You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too



The State of California is at the brink of the precipice and we get to make a decision. Do we obligate ourselves to higher taxes and not even completely solving our problem, or do we vote down the Politicians buck passing gimmick and make them do their jobs, which will inevitably send the State hurtling toward insolvency? I have heard all the arguments, seen all the hyperventilating ($27 million from unions and political action committees, only $3 million trying to defeat these propositions)and I am in the solid majority on this one, to vote down all new spending propositions. All the money from the boomtimes didn't help things for the tax and spenders, perhaps being broke may bring fiscal sanity back into vogue.
Even when this state, which is the 9th largest economy in the world, was booming we could not balance our budgets year after year. But we kept voting in liberal politicians and voting in generous new social programs. The inevitable happened and the housing and financial bubbles burst, and this once prosperous State is now unable to meet all of its obligations. I have heard that we have spending in place by law that requires funding of programs and schools even if there is a bad year or two and no means to keep funding the mandated growth in these programs. This funding, which is mandated by law cannot be cut, right? That is the argument as to why we will have to cut law enforcement, firemen, schools and let criminals out of jails. All programs everybody agrees are necessary, but programs the politicians can scare us into the corner by threatening with cuts. Well, we voted to deny taxpayer funded services to illegal aliens and the courts threw that one out. We have voted to keep marriage between 1 man and 1 woman (twice!)and the courts are trying to throw that one out(again!) too. Some laws ordained by the people, I guess, are more easily taken from the people than other laws the courts want to see saved, or actually judicially legislated into existence.
The spending has to come to a stop and I have heard California has few options. One is bankruptcy which to me makes the most sense, we wont go anywhere and maybe we can rethink all the ridiculous unfunded mandates. People within and without this state will have to learn how we can live within our means and taxing our way to prosperity means everyone who can leave will. Another option is for Governor Schwarzenegger to go hat in hand to his bud Obama and beg his holiness to save this too big to fail state. The option we really cannot afford is to pass measures that will raise our taxes in a recession and reward irresponsible politicians who have bought votes by spending us into this hole. That option does not even provide a finishing solution, just time to figure out new taxes and fees. We need to get a handle on this spending problem, as goes California so goes the US.
Maybe California can lead the way in this country to fiscal sanity.
Vote NO on 1A through 1F