Interesting perspective. A complicated ballot issue like this requires vetting of all possible unforeseen consequences. Thanks for your considered analysis. Stosh
arnold came into power from the recall of gray davis. arnold's campaign was based on eliminating government waste, not spending beyond your means, being tough with the unions, and reducing taxes. the state now has a deficit as large as a small country's GDP, was on the verge of bankruptcy, has had to raise vehicle taxes by 80% and sales tax by 12%, and has a lower credit rating than louisiana which i regard as a landfill posing as a state. arnold is a total failure
I am not a big fan of arnold. But - the dems played brinksmanship with him on a few spending issues and won. It seems to me he likes his career in politics too much to bring the spending crisis to a head. I think he was not willing to lay his futre on the line for Californian's. But, he may have to soon.
"The Governator" has been in office for about 5.5 years now and has not been able to forge any strong relationships of leadership with the legislature. I believe he has failed.
A well written article for perspective. http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13649050&source=most_commented I did not know the CA constitution was so "unique"
I think the first comment after the article said it well - "What has happened to the Economist? Used to be its writing was so fresh, but now so much of it seems mired in lazy, New York Time-style liberalism. The Economist would like us to believe that "everybody" is to blame for California's budget woes, including the wack job right wingers in Orange County and the selfish people who hacked away at Property Taxes via Prop 13. Wrong. Taxes in California are the highest in the country, tax rates are the most progressive in the country, and a plurality of Orange County voters vote for Democrats, not Republicans. Give me 10 minutes and I'll point out a dozen errors of similar laziness. Wake up and smell the coffee, Economist. The problem with California is not gridlock, but that it is, instead, a 1-party state. The Democrats have run this state lock, stock and barrell for a long, long time and -lo and behold- state government spending has absolutely exploded. Now any effort to contol spending is described as a nasty "cut". Since about 70% of Californians pay no state income tax, and the remaining 30% are already taxed to the nines, let's see, uh ... yeah, that's it let's raise taxes on that 30% still higher. Is it against the law to move to a neighboring state? Message to the Economist: if we wanted a whiny NPR-style take on contemporary American politics, we'd listen to NPR (or watch ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, or CNN). Sometimes things are screwed up because the Republicans have been in charge and have really done a bad job. Sometimes things are screwed up because the Democrats have been in change and done a really bad job. In California, the Democrats have been in charge and done a really bad job. There, that wasn't so hard to say, was it?"
Well said, JEM. The election tomorrow and the ensuing events will be very interesting. Let's hope that there are enough sensible people left to turn things around, but it may be too late. They may have passed the tipping point and may be destined to eventually morph into Mexico or Cuba. Hope not. Stosh
Well said for sure. Cali is toast. They are having mass exodus in "Higher Net Worth" individuals and middle class. The manufacturing base, what little is left, is also looking to move out. Some guys will stay behind because the have solid footing and the Cali depression isn't hurting them much...mainly guys who lock into Asia and export goods. Cali and NY have the same % of tax now. Will be interesting to see how they vote in 2010. BURN HOLLYWOOD BURN, is not longer a line in a song. It's happening.
Mother in Law lives in the Bay Area, and Bro-in-Law gets the house free and clear upon her death, unless he moves, then it reverts to the estate. Gotta wonder what kind of tax burden he'll have when he gets the house. Anyone know?