State of California is broke

[Stitch]

How many of those in favor of crushing public-sector unions also want government to end the wasteful practice of requiring various public entities to pist public notices in newspapers?

How many of those who root against LeBron also want Denmark to win Euro 2012?

Requiring public notices to be placed in newspapers is a waste of money. Much more effective to use the Web and can reach more people.

 

[LongTimeListener]

How many of those in favor of crushing public-sector unions also want government to end the wasteful practice of requiring various public entities to pist public notices in newspapers?

How many of those who root against LeBron also want Denmark to win Euro 2012?

Requiring public notices to be placed in newspapers is a waste of money. Much more effective to use the Web and can reach more people.

In case I was too subtle before ... Your analogy is completely inane and irrelevant and you should back away from it. I couldn't care less if government advertises in newspapers, as it means very little to either entity's bottom line. It has about as much relevance to the debate as Al Gore's electric bill does to global warming.

Back away.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

No, Berger's saying he has no forking idea what is happening in California, and you are compounding the cluelessness by referring to all of the state's homeowners as "1 per centers."

Unions are not always right, guys.

I was referring to the second part of his quote about the capitalist system.

 

[Stitch]

Kick the illegals out. That will solve everything.

 

[poindexter]

Based on the arguments I've read here, I'm coming to the conclusion that people around the country really are not as smart as I've previously given them credit.

At a minimum, their logic skills suck.

 

[MileHigh]

Kick the illegals out. That will solve everything.

They tried that 18 years ago with Prop. 187.

 

[Stitch]

There is not one cure-all for California. The fiscal state of the government is a result of nearly four decades of bad governance encompassing both Democrat and Republican administrations and party policies.

Repealing Proposition 13 would help, salary and pension reform for public workers would help, eliminating pork would help, eliminating corporate tax loopholes so Apple and other large companies can't use Nevada as a way to skirt around the state's tax code would help, immigration reform would help, and a good economy would help.

There are a lot of things that would help, but because of various actors looking out for themselves, it's hard to do anything because reform on one policy matter could lead to reform in other matters.

So I ask the question, how do you get various actors to work together to do anything?

 

[Stitch]

Based on the arguments I've read here, I'm coming to the conclusion that people around the country really are not as smart as I've previously given them credit.

At a minimum, their logic skills suck.

I have come to the conclusion that many people aren't willing to make hard decisions. California isn't going to get better any time soon, or within the next decade. If people don't like their state government, they can always move. There are 49 other states in the union, including a couple that are running budget surpluses.

 

[poindexter]

Prop 13 problem - the guys who live on the other side of the country nailed this one

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-fritz-pension-reform-california-20120626,0,1584148.story?dssReturn

According to Stanford's Institute for Economic Policy Research, even if it's assumed that pension fund investments perform reasonably well, the unfunded liabilities of California's largest state and local pension systems stand at about $500 billion. One intrepid reporter did the math: that amount of pension debt amounts to $30,500 for every household in the state.

Largely because of that debt, pension costs are the fastest-growing expenditure for city and county governments and will consume 17% of city budgets this year. Again according to Stanford, pension costs grew 11.4% a year between 1999 and 2010, twice the spending growth rate for education, public safety, parks, health and sanitation. While other services are cut, pension costs go nowhere but up.

 

[poindexter]

San Bernardino will become the third California city in a month to seek bankruptcy.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/san-bernardino-is-third-california-city-seek-bankruptcy-in-a-month.html

Can someone explain how a city with a hair more than 200,000 people can rack up a $46 million budget deficit?

Per the article:

The city's fiscal crisis has been years in the making, compounded by the nation's crushing recession and exacerbated by escalating pension costs, lucrative labor agreements, Sacramento's raid on redevelopment funds and a city reserve that is tapped out, officials said.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Don't forget Prop 13!!!! Even though many of the houses have lost value since they were bought!!!

 

[TigerVols]

This progressive, dare I even say liberal, Californian hopes most if not all local and county governments go this route, in order to break the onerous and outrageous government employee pension schemes.