Not that many people outside of California care, but according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state faces a nearly $25 billion budget deficit. As the rich man that he is, the former movie star favors everybody else helping out by making his state's sales tax the No. 1 biggest, averaging 9.5%.
According to the nonpartisan legislative analyst, Mac Taylor, the state's deficit will actually be closer to $28 billion in the next 20 months. That's a lot of money, even at California prices; more money even than Barack Obama raised to get elected president.
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat, has drawn up a partial solution anyway: Federal money. Use some of those Wall Street taxpayer $700 billion bailout bucks on California! Bass has urged the federal government to hand over the money to states -- well, her state anyway -- as well as those rich Wall Street banks in another coastal state. Why should New York get it all?
With federal money it won't really cost anything, see? And she won't have to explain voting for more taxes back home come next election. It's the least Americans can do for the sunshiney state they love to hate.
"We think that with the state of California about to go over a cliff," Bass says, "we ought to be part of the bailout as well. Can we have $5 billion or $10 billion?"
Handing out that much federal money to the most populous state that can't balance its own budget is probably O.K. with the rest of the country, don't you think? How could anyone possibly object in any of those other puny places?
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/13/2008 12:55 ||
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#1
Maybe. You go into receivership which in this case is territorial status. A territorial governor will be appointed who will oversee the Chapter 11 operation of the state till a new state convention will be called to write up a state constitution which will address and restructure the operation of the state within a budget that it can sustain by revenue generation and not bond creation. Said constitution must be approved by Congress. Meantime, you don't have any representatives or senators with voting rights in Congress [sort of like the District of Columbia or stockholders in AIG].
#2
Schwarzenegger has been spending a lot of time and effort on Climate Change (formerly Global Warming). He and his wife are probably angling for an Obama appointment to Energy Czar, Climate Change Czar or EPA so he doesn't have to deal with this mess.
#3
while i would like to think that the other 49 might have some objection to that, due to the state of many states' budgets, they all might want to get in line, so all the good little donks will strap on the feed bag and head for the pork.
Posted by: ed ||
11/13/2008 15:00 Comments ||
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#5
Since they like the whole idea of share the wealth and all, how bout a 85% income tax on all hollywood and music industry types making +$1 million per year (besides all those CDs and movies with promos is bad bad right)? Otherwise STFU and end the socialist programs and balance your account just like Average Joe must.
If there are 77.5 million (only stat I could find 2005 census.gov; any other figures out there?) households who file federal, then that means average household would pay litl over $320 to help California (of course, this depends filing household income). Gee, I think I would rather spend that on family groceries than an obviously floundering socialist state.
A married person no kids making $50-$60k per year already puts $7k in the Fed per year.
#9
That number above is not me, just an example. And yes, single no dependants is brutal and my guess will take the brunt of any future tax increases. Then there is state withhold, ss, med, and various local additions etc.
Still on for $2trillion total bailouts by eoy, $25billion divides into that number quite a few times (80). $100mil waste here there don't seem much until it all adds up and Tax Freedom Day is after 4 months of work. I don't mind paying taxes - roads, military, police so on are good; this however is bullcrap.
#10
I live in California and would be outraged if the US gov't acceeded to this request. This pressure is the only thing capable of inserting a modicum of sanity into the equation. The legislature (in particular) has built this monster and REFUSED to act responsibly. They could not act in any other position of authority in anything beside government because thye private sector eould have discded them long ago.
Two years ago, this anti-war vote installed a Democratic majority in Congress, only to watch the Democrats hand over more money to George W Bush to continue his blood-fest. For his part, the "anti-war" Obama voted to give Bush what he wanted. Yes, Obama's election is historic, a symbol of great change to many. But it is equally true that the American elite has grown adept at using the black middle and management class. The courageous Martin Luther King recognised this when he linked the human rights of black Americans with the human rights of the Vietnamese, then being slaughtered by a "liberal" Democratic administration. And he was shot. In striking contrast, a young black major serving in Vietnam, Colin Powell, was used to "investigate" and whitewash the infamous My Lai massacre. As Bush's secretary of state, Powell was often described as a "liberal" and was considered ideal to lie to the United Nations about Iraq's non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Condaleezza Rice, lauded as a successful black woman, has worked assiduously to deny the Palestinians justice.
Obama's first two crucial appointments represent a denial of the wishes of his supporters on the principal issues on which they voted. The vice-president-elect, Joe Biden, is a proud warmaker and Zionist. Rahm Emanuel, who is to be the all-important White House chief of staff, is a fervent "neoliberal" devoted to the doctrine that led to the present economic collapse and impoverishment of millions. He is also an "Israel-first" Zionist who served in the Israeli army and opposes meaningful justice for the Palestinians - an injustice that is at the root of Muslim people's loathing of the US and the spawning of jihadism.
No serious scrutiny of this is permitted within the histrionics of Obama mania, just as no serious scrutiny of the betrayal of the majority of black South Africans was permitted within the "Mandela moment". This is especially marked in Britain, where America's divine right to "lead" is important to elite British interests. The Observer, which supported Bush's war in Iraq, echoing his fabricated evidence, now announces, without evidence, that "America has restored the world's faith in its ideals". These "ideals", which Obama will swear to uphold, have overseen, since 1945, the destruction of 50 governments, including democracies, and 30 popular liberation movements, causing the deaths of countless men, women and children.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/13/2008 10:51 ||
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#1
Well that's one good thing about Obama's victory. It will open up a divide between Yankee-hating marxists like Pilger and woolly liberals who think OB1 is some kind of messiah. Google Oliver Kamm's blog if you want to see some of Pilger's lies exposed.
#4
Wow, went to Mike's link, that guy was FAST! Not even the blink of an eye before relapsing in rabid anti-americanism, in fact, I doubt he was even swayed by 9/11, more likely, he opened a bottel of champagne and then starting blmaing the victims.
#7
rice not giving palestinians justice is what bothers me. justice for what, because other arabs don't want them in their countries either so they should be given land and then WE could keep on keeping them up. I'm sure Obama will be glad too give them their "welfare" along with the rest. Buy stock in Cadillac
Posted by: chris ||
11/13/2008 12:14 Comments ||
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#8
opposes meaningful justice for the Palestinians
Given that we are taling of people who have used their childrenas human bombs, perpetrated every kind of crime, have projects of genocide all while lliving sixty fricking years without working then meaningful justice could be a little different of what he is thinking.
#12
...because other Arabs don't want them (the Palestinians) in their countries either...
Actually not true. Both Jordan and Syria offered to give up part of their land to make a Palestinian state. The Arafat turned it down. He wanted to kill the Jews to make his state.
President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is flirting with creating a White House "Climate Czar," but climate change crusader Al Gore says he doesn't want the job.
The Obama team declined to comment on such a post, even as environmentalists and power industry executives say it's being widely discussed inside the transition offices as a way to spur a clean energy industry, which Mr. Obama has promised will ween the U.S. from foreign oil and create millions of "green jobs."
Obama transition chief John Podesta promoted a similar idea earlier in his role as president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal Washington think tank.
Mr. Podesta authored a white paper calling for an Energy Security Council within the White House to oversee climate change and clean energy initiatives. The czar and the council would coordinate agencies, including the Energy and Interior departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The obvious choice to lead the council is Mr. Gore, whose campaign to address climate change earned him the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. But the former vice president is taking a pass. "Former Vice President Gore does not intend to seek or accept any formal position in government," Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said. "He feels very strong right now that the best thing for him to do is to build support for the bold changes that we have to make to solve the climate crisis."
Mr. Obama foreshadowed the new post on the campaign trail in April when he told a voter that Mr. Gore would be offered a special Cabinet post overseeing climate change. "Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out how we solve this problem," Mr. Obama said.
With Mr. Gore out of the running for an administration job, leading candidates for the post likely include former EPA chief Carol M. Browner, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Other names mentioned for czar or membership in the energy council include World Resources Institute President Jonathan Lash, former Pennsylvania Environment Secretary Kathleen McGinty and California Air Resources Board chief Mary D. Nichols.
The Obama transition team declined to comment on administration jobs or who would fill them, stressing instead the next president's commitment to fulfilling campaign promises for clean energy. "Obama has outlined an aggressive energy and climate agenda and will put the resources in place in his administration to achieve those goals," Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Environmental advocacy groups are clamoring for the new White House post to raise the profile of energy and environmental policy. "There's clearly a pent-up demand for things that got blocked during the Bush years," Sierra Club spokesman Josh Dorner said.
Mr. Obama, taking a page from Mr. Gore's script, has argued that an energy policy strikes the confluence of economic, national security and environmental challenges facing the country. "Finding the new driver of our economy is going to be critical. ThereŽs no better driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy," Mr. Obama told Time magazine shortly before the election. "ThatŽs going to be my No. 1 priority when I get into office."
#2
Should our (expletive deleted)guv Sebelius be assimilated you can pretty well kiss the country so long. Afterall, she personally shot down a $3 BILLION coal fired powerplant project and then turned around and asked for a 3% decrease in the state budget due to lower tax revenues. She does however possess the ability to talk out of both sides of her mouth at the same time......
#3
I believe Gore could have been President if he'd wanted. He won the Peace Prize and was considered a Profit by many. If he'd rolled into the Primaries he could have won before anyone knew who Obama was.
He claims he didn't want it because he can do more good for the environment as a free agent.
If he didn't want the Presidency why would he consider a cabinet post. His name was floated simply to kill speculation and put Obama on the side of the prophet and the shamans.
#4
The position of Climate Czar might seem a bully pulpit for al Gore's unique brand of buffoonery, but would *you* want to be in charge of global warming when the coming unstoppable ice age hits?
And when did we get started on this 'czar' business? This is America, dammit!
Network runs correction on air after reporting an adviser to John McCain had identified himself as the source of an embarrassing story about Sarah Palin, information stemming from a hoax. ...
Posted by: ed ||
11/13/2008 09:53 ||
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Now, if this had been the mainstream press, they wouldn't have made such an obvious error because their layers of fact-checkers and editors, and their journalistic professionalism, would not have allowed it to...oh!..What's that?...MSNBC is part of the mainstream press?
Oh. never mind.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/13/2008 10:20 Comments ||
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#2
there should be unpaid leaves for all the reporters and editors that let this sh*t go out on the air without the barest fact-checking
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/13/2008 10:43 Comments ||
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#3
I'm surprized that they even bothered to retract. After all, no harm, no foul. She's a Republican, you know.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
11/13/2008 11:28 Comments ||
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#4
Gaines told the Times that someone in the network's newsroom restroom had presumed the information solid because it was passed along in an e-mail from a colleague.
Fixed for accurate reporting.
"Kudos to the inventor of this whole thing," Stein wrote. "My only consolation is that if I had as much time on my hands as he clearly does, I probably would have figured this out and saved myself a fair amount of embarrassment."
Or actually cared enough do some factual reporting, eh? Or perhaps if your boss had TOLD you to check your fact before going live?
Mark Begich made a dramatic comeback Wednesday to overtake Ted Stevens for the lead in Alaska's U.S. Senate race. Begich, who was losing after election night, now leads Stevens by 814 votes -- 132,196 to 131,382 -- with the state still to count roughly 35,000 more ballots over the next week.
The state Division of Elections tallied some 60,000 absentee, early and questioned ballots on Wednesday. The ballots broke heavily in the Democrat's favor, erasing the 3,000-vote lead Stevens held after election night Nov. 4. The state still needs to count at least 15,000 questioned ballots and an estimated 20,000 absentee ballots that made it to the Division of Elections after election day last Tuesday.
Most regional elections headquarters will count their remaining ballots on Friday. But the most populous region, based in Anchorage, won't count its ballots until either Monday or Wednesday, state elections chief Gail Fenumiai said.
Begich pushed hard in the campaign for people to vote early, a factor both Democrats and Republicans said contributed to his surge. More than 9,000 of those early ballots weren't counted until Wednesday in order to give the state time to double check and make sure people didn't vote early and then come back and vote election day as well.
Neither candidate was around Wednesday night as the drama unfolded. Begich was on vacation with his family "at an undisclosed location" and not available Wednesday night to comment, his campaign staff said. Begich, who is the mayor of Anchorage, also did not return a message left on his cell phone. Stevens is back in Washington, D.C., where it was well past midnight when the returns came in. His campaign spokesman said there would be no comment on the turnaround.
Republican Party of Alaska Chairman Randy Ruedrich wasn't giving up hope for Stevens, saying Begich's advantage could lessen as the state finishes counting the early votes. "We expect that the subsequent absentees will be more truly by mail absentees, which should be much more favorable to Republicans," he said.
But state Democratic Party spokeswoman Bethany Lesser said Begich workers are "cautiously optimistic" the lead would hold. She noted that the election district based in Nome, which covers northern and western Alaska, has not counted any of its absentee ballots yet. Begich beat Stevens in that area on election day, just as he did throughout Bush Alaska, a traditional Stevens stronghold that relies on federal appropriations.
Stevens' loss would end an era in Alaska history that started not long after statehood, when Gov. Wally Hickel appointed him to the Senate in 1968. The Republican has never even had a close election since, often drawing just token opposition. He's had a hand in many of the laws shaping the state and was honored as "Alaskan of the Century." The state Legislature named the Anchorage airport after him, a rare honor to bestow on a politician who is still alive.
But that was before the FBI and IRS raided his Girdwood home and a Washington, D.C., jury found him guilty of lying on financial disclosure forms about $250,000 in gifts and home Is it jus coincidence that the vast majority of late-counted votes are for the Democrat candidate? Look at Minnesota where the same thing is happening.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/13/2008 08:33 ||
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If a citizen emails his legislator about an issue of concern, does that make him a lobbyist? If you blog about the legislative session, will you have to report this as a lobbying activity? Tomorrow the Public Disclosure Commission is discussing potential guidelines for Internet lobbying.
#1
ION RIAN > BARACK OBAMA FOR A COSMOPOLITAN AMERICA. PEW Research Center Report [Feb 2008] > by 2050, America's population will rise to 438Milyuhn, wid 82% of increase coming from foreign immigres from 2005 [base year] and their later US-born natural descandants.
ALso from RIAN > GORBACHEV CALLS FOR OBAMA TO CARRY OUT "PERESTROIKA" [restructuring]INSIDE AMERICA. The era of Reaganism and Thatcherism is over, the USSR is gone, EUrope has changed, and CHINA, BRAZIL, + MEXICO are assertive and desiring to becom new major/decisive players in the global arena.
FORMER RUSS OILGARCH MIKHAIL KHORDORKOSKY > THE PARADIGM OF WORLD/GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE.......WORLD WILL TAKE A LEFT TURN .....GLOBALIZATION WILL CHANGE, SLOW TO A CRAWL BUT IT WILL NOT STOP. The World's richest people may no longer be able to increase thier wealth as much as desired due to worldwide
"mainstream" consumer-citizen demands for intensive improvements as per their own personal and community wealth, and a higher or better quality-of-life, etc.
#2
A narrow slice of rich Californians now pay virtually all the state's taxes, so when a downturn occurs, the budget collapses.
This is an outright lie. I'm not rich but I do pay a hefty state income tax. It hurts too.
As for Arnold, to be fair, he's up against a liberal Democrat legislature, the California Teachers Association and various state employee unions. Every year they wrangle over the budget until months after the start of the fiscal year. We thought Arnold could do better than Davis but now we see that he can't. Maybe nobody can. My solution would be to dissolve the legislature because they have all lost touch with reality.
#3
California has pension problems. The Prison Guards, the Teachers Union, the Firemen and cops as well as a dozen others not only get decent salaries but they have excellent pension benefits and once something like that is given it is very difficult to retract.
#4
You are right about that, my father makes more on his police dept. pension than he did when he was working. He's not going to be surprised if they have to trim that back a little in the future.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A federal appeals court upheld bribery and other charges against Louisiana Democratic U.S. Rep. William Jefferson on Wednesday, clearing the way for a trial.
Jefferson, who cruised to victory in a primary last week and is expected to easily win re-election, had sought to dismiss a 16-count indictment charging him with taking bribes, laundering money and misusing his congressional office for business dealings in Africa.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Jefferson's claims that a federal grand jury received evidence that violated his constitutional right to legislative immunity. Jefferson's attorneys argued that three staffers should not have been allowed to tell the grand jury about Jefferson's relationships with African leaders and his knowledge about West African nations because those activities were part of his legislative duties.
Jefferson could further delay a trial by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. A telephone message was left Wednesday with his attorney, Robert P. Trout.
Prosecutors contend Jefferson used his influence as chairman of the congressional Africa Investment and Trade Caucus to broker deals in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and other African nations on behalf of those who bribed him. The 2007 indictment alleges that Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and demanded millions more between 2000 and 2005, including $90,000 he received from an FBI informant that was later found in the freezer of his Washington home. He has pleaded not guilty.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III had refused to dismiss the indictment, saying Jefferson was trying to apply the legislative immunity clause so broadly that it would be virtually impossible to charge a congressman with a crime. Ellis "accorded Congressman Jefferson every substantive and procedural protection to which he was entitled," the appeals court judges wrote.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
No more immunity. Live by the same damned laws you pass on us.
#2
The 2007 indictment alleges that Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and demanded millions more between 2000 and 2005, including $90,000 he received from an FBI informant
Appears the bureau was on to him already. A speedy trial and summary execution should have followed.
WASHINGTON -- People want the tax cuts promised during the presidential campaign, but may be willing to wait while President-elect Obama takes on the larger issue of fixing the economy. Eighty percent say trimming personal tax rates should be a goal when the new president takes office in January, but only 36 percent say the cuts should a very top priority, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. That was less than half the 84 percent who cited improving the economy as a No. 1 goal, and the 80 percent who said creating jobs should be a paramount task.
Obama promised to cut taxes for working families during the campaign.
Even fewer people -- 29 percent -- said another top priority should be Obama's plan to allow tax cuts to expire for families earning more than $250,000 a year. He has said he would use the revenue that would raise to help finance some of his priorities.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Nearly three-quarters -- including most Democrats -- said they'd like Obama to name some Republicans in his Cabinet, as the Democrat has said he would do.
For some reason -- can't put my finger on it -- Republicans like John Bolton, Donald Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney wouldn't be their first picks for cabinet positions.
#8
or more likely, the AP, in the spirit of modern journalism, just made the whole thing up to represent what they thought people should be thinking. Anyone who believes anything they read in the press anymore is a fool.
#10
I'm not an old guy, but I'm old enough to know that the middle class will never get out from under the tax load that we carry. The rich class is just too slippery and they have too many resources to keep from paying many taxes no matter what the law says. You can't tax the rich, they'll weasel out of it, you cant tax the poor, they got no money, so that leaves the good ol' middle class.
#11
-No new government programs such as that stupidly expensive indentured servitude plan.
-No more bailouts. Period.
-Audit of the current bailout money.
-Drill, gotta set up a program to train wildcatters ok they will be working.
-Trim the pork.
Do that to pay off this crazy large debt and I'll high-five personally.
The day after meeting face to face with President Bush at the White House in a momentous affair, President-elect Barack Obama continues to work on his transition to take over the Oval Office on Jan. 20.
One person leading the transition is Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's closest confidants and a longtime friend. As an insider to Obama's strategy and his meetings, Jarrett called Obama's Monday meeting with Bush "very cordial" and said it was a good sign that he invited Obama so soon after the election. "It was a very productive meeting and it was a good first step," Jarrett told NPR's Melissa Block.
"It was an opportunity for Obama to put clearly on the table the issues that he had emphasized in the course of the campaign," she said. "Putting people back to work, making sure that we stabilize our economy in the midst of this economic crisis, ensuring that people are not losing their homes as a result of foreclosure, having an infrastructure bill that will also put people to work. And then do the work that we need so desperately: our roads, our bridges, our schools."
Jarrett said Obama will create an Office of Urban Policy that will be charged with focusing on cities and "have a comprehensive approach to urban development."
It is unclear who will lead the office, which will be tasked with advocating for cities and targeting programs in a "logical and systematic way," but it is a key position, according to Jarrett. "For those of us who have worked in city governments across the country, we recognize how invaluable that person will be," she says.
When asked whether Obama would seek to reverse executive orders President Bush signed, including those concerning stem-cell research and oil and gas drilling, Jarrett said that the president-elect would have the attorney general comb through those after taking office and "determine which ones need to be revoked immediately."
#1
Jarrett said that the president-elect would have the attorney general comb through those after taking office and "determine which ones need to be revoked immediately."
Something tells me Obama ain't going to wait for a new AG to rescind some executive orders.
#2
Jarrett said Obama will create an Office of Urban Policy that will be charged with focusing on cities and "have a comprehensive approach to urban development paying off his supporters."
#4
Jarrett said Obama will create an Office of Urban Policy that will be charged with focusing on cities and "have a comprehensive approach to urban development institutionalize and make permanent government funded regional offices, networks, communal support, free clinics, and cultural re-education centers for the disenfranchised which reflect the administration and ACORN Chicago machine model." The goal of course is to ensure that no potential 2012 voter will be left behind.
#7
Keep planning kid, your fellow Donks in Congress are already or already have spent all the money on the ever growing bailouts. You and yours missed the lesson from Hugo, pacing. A scorpion will remain a scorpion. Spend, spend, spend.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Not that many people outside of California care, but according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state faces a nearly $25 billion budget deficit. As the rich man that he is, the former movie star favors everybody else helping out by making his state's sales tax the No. 1 biggest, averaging 9.5%.
John Pilger, New Statesman
President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is flirting with creating a White House "Climate Czar," but climate change crusader Al Gore says he doesn't want the job. 
(below the pictures)
