The Tax Commission “Crap Shoot”
Listening to the discussion on complex tax restructuring proposals floating around the UCLA meeting hall at the Commission for the 21st Century Economy, I concluded, in the end, the commission’s plan better pass the Rotary test. That is commissioners better be able to succinctly explain the plan to a Rotary Club meeting in 20 minutes. They’re not there yet.
That last comment is probably unfair, since there is no plan, yet. There are pieces of a plan. Many pieces in fact, and how they are glued together will determine if the final proposal comes out looking like a sleek speedboat or an awkward Junk.
California is experiencing Dust Bowl in reverse
Democrat Leaders who do not believe Californians are fleeing the Golden State in droves need to look no farther than Sacramento, the seat of California’s state government. A recent Sacramento Bee article cites a reverse migration to the Mid-west. This marks a stunning reversal of the historical trend of migration into California—especially during the Dust Bowl that sent hundreds of thousands of Midwesterners west toward the Golden State.
During the Dust Bowl, people left states like Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma because a drought left the once fertile soil barren and bone-dry. The livelihoods of the farmers shriveled with the crops, and families found themselves in destitution. They sought the greener pastures of California. But where the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression sent a massive migration of Midwesterners to California, the current economic hardship is now driving residents back to the Midwest.
A Last Resort The Feds Will Be Checking Into
This Washington Post story, headlined “California Aid Request Spurned by U.S.,” is one of those stories that means exactly the opposite of what it’s first paragraph says.
After reporting that California’s pleas for federal assitance have been turned down, the story reports the following.
“After a series of meetings, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, top White House economists Lawrence Summers and Christina Romer, and other senior officials have decided that California could hold on a little longer and should get its budget in order rather than rely on a federal bailout.
“These policymakers continue to watch the situation closely and do not rule out helping the state if its condition significantly deteriorates, a senior administration official said. But in that case, federal help would carry conditions to protect taxpayers and make similar requests for aid unattractive to other states, the official said. The official did not detail those conditions.” (Italics are mine)