Us Californians went to the polls last night and told the state enough with taxes to keep your greedy grubby hands filled with cash. The tax revolt in this state has begun, and I honestly never thought I would see the day:
Despite a big advantage in cash and manpower, the campaign failed to gain traction from the start. Polls throughout the race showed all the ballot measures — except Proposition 1F — losing badly, as voters expressed equal parts confusion over the package and disdain for the Sacramento politicians who crafted it.
Californians seemed upset partly by Sacramento’s call for more money at a time when employment was sagging, retirement accounts were plunging and the average resident was struggling.
The NYT’s…..in all it’s wisdom….thinks we’re irresponsible for not giving lawmakers more money:
A smattering of California voters on Tuesday soundly rejected five ballot measures designed to keep the state solvent through the rest of the year.
The results dealt a severe setback to the state’s fragile fiscal structure and to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislators who cobbled together the measures as part of a last-minute budget deal passed in February.
~~~The governor and lawmakers will now be forced to debate yet again what methods will be used to set the balance sheet right and vote on new measures to cut spending. Those proposed measures will be draconian and politically difficult, including large education cuts and reductions in prison sentences…
Oh, so public safety and education have to take the hit instead of the bloated bureaucracy of this state?
Give me a break.
Let’s see if Schwarzenegger has finally seen the light
“Now we must move forward from this point to begin to address our fiscal crisis with constructive solutions.”
I’m not holding my breath while they continue to fund some kind of social program for every single person in this state, including those hear illegally.
UPDATE
Thanks Rovin for the tip on Hugh’s piece today:
An aside. There is an incredible headline in the Lost Angeles Times: California Voters Exercise Their Power–And That’s The Problem. No liberal media bias there, right? No wonder the paper is dying, spitting in the eye of an electorate that just shouted at the top of its voices “We can’t pay any more taxes!” Big government liberals with keypads and editors who tut-tut the middle class’s tax burden continue to misreport the California collapse and the voters’ reaction to it, and newspaper circulation continues to decline. The huge vote against taxes and the entrenched special interests that dominate Sacramento, especially the public employee unions, is a huge story and the nearly dead and desperate hard left remnant at the Times simply refuses to cover the story. Amazing. If a new owner returns to actual journalism and especially to that part about making the powerful uncomfortable, circulation will soar. But there’s no sense subscribing to a tip sheet for the Sacramento elite.
The great news is that state Democrats risk a huge blow back in November 2010 if they move forward with another sneaky tax-hike-disguised-as-a-fee and jack the state gas tax by a dozen cents or more, as is the rumored plan. The voters are clearly demanding a massive downsizing in state government and an end to huge contracts with state employee unions.
The bad news is that this very loud, very precise message of “stop spending our money” from the west coast will be rejected by the ruling elites in D.C. and won’t be carried for much more than a day, if at all, by an adoring MSM more interested in the latest “new” presidential initiative. The vote in California underscores that there is a tremendous frustration with the left’s power grab, which isn’t what the country voted for last fall. The Beltway prefers not to notice this groundswell, setting up a very dramatic showdown a year-and-a-half out.
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It’s a shame to see California in such a mess. And why is it that the only solution to the problem of gross fiscal mismangement and overspending on frivolous programs is always a demand for more money from the taxpayers?
And why, when push comes to shove, does the state threaten to cut essential services instead of the waste?
Because it’s the WASTE that gets these idiots re-elected Mike. But you knew this.
LINK
OUCH!! Way to go Hugh.
I recommend a Constitutional Amendment to “cap” personal taxation at 50% (i.e. the sum of all your taxes, federal, state, county (parish) and local would not exceed 50% of your income). After you reach 50%, you stop paying and the different governmental levels can fight among themselves. Of course, we will need a good definition of “income”. Additionally, business will be able to pass along all business taxes labeled as “taxes” to their consumers, so there isn’t a “backdoor.”
You may laugh now, but in 8 to 10 years, you will thank me.
The same stuff is going on in New Jersey. For example, Governor Corzine is flummoxed by the fact that the people don’t want the tuition in the State to go up for residents in order to allow for free education of illegals……and he STILL wants to raise taxes in order to fund our bloated wasteful government. Serious cuts? Hah! These guys JUST. DON’T. GET. IT.
Responsible folks voted sensibly to take their State back. Big Salutes from Me and I sincerely hope that this is a trend.
Congratulations!
Neo…I tithe 10% to my Church. My Government can either make it on 10% or they can fold.
I can defend myself and pay for my medical care and would love to see a smaller non intrusive Government and not the threat of a huge Government footprint on my Childrens or Grandchildrens throats.
It’s the same elitist snobbery that refuses to accept election results for Prop 8.
CA Gov’t has one more ace up its sleave….simply ask the Feds to bail them out.
After that, NY, MA, MI and every other Liberal basketcase state will have their hands out.
In other words, YOU will be paying for other state’s stupidity!!!!
Refuse to pay for medical services for non American Citizens and they will cut the funds to hospitals by 50%. If anyone tries to force them to do it charge that person or entity with assisting in a crime against the government. After all helping someone who is not a citizen to gain money from the US is in effect stealing and that is a felony.
“And why, when push comes to shove, does the state threaten to cut essential services instead of the waste?”
Because threatening to cut police and fire protection and school teachers will generally frighten enough people to get the state or county or city’s agenda passed. Threatening to not redecorate your office this year or threatening to eliminate your brother-in-law’s $50,000 a year consulting job will only encourage people to vote against the government entity’s agenda.
Unions, Pensions, Entitlements, Illegals, Boxer, Feinstein, Pelosi, Liberal Paradise…Enough said?
Any wonder that California is seeing folks with Money leaving for other States before they are taxed into poverty?
I proudly created “problems” for the idiots running this screwed-up state yesterday!
Now I wonder when Obama will make us an offer no one will have the balls to refuse. If I’m right, all of you NON Californians will be paying us very soon…
Sorry, but I had to do it.
“The vote in California underscores that there is a tremendous frustration with the left’s power grab, which isn’t what the country voted for last fall.”
I would like to believe that this is the case, but consider how low the turnout was. It indicates the tremendous frustration from the people that bothered to vote, but what about the people that didn’t bother to vote. It is just as likely that they didn’t bother to vote because they were busy watching American Idol reruns all day, or People Magazine as it is that they didn’t vote because they are also fed up. One would think that if the majority were actually fed up enough they would have voted in droves…
Yes, the democraps know what buttons to push on the people. That’s why they don’t say, oh, we will cut the thousands of featherbedders in the legislature and executive branches. Or we will cut the useless and duplicative rules and regulations that stymie freedom and enterprise, or we will cut the anti energy policies which are costing the poor and middle class the most money, or we will cut programs, that while affordable when the state is flush with money, are third and fourth tier, during a recession. Perhaps California like Chrysler and GM should go through bankruptcy so that they can renegotiate their union contracts and other incidentals to make them more manageable?
Instead we hear the crackpot democraps saying that the US government should guarantee the reckless California budget deficits, which is like giving speed to a crack addict.
I knew this was coming …
In a case of belated “I told you so”, former Gov. Gray Davis sounded vindicated.
Shouldn’t really come as a surprise when you realize the state voted overwhelmingly for a POTUS who promised 95% of Americans a “tax cut”…
Gray Davis is absolutely correct that everyone wants the free lunch, and Obama won by promising them just that – a free lunch PLUS with TAX CUTS!
‘Tis going to be lovely watching the reality of math catch up to the legislators at all levels. The movie “Dave” comes to mind… send in some bankruptcy accountants with a sharpened pencil, and start slashing all the govt waste… starting at the he administrative level. No private enterprise could survive with the waste government casually tosses aside.
One would think the first place they could start is with elected official salaries. If they have the chutzpah to demand control over CEO salaries and bonuses, based on performance, then most elected officials should be *paying* the nation to serve in office.
What amazes me is the huge elephant in the room that the irresponsible MSM and Demoncats refuse to acknowledge. The billions that are wasted on illegals is appalling!!
OK, help me out here folks (I’ve been a way from California for a lot of years and I don’t remember how to work this out)…
Are the irresponsible voters that did this the 15% that voted, or the 85% that did not?
I’m hearing from friends in California that the voter turnout was around 10%. Anyone know whether that’s about right?
I thought I read 15.6% someplace. I don’t know for sure and don’t care enought to research it.
Adjust the numbers in my question above as needed.
One of my friends said it best…..
“Sorry Arnold, I can’t hear you…I’m sipping some tea” 🙂
I also read that Arnold bailed out just before the polls opened.
Does California have an extradition treaty in force?
The best thing and most likely the ONLY thing that will save California in the long run is to bankrupt the state, void the union contracts, rework the current pension fund benefits, terminate the defined benefit plans for any new union employees and only offer the defined contribtuion plan that most all of American live by (called 401K’s). Let them retire like everyone else – based on what they save and how their investment perform. My goal for years has been to save enought money that I can put it all in tax free bonds and when I retire pay no income tax ever. Let the public employees die in the street as far as I am concerned – I am not making up their pension benefits shortfall by earning income and paying taxes (at least income taxes!)
put the state in bankruptsy. then they havet o clean up their mess. what has happened in california should be a lesson to many other states, they see all of the programs that the state funds there and they want to do as much for their people and then they end up as bad. washington state tried to pas a family leave bill to pay anyone who had a baby to stay home, very similar to california’s thing. they wanted to tax all workers one penny per hour worked to pay for other peopes babies. so workers who paid their own way, childless couples and single people with out children would have been footing the bill. the state could not figure out which department of the state would oversee the program and how to make it work. thankfully they shelved it, i didn’t have maternity leave and we saved money and paid our way. california will pay anyone to stay home. hell they spend millions of dollars a year in los angelos to pay teachers who are facing complaints and aren’t allowed to be around students. that state created waste, hell, they have made it an artform.
Media and leftists think Dems have this uber, popular, mandate. They don’t. They barely won in 2006 by about 100k. They barely won in 2008 despite having absolutely EVERY POSSIBLE ADVANTAGE. Dems took Congress because Repubs continued the war in Iraq, and Repubs spent too much. Dems have continued the war, and they’re spending several times more then Repubs did. They’re goners. At a time when people have had enough…they’re looking to take more from everywhere and give it away on BS that ain’t workin’ (9000 pork barrel projects, $1TRILLION in stimulus that is having the opposite effect, and so on).
California is Concord
California never recovered from the billions “given” to Enron. Another deregulation plan that went just a bit array.
CFO
Exactly how I feel. Couldn’t have said it better.
Tom in Bankrupt CA
@Richard
It wasn’t Enron. It wasn’t deregulation. “That government is best, that governs least.” What passes for regulation these days is simply government sleight of hand … hidden taxes, hidden transfers, etc. Bawney Fwank and Chris Dodd and the other looters in Congress would have you believe that the financial meltdown was caused by deregulation, when the exact opposite is true: it was caused by massive government intervention in financial markets with the ostensible goal of increasing opportunities for home ownership. While it sounded good, at least for mass media consumption, the reality was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were simply channels to divert massive sums of money into the pockets of the congresscritters and their sleazy friends, while forcing banks to lend money to people who were flat out not qualified. Not qualified, as in, won’t pay the loans back. Ergo, financial meltdown. Oh, and by the way, all of us who smiled as our housing investments appreciated at 20% per year … well that was just the other end of the mess. The government artificially increased the demand for housing by making mortgage money ridiculously easy to get. When the banks collapsed, so did the demand and therefore the price for housing. And, yep, there went our investment.
Ah….How clever of the Socialists..
Yesterday, 30% of people voted in California to reject tax increases.
The 70% of Socialists stayed home and didn’t care to vote because…..
YES< OBAMA IS GOING TO ORDER THE BAILOUT OF CALIFORNIA.
We, you and me, are going to pay for California with our hard earned money! Our Taxes!
The polititians planned it really well, didn’t they?
As a result of this bailout, the era of State budgets is over and from now on the states are going to run budget deficits. (Only 4 States have no deficits right now: Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming and Alaska).
Welcome to the new era of Socialism.
68% of Americans love it!
Am I wrong?
URI:” Welcome to the new era of Socialism.68% of Americans love it! Am I wrong?”
Don’t take this the wrong way … but i sure as heck hope you are.
If not – Hellooooo John Gault!
Tax the tourists!
uri…You are 100% right. I am a Montana resident, born and raised. A registered Independent
and have a registered brand that dates back to 1888.
Served at Ft. Ord in the 70s and California was beautiful but I was sent back to Georgia to train Rangers and never looked back.
Would I go to visit California again. Nope.