise, taxpayers' money has to be carefully accounted for, to prove that it is going for necessities rather than bloat or incompetence, and to reduce deficit and debt. Or the votes are always going to be "NO."
Friday, May 15, 2009
Will Somebody Fix The Fricking Budget Already?
Yes, our dear Governator is gearing up for another round of even MORE draconian budget cuts. Raise your hand and join me if you are sick and tired of this. I don't suppose it has occurred to anyone in Sacramento that possibly the more cuts are made, the more contractions on the huge part of the economy based on state funding happen, the more that job losses and pay cuts affect what state employees have to spend--which means they can default on homes, patronize fewer businesses, pay less in taxes, and then those banks and businesses pay less in taxes, and so on, and so forth, and suddenly...another massive budget deficit looms ahead! Surprise, surprise. We are on the merry-go-round of DOOM.
I know he will hit health care services first because that is his preference and pattern. It is ALWAYS what he does first. Maybe the guy is never sick and has no clue. He hits at the disabled pretty much whenever he can and, if he can get away with it, without benefit of consultation or warning.
This is why I am already very concerned personally regarding how I'm going to continue to pay for Medicare copays and also pay what will be 15% of my prescription costs (atm about $2000/month) under Medicare Part D. I only have Medi-Cal every other month right now (due to a really crazy way my income is being calculated based on the Gov's action which the above link explains) and I can pretty much count on not having it at all next year, so it's Part D or the highway.
Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. It is not the worst one of the fifty states, but is ungenerous enough that we no longer qualify for a lot of federal matching funds that would be ours if we did not cut so much from the program. I believe it is one of the largest items in our budget, however. I don't know why there are so many people on it. Some say it is due to undocumented workers and their families but there is debate about this. Perhaps our health insurance companies in this state leave many uncovered, or a lot of people with small businesses go without coverage for financial reasons, or we simply have a lot of people on the program because we are also the most populous state. I would be interested in seeing any research that has been done on this.
Anyway, he will slash Medi-Cal. Healthy Families will probably be hit as well. I have nothing but contempt for a budget process that lets the sick get sicker or die before doing anything else, or which leaves children at risk, or for a person who supports such a process.
The governor has some sort of special way he wants to reduce pharmaceutical costs. Not really sure why he has it in for antipsychotic medication in particular. We have so many people in the street who seemingly could use more of it. Odd man.
Cutting family planning services under Medi-Cal would be funny if the guy weren't serious about it. Guess magical fairy dust delivers the babies and provides for them until they turn 18.
It seems he is finally considering turning undocumented prisoners over to federal authorities (I wonder why this had not been done earlier?) but I haven't heard anything about sending nonviolent criminals home with ankle bracelets, which is what I had been told could save a lot of $.
Yes, I did read about the proposal to legalize marijuana and tax it :) I'm of mixed feelings. The first is a personal bias; I would like to see all smoking of any kind banned from the planet forever since it triggers my horrible asthma! I wish I never had to sport this embarrassing "sea lion" cough again! And I'm very concerned about children who are now trapped as I once was in homes where the parents smoke. Not all of us can breathe air with smoke in it.
On the other hand, what consenting adults do behind hermetically sealed doors and windows is none of my business. It does seem a pity that the illegal status of recreational drugs is in effect creating well-financed gangs who are following the business model of Al Capone while society as a whole also loses the opportunity to tax the stuff. Recreational drugs do not interest me in the slightest, and if you had my miserable load of prescriptions to carry around any extra drugs probably wouldn't tempt you either (I'm much more interested in seeing if I can get away with NOT taking something) but the demand for them doesn't seem to wane.
Some of our park usage fees are already high. There are beaches I can't go to because I can't pay the $8 and don't have the strength to hike there. But that's another one of Ahnold's favorite targets. He's also now proposing to sell off state-owned properties, some quite famous. It's like he is trying to punish someone, but it is unclear exactly whom.
Anyway, here's the latest.
I am not sure why there is such an outcry against shortening the school year since it was relatively recently that it was lengthened. I also think it is probably time for schools to restructure a bit so they are not so top-heavy in administrative costs while making life hard for teachers and students. However, I don't think we can afford to cut education very much, since our per-pupil spending has gone down so far.
I did vote for putting a stop to legislators giving themselves pay raises during deficit years (Prop 1F.) I also would be ok with seeing them having to look for their own health coverage; kind of a "we're all in the same boat now" sort of thing...I would rather see that than state workers be thrown out of jobs in the middle of a serious economic downturn. Those workers have no power over the budget.
None of this would make me more inclined to vote YES for the budget-cutting propositions; in fact I resent the attempt at being forced into a YES vote. They are poorly written and do not reflect where I think cuts should first be made. And I don't like blackmail.
I know he will hit health care services first because that is his preference and pattern. It is ALWAYS what he does first. Maybe the guy is never sick and has no clue. He hits at the disabled pretty much whenever he can and, if he can get away with it, without benefit of consultation or warning.
This is why I am already very concerned personally regarding how I'm going to continue to pay for Medicare copays and also pay what will be 15% of my prescription costs (atm about $2000/month) under Medicare Part D. I only have Medi-Cal every other month right now (due to a really crazy way my income is being calculated based on the Gov's action which the above link explains) and I can pretty much count on not having it at all next year, so it's Part D or the highway.
Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. It is not the worst one of the fifty states, but is ungenerous enough that we no longer qualify for a lot of federal matching funds that would be ours if we did not cut so much from the program. I believe it is one of the largest items in our budget, however. I don't know why there are so many people on it. Some say it is due to undocumented workers and their families but there is debate about this. Perhaps our health insurance companies in this state leave many uncovered, or a lot of people with small businesses go without coverage for financial reasons, or we simply have a lot of people on the program because we are also the most populous state. I would be interested in seeing any research that has been done on this.
Anyway, he will slash Medi-Cal. Healthy Families will probably be hit as well. I have nothing but contempt for a budget process that lets the sick get sicker or die before doing anything else, or which leaves children at risk, or for a person who supports such a process.
The governor has some sort of special way he wants to reduce pharmaceutical costs. Not really sure why he has it in for antipsychotic medication in particular. We have so many people in the street who seemingly could use more of it. Odd man.
Cutting family planning services under Medi-Cal would be funny if the guy weren't serious about it. Guess magical fairy dust delivers the babies and provides for them until they turn 18.
It seems he is finally considering turning undocumented prisoners over to federal authorities (I wonder why this had not been done earlier?) but I haven't heard anything about sending nonviolent criminals home with ankle bracelets, which is what I had been told could save a lot of $.
Yes, I did read about the proposal to legalize marijuana and tax it :) I'm of mixed feelings. The first is a personal bias; I would like to see all smoking of any kind banned from the planet forever since it triggers my horrible asthma! I wish I never had to sport this embarrassing "sea lion" cough again! And I'm very concerned about children who are now trapped as I once was in homes where the parents smoke. Not all of us can breathe air with smoke in it.
On the other hand, what consenting adults do behind hermetically sealed doors and windows is none of my business. It does seem a pity that the illegal status of recreational drugs is in effect creating well-financed gangs who are following the business model of Al Capone while society as a whole also loses the opportunity to tax the stuff. Recreational drugs do not interest me in the slightest, and if you had my miserable load of prescriptions to carry around any extra drugs probably wouldn't tempt you either (I'm much more interested in seeing if I can get away with NOT taking something) but the demand for them doesn't seem to wane.
Some of our park usage fees are already high. There are beaches I can't go to because I can't pay the $8 and don't have the strength to hike there. But that's another one of Ahnold's favorite targets. He's also now proposing to sell off state-owned properties, some quite famous. It's like he is trying to punish someone, but it is unclear exactly whom.
Anyway, here's the latest.
I am not sure why there is such an outcry against shortening the school year since it was relatively recently that it was lengthened. I also think it is probably time for schools to restructure a bit so they are not so top-heavy in administrative costs while making life hard for teachers and students. However, I don't think we can afford to cut education very much, since our per-pupil spending has gone down so far.
I did vote for putting a stop to legislators giving themselves pay raises during deficit years (Prop 1F.) I also would be ok with seeing them having to look for their own health coverage; kind of a "we're all in the same boat now" sort of thing...I would rather see that than state workers be thrown out of jobs in the middle of a serious economic downturn. Those workers have no power over the budget.
None of this would make me more inclined to vote YES for the budget-cutting propositions; in fact I resent the attempt at being forced into a YES vote. They are poorly written and do not reflect where I think cuts should first be made. And I don't like blackmail.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Does Anyone Know How Much This Election Is Costing Us?
Even MORE California propositions. I'm deciding between a straight NO ticket, and a NO ticket with one YES for 1F.
1A gives the Governor way too much power and also is too restrictive; one reason the budgets are hard to balance is that we already have so many restrictions on what must be spent here and not be spent there blah blah blah.
1B is short-term savings; long-term higher costs: exactly the kind of thing that has us in some trouble now. It is not needed to restore education funding; the Legislature can do that. And it depends on 1A, and 1A is badly written.
1C -- more borrowing. Nix.
1D -- there are more responsible ways to balance the budget than robbing kids.
1E -- ditto for the mentally ill. Sheesh.
1F -- well the Gov cut the poor and the sick on Medi-Cal immediately, and now proposes to cut kids and the mentally ill...so why SHOULD elected officials still get pay raises when there is a deficit? My one YES vote, I think. No pay raises, gang. Not while you are all so willing to stiff the rest of us.
Heck, even I took the budget challenge and balanced easily w/out killing anybody. Give ME your pay raises if you can't do the same, and I'm also wondering why we pay for your health care.
1A gives the Governor way too much power and also is too restrictive; one reason the budgets are hard to balance is that we already have so many restrictions on what must be spent here and not be spent there blah blah blah.
1B is short-term savings; long-term higher costs: exactly the kind of thing that has us in some trouble now. It is not needed to restore education funding; the Legislature can do that. And it depends on 1A, and 1A is badly written.
1C -- more borrowing. Nix.
1D -- there are more responsible ways to balance the budget than robbing kids.
1E -- ditto for the mentally ill. Sheesh.
1F -- well the Gov cut the poor and the sick on Medi-Cal immediately, and now proposes to cut kids and the mentally ill...so why SHOULD elected officials still get pay raises when there is a deficit? My one YES vote, I think. No pay raises, gang. Not while you are all so willing to stiff the rest of us.
Heck, even I took the budget challenge and balanced easily w/out killing anybody. Give ME your pay raises if you can't do the same, and I'm also wondering why we pay for your health care.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Confession
I lost my temper.
I can't believe Dems are willing to give up not only single payer, but a public insurance option, before even getting to the negotiating table. Aren't you supposed to ask for MORE than what you are willing to settle for? Would someone please get in there and demand to nationalize a bunch of industries immediately? This country has absolutely no memory of what the "far left" actually looks like.
We could start by nationalizing all of the failing ones. It would probably be cheaper than bailouts.
I can't believe Dems are willing to give up not only single payer, but a public insurance option, before even getting to the negotiating table. Aren't you supposed to ask for MORE than what you are willing to settle for? Would someone please get in there and demand to nationalize a bunch of industries immediately? This country has absolutely no memory of what the "far left" actually looks like.
We could start by nationalizing all of the failing ones. It would probably be cheaper than bailouts.
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