CA State Budget Passed – State’s demise imminent

[mike92104]

If the state is blaming this mostly on the housing downturn,

Then how did the state operate before the bubble?

Seems like cuts can be made, and should get us pretty close to where we were in 2002. and have about the same revenue.

[ralphfurley]

[quote=cooprider]
What would I do?

• Cut the $4 Billion stem cell reaserch program in La Jolla. Let Obama fund that.
• Reverse to $20 billion high-speed rail from LA to SF.
• Open up drilling on CA’s coast – that would yield $10 billion today! And don’t give me the oil spill environment BS. If you’ve ever been the beach in Santa Barbara the stuff washes up on shore.
• Layoff 10% of the state employees not directly providing services to taxpayers.
• Give the remaining state workers who make over the CA median income a 10% paycut.
• Ditch their pensions and make them pay state taxes.
• Cut personal spending budgets, staff, perks, benefits like company cars and private jets.

[/quote]
Trying to cut all or any of those things takes time and a lot of haggling. I was under the impression, if they didn’t balance the budget, they wouldn’t get any of the stimulus money. I could be dreaming that up though. Thought I heard it somewhere.

So they did what they had to do, what they had the power to do before the clock ran out.

And come on man… we can’t drill our way out of this. Isn’t it about time we stopped beating that drum and looked toward new energy sources?

[ralphfurley]

[quote=cooprider]
What would I do?

• Cut the $4 Billion stem cell reaserch program in La Jolla. Let Obama fund that.
• Reverse to $20 billion high-speed rail from LA to SF.
• Open up drilling on CA’s coast – that would yield $10 billion today! And don’t give me the oil spill environment BS. If you’ve ever been the beach in Santa Barbara the stuff washes up on shore.
• Layoff 10% of the state employees not directly providing services to taxpayers.
• Give the remaining state workers who make over the CA median income a 10% paycut.
• Ditch their pensions and make them pay state taxes.
• Cut personal spending budgets, staff, perks, benefits like company cars and private jets.

[/quote]
Trying to cut all or any of those things takes time and a lot of haggling. I was under the impression, if they didn’t balance the budget, they wouldn’t get any of the stimulus money. I could be dreaming that up though. Thought I heard it somewhere.

So they did what they had to do, what they had the power to do before the clock ran out.

And come on man… we can’t drill our way out of this. Isn’t it about time we stopped beating that drum and looked toward new energy sources?

[ralphfurley]

[quote=cooprider]
What would I do?

• Cut the $4 Billion stem cell reaserch program in La Jolla. Let Obama fund that.
• Reverse to $20 billion high-speed rail from LA to SF.
• Open up drilling on CA’s coast – that would yield $10 billion today! And don’t give me the oil spill environment BS. If you’ve ever been the beach in Santa Barbara the stuff washes up on shore.
• Layoff 10% of the state employees not directly providing services to taxpayers.
• Give the remaining state workers who make over the CA median income a 10% paycut.
• Ditch their pensions and make them pay state taxes.
• Cut personal spending budgets, staff, perks, benefits like company cars and private jets.

[/quote]
Trying to cut all or any of those things takes time and a lot of haggling. I was under the impression, if they didn’t balance the budget, they wouldn’t get any of the stimulus money. I could be dreaming that up though. Thought I heard it somewhere.

So they did what they had to do, what they had the power to do before the clock ran out.

And come on man… we can’t drill our way out of this. Isn’t it about time we stopped beating that drum and looked toward new energy sources?

[ralphfurley]

[quote=cooprider]
What would I do?

• Cut the $4 Billion stem cell reaserch program in La Jolla. Let Obama fund that.
• Reverse to $20 billion high-speed rail from LA to SF.
• Open up drilling on CA’s coast – that would yield $10 billion today! And don’t give me the oil spill environment BS. If you’ve ever been the beach in Santa Barbara the stuff washes up on shore.
• Layoff 10% of the state employees not directly providing services to taxpayers.
• Give the remaining state workers who make over the CA median income a 10% paycut.
• Ditch their pensions and make them pay state taxes.
• Cut personal spending budgets, staff, perks, benefits like company cars and private jets.

[/quote]
Trying to cut all or any of those things takes time and a lot of haggling. I was under the impression, if they didn’t balance the budget, they wouldn’t get any of the stimulus money. I could be dreaming that up though. Thought I heard it somewhere.

So they did what they had to do, what they had the power to do before the clock ran out.

And come on man… we can’t drill our way out of this. Isn’t it about time we stopped beating that drum and looked toward new energy sources?

[ralphfurley]

[quote=cooprider]
What would I do?

• Cut the $4 Billion stem cell reaserch program in La Jolla. Let Obama fund that.
• Reverse to $20 billion high-speed rail from LA to SF.
• Open up drilling on CA’s coast – that would yield $10 billion today! And don’t give me the oil spill environment BS. If you’ve ever been the beach in Santa Barbara the stuff washes up on shore.
• Layoff 10% of the state employees not directly providing services to taxpayers.
• Give the remaining state workers who make over the CA median income a 10% paycut.
• Ditch their pensions and make them pay state taxes.
• Cut personal spending budgets, staff, perks, benefits like company cars and private jets.

[/quote]
Trying to cut all or any of those things takes time and a lot of haggling. I was under the impression, if they didn’t balance the budget, they wouldn’t get any of the stimulus money. I could be dreaming that up though. Thought I heard it somewhere.

So they did what they had to do, what they had the power to do before the clock ran out.

And come on man… we can’t drill our way out of this. Isn’t it about time we stopped beating that drum and looked toward new energy sources?

[UCGal]

Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.

[UCGal]

Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.

[UCGal]

Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.

[UCGal]

Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.

[UCGal]

Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.

[cr]

[quote=UCGal]Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.[/quote]

CA’s high end income tax is 2nd only to Vermont.
http://www.taxadmin.org/FTA/rate/ind_inc.html …and about to go higher.

Your comparison of getting a second job to raising taxes doesn’t fit.

When you work, you produce a good or service. When the state raises taxes it’s not producing anything. In fact, for the reasons above it’s counterproductive.

I agree with the 2nd option of cutting spending, but they’re not doing that. Not in the right areas.

[cr]

[quote=UCGal]Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.[/quote]

CA’s high end income tax is 2nd only to Vermont.
http://www.taxadmin.org/FTA/rate/ind_inc.html …and about to go higher.

Your comparison of getting a second job to raising taxes doesn’t fit.

When you work, you produce a good or service. When the state raises taxes it’s not producing anything. In fact, for the reasons above it’s counterproductive.

I agree with the 2nd option of cutting spending, but they’re not doing that. Not in the right areas.

[cr]

[quote=UCGal]Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.[/quote]

CA’s high end income tax is 2nd only to Vermont.
http://www.taxadmin.org/FTA/rate/ind_inc.html …and about to go higher.

Your comparison of getting a second job to raising taxes doesn’t fit.

When you work, you produce a good or service. When the state raises taxes it’s not producing anything. In fact, for the reasons above it’s counterproductive.

I agree with the 2nd option of cutting spending, but they’re not doing that. Not in the right areas.

[cr]

[quote=UCGal]Despite the rumors, even with these tax increases, our taxes are lower than many New England/Mid-Atlantic states. But if you want to convince yourself we’re the highest, feel free.

I look at the state budget the same way I look at my personal budget. If I have more bills than I have income then there are two variables to adjust: Increase my income (take on a second job, for example.) Or decrease my expenses (downsize my lifestyle – eat out less, fire the housekeeper, give up luxuries like Starbucks, cancel my cable… lots of little cuts can be made.)

Sometimes the gap is too big to be overcome by just cutting costs. Certain fixed costs can’t be reduced to zero – food, shelter, healthcare… I have a moral obligation to provide basics for my children (food/shelter) and can’t reduce those expenses to zero.

So the solution is a combination. I increase my income and reduce my expenses to meet my obligations.

This budget does that. It has more $$ in cuts than it gets in tax increases. It’s not perfect, it’s not pretty… but it does get the state running again.[/quote]

CA’s high end income tax is 2nd only to Vermont.
http://www.taxadmin.org/FTA/rate/ind_inc.html …and about to go higher.

Your comparison of getting a second job to raising taxes doesn’t fit.

When you work, you produce a good or service. When the state raises taxes it’s not producing anything. In fact, for the reasons above it’s counterproductive.

I agree with the 2nd option of cutting spending, but they’re not doing that. Not in the right areas.

[Author]

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