Odds and Ends – July 10, 2008
A few Odds and Ends from this past week:
- The East Bay Express is reporting that Senate President pro Tem Don Perata may soon be indicted on federal charges stemming from a recent FBI corruption probe. In related news, the State Democratic Party gave Perata $250,000 to help fight the FBI Probe, and Shane Goldmacher of the Sac Bee reports that some Democratic Activists are none too happy about it.
- On the NFL stadium front, Yahoo News speculates on who might be the occupant of developer Ed Roski’s proposed Los Angeles Stadium. In the San Jose Mercury, Mark Purdy argues that San Jose’s vote in 1988 to build what is now the HP Pavilion Arena made San Jose a real city, and speculates that the same could be true for Santa Clara if the proposed 49ers stadium at Great America were to be built.
- California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring and Assemblyman Roger Niello react to the Democrats’ tax-laden budget proposal today on the Flashreport Blog.
- Assembly Republican Caucus Chair Bob Huff argues in the OCRegister that a Spending Limit is key to California’s Fiscal Health.
Government agencies find creative ways to raise local taxes
California is in the midst of its annual budget stalemate. The super-majority vote required is all that stands between higher taxes and the taxpayer. Now we settle in to the war of attrition between tax and spend liberals and the few remaining fiscal watchdogs in the Legislature.
So while we play this waiting game, government engages in substantially more creativity at ways to raise taxes then it spends trying to find ways to live within its means. Local tax proposals range from taxing text messages to taxing air. It just never stops.
The City of Sacramento is concerned too many of us aren’t using our home phones. It wants to tax text messages as a means of raising revenue. As if teenagers aren’t expensive enough. Parents will get stuck with a bill for their electronic communications.
The L.A. County Metro Transportation Authority would impose a “Climate-Transit tax”. Another tax would be added to gasoline and the revenue spent on public transportation to combat roadway congestion and global warming.
Restrict the power, eliminate the money
Once again with the California State Legislature and Governor
Schwarzenegger failing to uphold their promises, their duty and the
law, the nation’s largest, most important and most poorly run state
is operating without a budget. The law requires the Governor’s
signature on an approved budget no later than July 1. For the
sixteenth time in the past twenty years, Sacramento has missed the
deadline. With no agreement in site, maybe we’ll beat the 2002-2003
record of no new budget until September 5.
In the meantime, while ineffective and petty politicians play around
with our money, California’s credit rating drops, vendors go unpaid,
and state government is unable to effectively plan because they don’t
know what their budgets will be. Private businesses and residents
hold their breath to see which programs are cut, which loopholes are
closed, which taxes are raised, how much money is borrowed, and how
many creative ways can we mortgage our kids future against our failures.