California on 'Verge of System Failure'
 

More news everyone!! Important!

http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/...mo_code=A1D6-1

Think of it as Greece on the Pacific: A place with beautiful scenery where the government spent so far beyond its means that mass layoffs, welfare reductions that leave a million children and the poor and elderly without needed services and failing infrastructure are now the norm.

California?s fiscal hole reportedly is now so large that the state would have to free 168,000 prison inmates and permanently close 240 university and community college campuses to balance its budget in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

?We are on the verge of system failure,? Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, told the Globe and Mail.

?We have to get some federal money,? Ross says. ?It would be bad for the U.S. and, arguably, bad for the world to do the shock-therapy approach.?

Peter Dreier, a professor of politics at Occidental College, calls this a classic American dilemma.

?Americans expect a lot of their government,? Dreier says. ?But politicians have convinced them they?re not getting what they want.?

Budget analysts say Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has no choice but to ask Washington for bailout funds, and that Washington has no choice but to agree because not bailing out the Golden State could put the entire U.S. economy at risk.

It seems that California ? which at one time had the third-largest economy in the world ? is like the biggest U.S. banks: Too big to fail.

Neither Democrat Jerry Brown nor Republican Meg Whitman has offered details in their campaigns to become the state?s next governor about how to close this year?s $19 billion budget deficit or handle next year?s anticipated $37 billion deficit, the Mercury News reports.

maybe some of the high paid actors and directors should give up there hefty paychecks for there shitty movies..like avatar :2 cents:

OMG you mean they'd have to shrink the size of the government?!?!?! Oh the horrors!!!

Has anyone noticed that shrinking the government is never an option? It's only, get more money, get more money, get more money... it'll be catastrophic if we don't get more money! We HAVE to have more money...

A sure sign the government has its fingers in too many pies when it requires so much money to sustain itself...

As far as releasing 168,000 inmates, well no fucking shit! I bet the 168k that they release were probably in there for smoking pot, stealing news papers from news paper dispensers, and public drunkeness, knowing how the stupid three strikes law works.

Hey I have a grand idea guys, lets spend untold amounts of money on filling up our prisons with people who aren't criminals!

This is just another added reason we will be in the next depression soon enough :(

+1

Yep. And they will eventually, because we're out of options. Oakland is talking of laying off 200 police. Antioch wants to follow Vallejo and file bankruptcy as a city. LA has talked of shutting down the city 3 days a week. And I hear now of the DMV shutting down to 1 or 2 days a week. We are simply out of money.

MJ Legalization is on the table in November. I guess we'll see if anyone is serious about fixing the money hole or not.

Personally I don't think that they have the ability, or the will, to think in realistic economic terms.

I predict that California will vote to raise taxes on the highest earners in the state, both personal and corporate. This will cause those high earners to start to flee the state, taking their money, and the businesses, and jobs that they create, with them, and what will end up happening is that the lawmakers will actually succeed in LOWERING the states revenues.


You read it here first.



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When someone and their millions of friends are hurling 50 gallon barrels of burning garbage through government or bank windows, THEN (and only then), will I "think of it as Greece on the Pacific".

Until then, I'll choose NOT to be scared by people paid to write articles for money magazines, and I'll think of the latest California financial crisis as: the latest California financial crisis.

:2 cents:

California is already one of the most expensive places to run a business. Annual corporate filing fee is $800.

Fuck California. Let it go under.

Exactly my point.... Now watch it get even worse.


.:2 cents:

i heard Obama is going to "n1gger rig" california, so no worries my left coast friends... :thumbsup





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Completely off topic :

Asheville, NC is some really sweet place.

Been there once in my life time and fucking sweet!

That's what I call a town man.......sweet.

Congrats that you live there!

California and Arizona are going to do a big trade.

California gets the Mexicans. Arizona gets the businesses.

You heard it here first!

Only if we get to keep Arizona's taxes.

Just sad really :(

I'm lost a bit on this one. What is the business that Arizona will get?
( not arguing here, just asking to be informed )

Lets see i am a out of state property owner.
1. CA now is taking 7% of rental properties (even though house is massibe loss)
2. My property taxes went up 350 a month on top of what they already are.

Seriously how much more can this shit go up?

I think we passed that exit awhile ago ...

The theory is that if California raises taxes more those with money (businesses) would move their businesses to other states with a more friendly tax environment. Arizona has a pretty friendly tax environment and is close by. Although it could be Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Mexico, China. Just making a funny on the two issues both states are having.

California doesnt put people in jail for smoking pot, it was decriminalized in 1976.

California on 'Verge of System Failure'?


Sorry, but I saw this one coming quite a while ago.

I bet 25% of those prisoners are from Stockton

$800?!?!

My state is $35 if you pay online, $40 if you don't.

Wasn't that the other night during the Lakers victory "street parties"?

Yeah, I think Hawaii is $25.

Problem isn't with the recent Governors its the fucking liberal big government legislature that they keep voting for the last 30 years that has caused the state to go in the shit hole.

If my fellow California residents would get a fucking clue and toss there ass out we might have a chance in hell in fixing it.

They'd move to Vegas first - no state taxes.

It's wonderful.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!?!??!?

You mean a Republican can't fix the shit in 8 years?!?!?!?!?
:winkwink:

For the past year or two State employees have been forced to take 3 unpaid days off every month. It is my understanding that this is being challenged in court and the courts move slowly...but the Governor said that if he is Governor and he loses in court that he will simply begin laying off State employees to compensate...but layoffs/reduction in pay...may happen anyhow...even with the future Governor.

BTW...this affects Pathfinder's oldest daughter as she has a Masters Degree and is a State Health Official.

Your state? I take it that you no longer live in Southern California?

Wait what all the socialist/communist/progressive actors are not getting together and pooling their money to save the state?

Yeah, I can see that in a way but where will Arizona get the labor from after
kicking out the illegals? They still need labor no matter what the tax break is.

Don't count on a lot of LA born folks to trek to Arizona; that's like a desparate act
to a LA born.

Why should they? I never see a band of rich republicans pooling their wealth to help anyone.

Not only that, but the first thing they start cutting is police, schools, fire, rescue etc. The things that are most vital to the most people. I'm sure there is a ton of at in the bloated California bureaucracy that can be trimmed before they start doing other things, but they don't do it that way because this makes it look more desperate so when they ask for more money people are more likely to vote for giving it to them.

Here in Oregon several years ago we voted on a measure that put a cap on the percentage of your property value they could charge you in property taxes. The leadership shit their pants and warned how this would cause school closures and police layoffs and all kinds of insanity. Magically a few years later instead of percentage going up, everyone's property value went up. I guess they figured if they can't take it one way they will take it another. Never once, when they were talking about laying off teachers, did they consider getting rid of even one of the over 200 school administrators who work part time at best yet make 6 figure salaries.

Because on ideology believes in spreading the wealth and the other believes in personal responsibility?

atually, in the socal neighborhoods where i live and operate, the 1st things they cut are maintenance and park hours. there's a tremendous amount of roadway signage blocked by overgrown greenery. a couple of the parks i frequent have trash bins overflowing, the gates are not opened when they should, etc.

So are you saying that if they did pool together and "spread the wealth" to "save" California that it would work? Your position is unclear. You want them to "spread their wealth" to save Cali, so you must be convinced of its possible success, but you don't want the repubs to have to contribute... Or,.... you just want to see more people piss away more money for no good reason.

Yes? No? :costumed87

why not raise taxes?