For you California residents, here's an informative link to a source that will tell you how much the recent state budget resolution will be taking away from your locality. This Sacramento Bee database gives you the skinny. Find the name of your county in the drop down menu. It will show you how much the state is "borrowing" from the county, from all the cities in the county and from all other entities, primarily redevelopment agencies.
In my own case, for example, the county of Tulare will fork over $7.2 million to the state, the city of Visalia will yield up $1.9 million and the Visalia Redevelopment Agency will get raided for another $2.2 million. That works out to about $49 per Visalia resident the state of California is borrowing from local government. These reductions will mean big cuts to things like health, fire and law enforcement. That means, a lot of county and city employees will get laid off, adding to recessionary pressures and conditions in my own area and throughout the state. This is in addition to the state budget cuts in education, parks and throughout the system.
This is what happens when we are governed by the rule of the minority, as the California Constitution permits if legislative Republicans stick together as they did in this process. One friend of mine perceptively remarked that the Visigoths were the ones who pulled down Rome's libraries, schools and aqueducts and ushered in the Dark Ages. In the Golden State, however, we moderns are doing it to ourselves.
2 comments:
Having just completed a 4,000 mile trip to Idaho and back, I'm here to tell you that California is spiraling down and I'm not sure I can see a way out.
Most notably on our drive was the poor conditions of our roads. Stretches so rough that driving over 55mph would be a hazard.
Compared to the baby butt smoothness of Oregon which has no sales tax at all was quite a contrast. I also saw very little road construction with the exception of increasing car pool lanes on the 880 in the Bay Area.
There was road construction everywhere we ended up going outside of California. How are these other states doing it?
Good comments, Webfoot. On our recent rip to Austria we went to San Francisco on the 198 to the 5. There is a lot of work on the 198, and signs giving credit to the recent federal stimulus.
Good question. Does Orgeon do it all on an income tax? California's income tax collections are way down as a result of the recession.
I understand 46 states faced unbalanced budgets this recession.
Post a Comment