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California Begging
States: The once-great state of California has been reduced to begging from the federal government. But no matter how much help the feds give, the state's fiscal ills won't end until its lawmakers stop spending money.

To say California is a mess is an understatement. In the current fiscal year, the state is expected to post a deficit of $21 billion as the budget continues to spiral out of control. Even after last year's epic budget battle, when Californians were hit with $12.5 billion in new taxes and $6 billion more in borrowing, the state still isn't close to bringing revenues and expenditures into balance.

So Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has an idea: He wants President Obama to give him $8 billion -- or else, he says, he'll kill or slash most of the state's welfare programs, cut pay for 200,000 state workers and end two tax breaks for big corporations.
Everything except the last sound like very good ideas, indeed. The last time he the governor had such good ideas, the president made very clear his displeasure with the thought of impacting the lifestyle of union members.
How far the Golden State has fallen. Once the nation's unquestioned economic and innovation leader, it's now a laggard. With 13% of the country's population, it has nearly a third of its welfare recipients. Though it's still the world's seventh-largest economy, it's in danger of sliding backward as its fiscal and economic crises drive jobs and workers away.

The White House should do California a favor and say no. The only thing that will help at this point is for the state's citizens to vote the Legislature out of office -- or for the state to be forced into bankruptcy. The Legislature has been under almost exclusive Democratic control for decades. Time for change.

Lawmakers in Sacramento are held in almost universal contempt by Californians, yet most are safe inside their carefully gerrymandered districts. They're the country's highest-paid state legislators, pulling down nearly $100,000, with $30,000 in tax-free money for their "expenses" and a state-provided car for their use.

Yet look at the state's imploding economy and shrinking population, and it's clear they're guilty of negligence at best and malfeasance at worst. They've handed much of the control of the economy and education to the public employee unions that have systematically looted the public fisc. Businesses and high-income entrepreneurs are leaving the state in droves, fed up with the anti-business zealots who control Sacramento.

By most objective measures, the economy is among the worst in the nation. Unemployment of over 12% is well above the national average of 10% -- no surprise, considering the nonpartisan Tax Foundation recently ranked California 48th among the states on business-tax competitiveness.
Posted by: Fred 2009-12-26
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=286444