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Extremist Irvine Assemblyman Don Wagner and like-minded knuckle-draggers
aim to deny you the choice between continued revenue and draconian cuts.
Where we stand now
Our new Governor Jerry Brown won in a landslide, promising to balance California’s budget with a stern but fair combination of CUTS and added REVENUE. True to his promise, he has proposed a budget that addresses a $25 billion shortfall with $12.5 billion in painful cuts to services, and the most reasonable possible plan to add $12.5 in revenue.
Unfortunately all the new revenue sources we progressives would prefer (an oil-extraction fee like all other oil-producing states have; closing of Schwarzenegger’s 2009 corporate tax loopholes; a modest hike on millionaires and billionaires) are unattainable without a 2/3 vote, i.e., the co-operation of at least four Sacramento Republicans, nearly all of whom have signed a no-tax pledge and live in absurd terror of Grover Norquist, Jon Fleischman, and John & Ken.
The easiest way to achieve that $12.5 billion in revenue is to just EXTEND the current taxes and fees that were slightly raised under Schwarzenegger two years ago – to just extend that five more years (until the economy hopefully picks up.) Because that could be done by a popular vote, THIS JUNE, of you and me. It appears, though, that just even PUTTING THAT QUESTION onto June’s ballot may ALSO require the 2/3 vote with the four Republicans. And the Norquist / John & Ken crowd is treating a vote like that – a vote allowing you and me to decide on our own taxes – as a vote for taxes.
And if this measure doesn’t get onto the ballot, and pass democratically, we will be forced to suffer a draconian $25 BILLION IN CUTS – the “all-cuts budget.” Worse than I think most of us want to see.
What an “all-cuts” budget would look like
The $12.5 billion in cuts currently proposed in Governor Brown’s budget are already quite grim, as we’ve already cut to the bone everything unnecessary (except redevelopment agencies) in previous budgets. Now, he’s gone after 
redevelopment agencies (to general approval on both left and right) and also slashed more from welfare, took $500 million each from the budgets of the University of California and California State University, ended the Adult Day Health Care program for the elderly, and capped the number of Medi-Cal visits for the poor (most of these cuts by the way being “penny-wise and pound-foolish.”) Any more cuts will be actual bone surgery.
If we are forced into a $25 billion all-cuts budget, we go beyond “grim” into a WORLD OF SHIT. Last month the non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office gave us a slight idea of what THAT would entail: “larger elementary school class sizes, increased tuition for college and university students and a deep shakeup for local law enforcement, courts and prisons. ” More specifically, it would include all or most of the following Dickensian slashes. (Actually a few of these don’t look so bad to me, but those are ones that only save a few mill; the big ones are devastating.) From the SacBee:
— Eliminate K-3 class size reduction ($1.275 billion)
— Require that kindergarteners be 5 years old at enrollment in 2011-12 ($700 million)
— Impose a 90-unit cap on each community college student’s taxpayer-subsidized credits ($250 million)
— Increase community college fees from $26/unit to $66/unit ($170 million)
— Eliminate state subsidy for intercollegiate athletics ($55 million)
— Increase tuition another 7 percent for UC and 10 percent for CSU ($270 million)
— Reduce CSU enrollment by 5 percent ($124 million)
— Reduce personnel costs by 10 percent at UC and 5 percent at CSU ($408 million)
— Reduce state-paid In-Home Health Services provider salary to minimum wage ($300 million)
— Eliminate food and cash aid for non-citizens whom courts have determined can receive benefits ($190 million)
— Stricter income eligibility for welfare-to-work recipients ($180 million)
— Require second and third “strikes” to be serious or violent in “Three Strikes” sentencing ($50 million) – [hey that’s not bad]
— Eliminate funding for public safety grant programs ($506 million)
— Eliminate automated speed-enforcement cameras ($150 million) – [hey that’s not bad!]
— Two furloughs a month for court employees ($130 million)
— Reduce state employee pay an additional 9.24 percent, equal to two furlough days ($700 million)
— Reduce state contribution to employee health care by 30 percent ($330 million)
— End state general fund support for Small Business Loan Guarantee Program ($24 million)
— Eliminate Department of Fair Employment and Housing and state commission ($17.2 million)
— Enact another accounting swap that eliminates sales tax on diesel and increases weight fees, reducing funds for local transit and intercity rail ($400 million)
— Allow oil drilling at Tranquillon Ridge ($100 million) [ – and no extraction fee? Go jump in a lake!]
— Reduce wildland firefighting costs by imposing a new fee on residential property owners in areas protected by the state, clarifying that the state is not fiscally responsible for loss of life and property and shrinking territory for which state is responsible ($300 million)
The taxes we’re talking about extending five more years
So what are we talking about, and hopefully voting on (if a few Republicans allow us to) this June? What are these taxes we’re considering extending five more years, to avoid the above-described all-cuts budget?
Do you remember those hellish budget negotiations of 2009, that ended up with Schwarzenegger and the legislature, including a few crossover Republicans, agreeing on what hysterical anti-tax crusaders still call the “largest tax hike in the history of the universe,” but which most of us actual citizens and taxpayers barely even noticed in our lives? That’s what we’re talking about.
It consisted and consists of three parts, which you’ve already been paying since ’09: 1% sales taxes, a 5% surcharge on your state income tax, and half a percent on the vehicle license fee (which took it from 0.65% to 1.15%.) That’s what we’re talking about. For five more years, and the proceeds will go to local governments and schools.
I say that’s worth it to avoid the rash of cuts we just looked at, and I’ll be voting YES. What do you say? (You can practice thinking about that question by voting in the poll below.)
Over the next few days we’ll be looking at:
- The Republican anti-democracy caucus, and the few Republican Grownups who may do the right thing;
- The question of should Republican politicians really be afraid of defeated OC-GOP vice chair JON FLEISCHMAN, Grover Norquist, and John & Ken??? (especially in the new age of the Open Primary!)
- And we’ll look at and dismantle every single argument of the Anti-Democracy Caucus’ foremost spokesman, who is – LOL – Jon Fleischman!
PAPER TIGER.
[Note that I am being mature and not using
Art’s pig-nosed photshop. Hard to tell, huh?]
[poll id=”301″]
[poll id=”302″]
No! No! No! You have it all wrong, Vern.
If you are going to use a picture of the pride of the 70th AD, use this one instead.
Yeah, or this one.
Nelson you are hopeless liar!
Why don’t you show pictures of, lets say, prison guards getting paid walking time from their cars to prison as overtime at $100+ per hour.
You sickens is wars than Nazism.
Do you understand you IDIOT that taking money from the people creates the poverty which you are against???
I would love to reform the prison guards so they can’t rip us off that way. I saw it happen myself, they switch shifts with each other so they can all work 16-hour shifts; and they create phony emergencies so they can put everyone on lockdown and all of ’em show up and get paid for sitting around playing cards.
How are we going to do that though? That union has both parties by the balls. Right now we’re talking about what we can do right now, to get our state back to functioning. I’d love to work on how we get the guards back in line some time in the near future, but that’s gonna be a BIG project.
How are we going to do that though?…… Hmmmm
It is very simple Vern!
Stop propagandizing your insane socialism, get in the middle and work to get more power than unions have.
However, first you must somehow understand money flow so you have a strength to do so, and stop your childish emotionalism.
You must understand that no matter how much you tax rich and corporations the poor people will pay it. [emphases added]
Example 1: I am landlord and state/county/city will raise my property tax and fees, I will raise the rent!….. got it?….. so who pays the taxes?
Example 2: I am grocery store and state/county/city will raise my property tax and fees, I will raise price of the food!….. got it?….. so who pays the taxes?
Example 3: I am rich and state/county/city will raise my income tax, I will invest into oversee tax shelters!….. got it?….. so who pays the taxes?
In contrast, if you need more money for your government you need to increase transaction volume with low taxes.
Example 4: Let say that corporation in state/county/city pays $100 tax and fees per transaction and makes 10 transactions = $1000 in taxes.
Now you lower tax and fees to $50 so 10 transactions will yield $500 and out of state corporation wants to compete with you it must move to California.
So now you have 2 corporations making $500 each which = $1000 so you are even.
Now third corporation wants to compete so it must too move to California and now you have increased revenue from $1000 to $1500 and tripled the job volume.
The problem is that it takes time to fill the pipeline. Same like in small business cash receivable presents about 25% of your income so it takes about 6 mo to fill this cash receivable pipeline which will hurt your cash flow but once you fill the pipeline you have now 100% flow.
Socialists, however, are not smart to understand this and want everything now and more, end more, and more but world does not function that way.
From the physics you should know that you can’t get more from machine than you put into it. There is no perpetuum-mobile or “0” energy possible yet so WHY DO YOU SOCIALISTS WANT TO CREATE ECONOMY WHICH CAN’T FUNCTION????????
Once you understand the above and stop looking into the past tragedies for an answer than you will be truly progressive, in oppose to your current social reactionaryism.
If you learn the above, I will sing just for you the Original “Vychodila na Bereg Katusha” in Russian language.
Well, Stan, you’re right that I WOULD like to tax the rich and the corporations a little more, but that’s not on the table right now, so your nice long comment is irrelevant to this discussion. We’re only talking about extending a modest tax hike from two years ago – another five years – to get us all through this crisis without cuts that are going to hurt our economy even more (like decimating our education system.)
Please sing me that song anyway, some time.
You so wrong Vern, and I am hopelessly failing to make you to understand that just five years higher taxes are worse than just five years lower taxes.
The suffering will be the same but one will create crises the other prosperity.
Well look your comrades in the song above.
They do not exist so will you with your ill economical concept.
FYI, when they sing “tovarishchi”=comrade.
I’ve been watching the two polls, hoping they wouldn’t stay identical. And now I’m glad to see that there’s finally one voter who is going to vote against the taxes but still thinks we should be allowed to vote on it. A rare conservative who believes in democracy!
Vern.
Not too long ago, in reference to Measure D in Mission Viejo, I heard OC GOP Chair Baugh say he opposed ballot box zoning.
Some have reminded me that we are a Republic not a Democracy.
There are times when I support the right of the people to challenge decisions at the ballot box, or in some cases, inaction or outright self-serving votes by our legislature.
An area that has recently been mentioned on the Juice related to redistricting.
As pointed out I was one of the “we draw the lines” applicants as I felt we needed to take that power out of the hands of our elected officials. The votes spoke and the process moves forward.
Well, I’m gathering, that in your indirect, ambiguous way, you are taking credit for being the conservative who believes in democracy? Good for you.
Brother Vern.
I do support the people’s right to challenge our elected officials. Than why did you vote them into office some might respond. I didn’t, or, when we supported them they were wearing different clothing. But after being brainwashed by the League of Cities in their introductory field trip to Sacramento, they drank the “free” Kool Aid and lost their bearings. Yes, “governing” is different than “campaigning.”
I think you need to use the picture with the long finger.
Since when did the hideous Grover Norquist get to run the country?
I don’t know, but we’d better hurry and do SOMETHING, he’s dragging us up to his bathtub right now!
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/grovernorq182534.html
The additiional cuts listed only add up to about 6.5 Billion, where would the other 6 billion come from.
Republicans answer please.
They would mostly have to come from school funding and public safety, unless there is some super secret spending nobody else know about.
How about a cap on government administrative salaries if your Agency or local government, school district etc are going to receive state funds? That would at least assure than a few more dollars would reach the classrooms and vital services. I am thinking about a cap of around $200,000 per year.
Wow, thanks for doing that math, Jim. So all those cuts I listed are only HALF of what would be needed. I must have read that article wrong, I thought that was like a worst-case scenario, but even that is only the tip of the iceberg I guess!
PS. Now I’m being told that the other six billion would be accomplished by some sort of combination of “funds tranfers and program shifts.” It’s all part of Brown’s “re-alignment strategy” to make local governments take care of more programs. So under the all-cuts budget localities are gonna either have to do without certain state programs they’re used to, or figure out a way to fund them locally. So, more LOCAL TAXES as well, if we don’t do the extension.
Republicans answer please……. Hmmmm
How about answer what will happen 5 years from now when the temporary tax expire same as they expired now after 2 years.
Jim, you genius, how can you build economy on temporary tax?…. Huh.
The socialism is mental illness.
no no no no new txs . not a fat chance we already are one of the highest tx states in the nation and you want to raise it more . no no no . cut public employee unions , teachers , illegals who dont pay txs . k-12 eud wich brown dose not want to cut because his $$$$$$ comes from that union . this state needs a giant overhaul but its run by unions , and dems who we keep sending them back to sacramento to do what . the same thing over n over again tx n spend , regulate ,
I agree, ding dong. NO NEW TAXES! So I assume on the extension you’re a “Si, como no?”
Once again, we are NOT one of the highest taxed states in the nation. It’s another big old lie, such as “businesses are fleeing the state in droves.” They’re not. You do repeat the same old talking points quite well, though, like you’re supposed to.
Rapscallion. I’m curious about your verifiable data. Which are the highest taxed states in the USA?
In reading your response to the Great One he said we are one of the highest. That leaves some room to be in the top 10. Be careful before winging it by saying its a “big old lie.”
What does “one of the highest” mean anyway? One of the 5 highest? 20 highest? 50 highest? According to a Forbes article last year (very conservative, business-friendly source for you all) California is #8, which seems like a great deal for our climate etc. (and in days of yore, our colleges and infrastructure…)
The Grate One’s comment is still irrelevant because the issue at hand is about keeping our taxes just as they are for a while, and so we’d still be #8 (according to Forbes.)
1. Hawaii
2. Connecticut
3. Vermont
4. New York
5. Arkansas (who wants to live there?)
6. Minnesota (brrr!)
7. New Jersey (eww, what’s that smell?)
8. The GOLDEN STATE. Sounds like a good deal.
The Forbes article goes on at length about how complicated it is to determine that question. http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/12/most-taxed-states-lifestyle-income-tax-burden.html
Forbes: “Their residents (of the top ten states) may not always be happy about it, but superior school systems, well-kept roads and pleasant public spaces come at a price.” Remember, the lowest ranked states are hellholes like Alabama and Mississippi – why don’t you move there, Grate One – and the very last is ALASKA – simply because WE pay their taxes every time we fill up our tanks!
Vern. We agree. That first line should have been questioned from the outset.
“the issue at hand is about keeping our taxes just as they are”……. Hmmmm
And you will say same five years from now.
That is why we should never approve this extension because it is permanent!
Nice featured photo Vern.
Reminds me of street kids in old England or, more recently St Peterburg, Russian kids hitting tourists up for money.
After all , it’s for the chidren. While education ranking of CA is in the toilet I know we will agree if the state has any funds they should go for education before the choo choo of tomorrowland
But that kid in the middle, you don’t understand, he is begging “Please, suh, may I have some more High Speed Rail?”
Vern. I knew he looked familiar but when you hit my age your memory is one of the first things you lose, or is it your marbles
thank you larry rapscallion must be a public union lover . who dont belive we are ONE OF THE HIGHEST TX STATES IN THE NATION ..