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- Wosat, on 07/06/2009, -6/+26California has an income tax of 8% for people making just 40k a year and more than 10% for all their $1+ million a year earners and you're telling me it's "Republican tax initiates", not run-away spending, that's to blame? Really?
- alamedaman, on 07/06/2009, -3/+18hey why not? can't be any worse than Ahnuld or Gray Davis (who, IMO, was the whipping boy for all our problems).
things aren't gonna change in California until dumbass voters realize there's no such thing as a free lunch. including the free lunch programs. - Atario, on 07/06/2009, -14/+27Hey, terrific! We have no money? Solution: refrain from taking in any more money by installing yet another never-tax-for-any-reason Republican corporate shill! Cuz taxes are eeeeevil!
Go to hell, Will. Ditto for Whitman. - rgersmrk, on 07/06/2009, -6/+14Who would ever want the person who ran eBay into the ground as governor for their state?
Um...cutting programs and maintaining tax rates in California (or any state for that matter) is the only way to fix the budget during a recession.
Republicans need to realize that even Reagan raised taxes during his tenture to deal with a recession. - inactive, on 07/06/2009, -4/+12Nice, except the reasons those taxes on the highest are so much is because the tax stream is low due to Prop 13. That's not the only reason the state's messed up - extremist politics on both sides, direct ballot legislation, the silly 2/3rds thing - but stop trying to act like you have a point when you obviously don't know ***** about the state and it's history.
- inactive, on 07/06/2009, -4/+11Don't call it a comeback, they've been there for years!
- BassMastr, on 07/06/2009, -7/+13Is this the same chick that thought it was a good idea for Ebay to buy Skype?
- Demaskee, on 07/06/2009, -0/+5Funny how other states manage to provide these services, most even better without all the ridiculous taxes.
- suprememilo, on 07/06/2009, -2/+7Gray Davis was recalled because of the Enron caused power outages.
- Probatus, on 07/06/2009, -2/+7George will what?
- Quaestor44, on 07/06/2009, -9/+14fail.
its time to cut spending kid - jnet1, on 07/06/2009, -2/+6As they used to say at eBay, "a monkey can drive this train." Meg is one of those great examples of accidental success. And this article is another great example of George Will being wrong about everything. Meg is a disaster. God help us if she ever got her hands on California.
- tonmil, on 07/06/2009, -0/+4Ebay is going to spin-off Skype in a public offering. Ebay will make a fortune. Sound like good business move to me.
- BigManOnCampus, on 07/07/2009, -0/+4@Atario.
You must have been one of those kids who thought their parents were a limitless supply of funds? Maybe you got a credit card at 15 and never had to pay it back? I know, you failed economics because you didn't understand how wealth is generated!
Either way, anyone reading your last post knows who needs more class time.
Try reading the post you replied to again, pay special attention to the part where the state went into debt to build a building that was completely unnecessary and ultimately a down-grade in capability for the university system. - JayTee44, on 07/06/2009, -2/+6It's getting more and more amusing as I read down these posts.... not one digger has or will admit that spending in california is excessive.....
- tonmil, on 07/06/2009, -0/+4Prop 13 is great for those on a fixed income. It has allowed my parents to stay in their home they bought decades ago. Without it they would be living in an apartment by now because the property taxes would have gone up so much.
- miffelplix, on 07/06/2009, -4/+8George Will is a moron.
- Ymeg, on 07/06/2009, -2/+6The Republicans might have broke it's legs, but the Democrats made it morbidly obese.
- Elranzer, on 07/06/2009, -0/+4I wouldn't trust anyone involved with PayPal with tax money or any kind of money.
- BigManOnCampus, on 07/06/2009, -0/+3Really? I just had two friends purchase homes, and they're both in their early 20's.
- Quaestor44, on 07/06/2009, -1/+4buried.
- dalittle, on 07/06/2009, -1/+4yea, i cannot believe anyone would vote for her. Meg Whitman ran ebay into the ground and now she wants to run a state government? I would run screaming from her.
- Demaskee, on 07/06/2009, -7/+9You can always pay more then what is being asked of you if you are such a proponent of paying taxes.
- strangewill, on 07/06/2009, -5/+7Prop 13.
If I spent the time I think I can easily list out millions if not billions of dollars in voter initiatives that cost money, and well.. that's the public's fault...
That and underfunding by the Feds, which we make up for with state taxes. You're welcome rest of America which we support with nearly 20% of our taxes. - gn84, on 07/06/2009, -2/+4"She would reduce the number of state Assembly districts"
In a state where our senator goes on the floor of the senate and proclaims that 90%+ of her constituents are stupid and "just don't know" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZFwRAfkV1g), shouldn't we be increasing the number of assembly districts? Maybe so each representative would be accountable to fewer voters? Perhaps even reduce the ability of the corporate interests and labor unions to wield such power in Sacramento (more reps = harder to bribe)?
Whitman is using a typical neocon deception-- claim to advocate smaller government, while actually endorsing policies that result in greater consolidation of power. - niradg, on 07/06/2009, -6/+8Republicans set California on a course to bankruptcy 30 years ago with the passage of prop 13. Why would you trust the people who created the problem to fix it?
And don't even get me started on how Ebay is managed... - californicator, on 07/06/2009, -0/+2Pelosi = Speaker of the House (not a Senator)
xman8 = Failed 4th Grade Civics Class - BigManOnCampus, on 07/06/2009, -0/+2Because their is no representation in CA... the Legislature is completely owned by the most gerrymandered districts in the world and the campaign dollars of the public service unions.
- OMGscience, on 07/06/2009, -0/+2@mlrigby
Are you really that stupid? - BigManOnCampus, on 07/06/2009, -1/+3You're an idiot.
Here's an example of California spending gone mad, one that I witnessed personally.
California ballot initiative, marketed "for the children" targets schools and outlines new science buildings to be built for the CSU system. it passes. California starts to borrow money (issue bonds) to pay for these new buildings.
8 years later, when it comes time to spend these already borrowed dollars, suddenly building material prices have skyrocketed because the Chinese are building like mad. CSULB is stuck because they no longer have enough borrowed money to build their new science building.
Solution? Well there were two solutions. One was to simply use that money to refurbish the buildings they had. There was plenty of money to do that. The other solution was to borrow more money to accomplish what money that we had already borrowed (and were paying interest on) was laid out for.
The Chancellors went with a new state ballot and bond measure. It passed. California now borrowed more money on top of old borrowed money to tear down an old building and build a new building.
Then, they went out for bids on construction. Noone would build a building the same size as the old building and the same code (disaster code, meaning the ability of the building's construction to deal with internal disasters from science experiments, explosions, fire, etc..). So they were still screwed.
The end result?
California spent tens of millions of dollars to tear down an old science building that worked just fine and wasn't entirely full anyway and was rated at the highest-possible-disaster code (the damn thing was built like a bomb shelter) only to build a new building that was *smaller* (fewer classroms/labs) and *less robust* (less safe in case of fire/earthquake) than the old building. Oh, and did I fail to remind you this was all done with BORROWED MONEY?
And you say that we don't have a spending problem? you're an idiot. - TreatsTheBear, on 07/06/2009, -2/+4Whitman's first act as governor: Ban negative feedback from voters
- niradg, on 07/06/2009, -0/+2Don't forget StumbleUpon
- thinkb4utype, on 07/06/2009, -1/+330% of the country's total welfare spending is in CA. That isn't the repubs, it was the dems in the legislature who pushed that on the state.
- gn84, on 07/06/2009, -0/+2Why would either of those be a good thing?
Fewer legislators = more voters per representative = less accountability
2/3 requirement for budgets and tax increases means that a large portion of the state has to agree in order for the budget to be passed, which reduces the possibility of tyranny of the majority. Why should 50.1% of the people (or legislators) rule over 49.9%? This concept leaves all power in the hands of a small handful of people who might sway the vote to one side or the other.
Both of these changes would lead to a concentration of power = tyranny. - californicator, on 07/06/2009, -7/+9-- 'Whitman, a Roman candle of facts and ideas, insists, "We do not have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem of epic proportions." Twenty-five percent of California's revenue comes from income taxes paid by the 144,000 richest taxpayers, so "if one of them leaves, it's a really bad thing." Lots have left. Some never really arrive. Pierre Omidyar, after founding eBay in San Jose, resided in Nevada, which has no income tax.'
Gee, I wonder why Pierre didn't start up eBay in Nevada... if he likes it there so much? Perhaps because the talent-pool required to make things like eBay and stealth fighters/bombers doesn't exist there. This is a typical Republican move... evade paying your taxes to the state/country that provides the backbone for your own wealth. Hey, George... the Roman candle you say Peg has is sticking out her ass! - MothBoy, on 07/06/2009, -0/+1BMOC,
He tried once, and then gave up for the remainder of his term -and-a-half. Whats up with that?
He was either stupid, naive, or really didn't care whether those ballot props passed. He should have picked one at a time and pushed them hard. Instead he picked four, each of which threatened some special interest. That combination generated a huge amount of negative voter turnout. It was patently obvious to me, so I am hoping that it didn't escape his political policy wonks, which is why I am not sure if they really cared or not.
He has negotiated plenty of sell-out deals since then, so I wouldn't be surprised to find that he intentionally put them all on at once as a deal with the dems, knowing that there is no way they would all pass at the same time. - themostimproved, on 07/06/2009, -1/+2Wait... You think raising taxes in a recession is a good idea? Let's make even more people unemployed! That will seriously solve the problem!
- BigManOnCampus, on 07/06/2009, -0/+1Arnold tried. He held his special election that he felt would win on the back of his recall victory.
Public Servant unions outspent him by leaps and bounds and defeated every single one of his ballot initiatives because they feared they would lose power.
They should have lost power, it would have helped tremendously. - trolleyfan, on 07/06/2009, -1/+2Unfortunately, that only works if there's a 2/3s requirement for *spending* as well...
...of course, that means that absolutely *nothing* - not just the budget - ever gets done in the Legislature, but... - billalbertson, on 07/06/2009, -1/+2A lot of the problems here in California have to do with having a governor that keeps vetoing a budget passed with a 2/3s majority. Every time he does that, the taxpayers pay out billions of dollars in penalties, and the State's credit rating takes a dump. On top of that, every industry affected by budgetary shortfalls lays people off, just exacerbating the budgetary emergency credit spending. Gov. Schwarzenegger has done more to ruin California's economy than Gray Davis ever did. And I hated Gray Davis.
The other issue is Prop 13, which has put the onus of creating tax revenue on home sales rather than home ownership. This means that counties were having to do all they could to promote home sales in order to realize a stable tax revenue stream that could keep up with inflation. This resulted in a massive housing bubble fueled by changes in lending practices, but the bottom line was that when revenue growth became associated with growth of the housing market, it set California up for this mess.
George Will, and by extension, Meg Whitman, have no clue. They are either idiots or ideological panderers, and most people in this state are quite fed up with both. - rmxz, on 07/06/2009, -1/+2And isn't Skype now one of the top telephony products ever?
I still think Skype'd make a great platform for paypal-powered-micropayments. - inactive, on 07/06/2009, -7/+8You can always not use the infrastructure, schools, or things like the Internet that stemmed from tax-payer dollars if you're such a proponent of not paying taxes.
- BigManOnCampus, on 07/06/2009, -0/+1And he was spending state money like mad to pay for those power rate increases.
- MothBoy, on 07/06/2009, -1/+2The Grey Davis recall was supposed to be a clarion call for reform. Instead it was right back to business as usual. Ahnold has been a disaster.
She has a real chance to win, because the alternative would either be retread geriatric Jerry, or "whether you like it or not" Newsom. - blakeg, on 07/07/2009, -0/+1I think you meant to say "I disagree with George Will". If you can't tell the difference between a moron and someone who just disagrees with you, then you, sir, are a moron.
Even those in the far left would agree that George Will is one of the most articulate, level-headed, and FAIR conservatives out there. He routinely criticizes the right along with the left. Most importantly, he is a true thinker... something in short supply among the Republicans. - mlrigsby, on 07/06/2009, -0/+1I think it's a combination of two factors. First is that California is the largest state in the country, with the most diverse population and therefore a variety of competing interest. Second, California, like other western states, has direct input from voters into the legislative process through ballot initiatives (called propositions in CA). Of course, voters always want more spending and less taxes, and Republican's have cynically manipulated this tendency by passing ballot initiatives like Prop 13, which crippled the legislature's ability to raise necessary revenue.
We had similar thing in Washington several years ago with I-695 which dramatically reduced the tax on vehicle license tabs, a major source of state revenue. The problem hasn't been as bad in Washington, but it's pretty comparable. Ballot initiatives are, IMO a terrible idea. - californicator, on 07/06/2009, -1/+2Enron was definitely responsible for some of California's financial problems... and us paying an unfair share of the Iraq war isn't helping either.
Did you just wake up from an 8 year nap? Obama didn't create the Iraq war, or the AIG mess, or the need to bail-out the banks, or the first bailout, or the crappy Katrina response. And... by the way... 9/11 happened on Bush's watch. You need to try again with that re-writing history thing. - jerbaker, on 07/06/2009, -1/+2Yes.
For some strange reason whenever a conservative nut whips out figures like that they never tell us how much public resources those 144,000 people are using. Airports to ship their products, courts to enforce their patents, police to arrest shoplifters, roads and ports for ships and trucks to carry their product, the public transit their minimum wage wage employees ride to work, the Medi-Cal their poor employees use to get health care for their children, and so on. Then you want me to pay for the infrastructure they use to make their money? Are you insane? - knotboy, on 07/07/2009, -0/+1@rgersmk - I only stated what Reagan did was not because of a recession, it was because the state had no money because the previous governor lied about how much money the state had.But you have to take into account Reagan cut the government a lot as well. He has said many times it was not the taxes that helped California, but it was his tax cuts.
Obama shows no signs of cutting government spending, so I doubt he will ever cut taxes.
It will be a long recession. - jerbaker, on 07/06/2009, -0/+1What you call "useless" I call useful. Deregulation got us ***** like power outages, airline failures, bank collapses, and a world-wide economic calamity unparalleled since the Great Depression, and your argument is all that ***** happened because we didn't deregulate enough? Are you familiar with the colloquial definition of stupid? It's repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
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