From the John and Ken Show on KFI website. They should add a note that the bottom that says: please remit $2 billion to redeem IOU.
After the governor vetoed the Democrats illegal budget plan he proposed a four legged solution. The governor said that “the best way to solve our problems is with a balanced approach that is designed like a four-legged stool”. The governor held a press conference telling the state about his stool, text and video can be viewed on his website.
The four legs are:
- reduce spending by $17.4 billion
- increase revenues by $14.3 billion
- economic stimulus
- make government more efficient
The first leg sounds like a good idea but the second, how about we try to reduce spending by 14.3 billion more than is proposed by the first leg. The third and fourth legs are simply there because you cannot stand on a two legged stool. Furthermore, have any of the democrats in state government and the federal government looked back at history to see the FDR’s New Deal did not help the economy. It was WWII and the unity of the country that made us the most powerful government in the world. And it’s my understanding that every organization including the government should always be looking at making operations more efficient? What happend, I think I know what it was, maybe Unions and weak leadership in the government?
The governors stool plan sounds more like something you would sample rather than something you sit on.
Regardless of what we call the solution the problem still exists and with the state’s estimated $40 billion budget deficit and without a fix soon, California could run out of cash next month. The state will be forced to give IOUs to state elected officials, vendors and refunds for taxpayers. So in essence without a new tax we will be unable to get back our overpaid income tax. What is next? Replace a sales tax with the indefinite retention of any state income tax refunds. That would be less paper work and would likely save the state more money.
Time to end budget feuds, governor says
on Jan 14th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Thank you for this article. While private companies are forced to lay people off, or go out of business, government (of the bureaucrats, by the bureaucrats and for the bureaucrats) feel no remorse for the fat bloated budgets. I cannot afford to pay my people with the kind of health care and retirement that State Employees get. Why do I have to pay for someone else to get what I and my employees cannot afford? Many state agencies have lived beyond their needs. What pray chance does the California Energy Commission do anymore? What does ARB grow? Why do we have to have 5 agencies regulate landfills instead of 1? What does the Office of Planning and Research do that CEC or ARB don’t already do? There is so much duplication and redundancy in State Government that it is obscene.
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 10:54 am
W - You are exactly right. Many state agencies should be eliminated. Not only have they lived beyond there needs many times modern replacements are created but the old dinosaurs are left to suck the budget dry.