[quote=paramount]Yes, we can balance the budget with cuts. Cut pensions, benefits for public employees NOW. Break the stranglehold public employee unions have on this state. California public employees/unions have bankrupted California.
Start privatizing state/local gov’t jobs wherever possible.
“California is exceptional in many ways when it comes to taxing its residents. The state has the highest statewide sales tax in the country, currently 8.25%. It also has the highest tax on gas, charging 46.6 cents per gallon. “[/quote]
My understanding is in most cases cuts to pensions require consent from the Unions, as these are benefits that were guaranteed as part of previous contracts, contracts that are legally binding. My understanding is new employees don’t get the sweetheart deals those older workers get, so the long term easy cuts have already been made. As for cutting benefits, basic market forces tell you the state is just going to then have to raise salaries to keep talent. People who work for the state often choose to take lower salaries than they could make in the private sector in exchange for better benefits and job security.
I would like to see California “Break” the unions associated with prisons. California spends far too much on incarceration across the board, partially due to the failed “war” on drugs. Reducing prison population has huge long term benefits, but unfortunately it’s not a great short term fix.
Generally, when you privatize jobs that were once public, the public doesn’t save anything. Even if the private sector could come in and magically cut costs by 5% without a serious cut in service (an ambitious, but plausible scenario), that 5% savings is just going to line the pockets of shareholders. What you’re more likely going to see is an erosion of quality of service. The taxpayers will pay the same amount, lose control, and get nickeled and dimed by the private sector. Think about SDG&E and all the crap they constantly try to pull. That’s what happens when you privatize. Unions have their issues, but at least the public can fight with unions; corporations just bend the public over and have their way.
California does tax residents pretty high, but also provides an exceptional level of support services. If you’re young and middle-to-upper middle class and don’t have any elderly friends or relatives a lot of these support services may be invisible to you. But the fact is, California is one of the few states in the nation that actually does an ok job taking care of the poor. There are states with structural advantages which are able to provide similar services with lower tax rates, but seriously, thank God California isn’t Alabama, Mississippi or Florida.
