Fore!!!

[The Big Dog]

In the never ending quest by the state to get deeper into our pockets in order to pay for their own mistakes and mismanagement, the Guvernator is looking to tax you in places that they've never gone before.

Hey Arnold.... how about just cutting spending? Like any individual or business would have to do in lean times........

Calif. governor wants to tax golf, auto repairs

[/url]

Jan 26 02:33 PM US/Eastern
By STEVE LAWRENCE
Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Golf course owners and some of their customers are teed off at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. So are veterinarians, auto mechanics and amusement park operators.
Their anger is directed at the Republican governor's proposal to extend the state sales tax to cover more services, an idea that has surfaced in other states as they race to plug crippling budget deficits. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research clearinghouse, predicts such deficits nationwide could reach $350 billion by 2011.

In California, Schwarzenegger wants to help close a nearly $42 billion budget deficit by taxing rounds of golf, auto repairs, veterinary care, amusement park and sporting event admissions and appliance and furniture repairs.

<< snipped >>

In addition to the service tax, Schwarzenegger proposes hiking the sales tax by 1.5 percent through the end of 2011, boosting taxes on alcoholic drinks, increasing the vehicle registration fee by $12 and taxing companies that extract oil.

Local sales taxes in California range from 7.25 percent to 9.25 percent, varying from county to county and even from city to city. A 1.5 percentage point increase would boost the rate to nearly 10 percent in many areas of the state.

Republican lawmakers have refused for months to consider raising taxes but recently indicated a willingness to consider hikes if they're tied to tough spending controls.

Schwarzenegger and lawmakers have little time left to strike a deal. The state controller has said he will have to delay tax refunds and some other payments for 30 days starting Feb. 1 because of a cash shortage. The governor also has ordered tens of thousands of state employees to take two days off a month without pay, starting Feb. 6. [/quote]

[JustMyOpinion]

TBD, cut more spending where? I'd rather pay taxes for golf etc. than to see more cuts in places like education, mental health services etc. The cuts in education spending are obscene as it is, like we can afford to minimize the quality of education our children receive currently.

[The Big Dog]

Education and mental health are not where I'd look first. Start with the various boards and commissions which have been created over the years, all with staff and all with board members / commissioners (largely retired pols like Carole "I'm not drunk, I'm stoned" Migden) dragging down six figure salaries plus benefits for what is essentially a show up job.

And in so far as "cuts in education" those are actually reductions in growth of spending, not taking away what is already there. Remember that K-12 education gets 50% of the state's general fund budget regardless. So the reality, as far as obscenity is concerned, is that the taxpayers of this state fork out $60B or so annually and have such terrible results.

It ain't for lack of money.

[JustMyOpinion]

I agree that there are places to cut back within the state, but it seems that education etc. get it fairly consistently. Look at how many schools don’t have PE, music/band, drama, art, so on and so on. I think field trips are a wonderful source of education and how many of those happen in public schools? I think kids need diversity while in school it keeps them interested not to undermine the academics, and PE is hugely beneficial to let out pent up energy during the day. Think of our school days we had it made by comparison. I know that in some school districts you can pour money into them and it doesn’t make a difference due to poor parenting, social class etc., but I think we could definitely serve our children MUCH better than we are now. Education should be top priority in this country since the young are our future scary thought that it is. And, I’m sure you know by now how I feel about kids that need extra support due to learning disabilities, appropriate testing and the LACK of accommodations. It is a CRIME in my opinion that money is withheld from kids that need it the most. Oh well, maybe we should keep building prisons and waste even more money.

[The Big Dog]

They don't have all those things not for want of money. Again.... 50% of the general fund budget, $140+ billion this year, goes direct to K-12 education without passing go or collecting an additional $200.

The schools are not short of money... it is how the schools spend the billions they receive that is the problem, and has been for many years.

[moondog]

Jan 26, 2009 17:01:41 GMT -5 JustMyOpinion said:

TBD, cut more spending where? I'd rather pay taxes for golf etc. than to see more cuts in places like education, mental health services etc. The cuts in education spending are obscene as it is, like we can afford to minimize the quality of education our children receive currently.

Our problems do not stem from State expenditures as much as they do from Federally mandated expenditures. Like paying for the health care of illegal aliens, as mandated by the Federal Courts. Giving better health care to criminals in prison then citizens can get, as mandated by the Federal Courts. Paying for the education of illegal aliens, as mandated by the Federal Courts. Paying for excessive Federal Expenditures with no return to the State in Federal Dollars, thanks to Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Lynn Woolsey, Nancy Pelosi and Mike Thompson all of whom have allowed Federal money spent in this state to dwindle from $1.08 under Reagan to 78 cents today.

[moondog]

Jan 26, 2009 18:58:16 GMT -5 The Big Dog said:

Education and mental health are not where I'd look first. Start with the various boards and commissions which have been created over the years, all with staff and all with board members / commissioners (largely retired pols like Carole "I'm not drunk, I'm stoned" Migden) dragging down six figure salaries plus benefits for what is essentially a show up job.

And in so far as "cuts in education" those are actually reductions in growth of spending, not taking away what is already there. Remember that K-12 education gets 50% of the state's general fund budget regardless. So the reality, as far as obscenity is concerned, is that the taxpayers of this state fork out $60B or so annually and have such terrible results.

It ain't for lack of money.

First and foremost, it ain't smart to build SMART. A tax hog that will bankrupt this county even further in dumb SMART subsidies in the future.

[The New Guy]

and you guys still wonder why i (and many others) will be leaving CA. ha!

[moondog]

I might not be far behind you. And I was born and raised in the Golden State. To bad you can not see the gold, which has lost it's luster thanks to the endless progressive ideas that suck up the prosperity of the people. No one can blame Bush for what is happening here. You can't even blame Republicans. This State is Democrat to the core, which gives us a perfect example of what happens to a country that is run in the same liberal mode as this State has been. And now, with the Democrat majorities that Mink and suanterelle have desired so gleefully, you may well see exactly what the future of this country is by looking at this State. We bleed enough money in Federal Taxes to put an end to our budget crisis, time to wake up.

[JustMyOpinion]

TBD: They don't have all those things not for want of money. Again.... 50% of the general fund budget, $140+ billion this year, goes direct to K-12 education without passing go or collecting an additional $200.

The schools are not short of money... it is how the schools spend the billions they receive that is the problem, and has been for many years.

And this is fixed how?

And, for another simplistic response, if the state "budget" is cut so is the education funding.

The Governor’s Budget for 2008–09 Proposes Historic Cuts for Education
February 5, 2008

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget for 2008–09 has sent shock waves through the education community. He has recommended a $4.8 billion cut for K-14 education, on top of a $400 million reduction for education in the current year. The net effect is about $750 less per student than K-12 education would normally receive or about $18,750 per classroom.

On Jan. 10, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a proposed budget for 2008–09 that includes cuts for most state programs, but hits education particularly hard. His proposal calls for the suspension of Proposition 98—the state’s minimum funding guarantee for public schools and community colleges—in order to help address a $14.5 billion state budget shortfall. The proposed cuts are the largest ever contemplated for public schools in California. Along with the budget release, the governor declared a fiscal emergency that will affect funding in the current year. Consistent with new regulations approved by voters in Proposition 58, the Legislature is required to act quickly to address the current budget problem.

This brief describes the governor’s proposal and outlines the immediate impacts it is expected to have on California school districts as they complete this school year and plan for the next.

Source:

californiaschoolfinance.org/tabid/182/Default.aspx

Another tidbit:

PD Story/Comments
www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090127/NEWS/901270357/0/NEWS01

The comment section, so...PD!

[moondog]

JMO, how do you budget for a 69 billion dollar loss every year? That is how much money gets yanked out of this State by an out of control Federal Government. And your advocates in Congress have done nothing to stop it. In fact, they have voted for it time and again with badly written bills. Isn't 16 years enough? That is how long Democrats have been keeping an eye out for us in Federal Government as a majority for this State, but things keep getting worse and the ignorant blame the President, whoever it may be at the time.

[subdjoe]

JMO wrote: "Quote:TBD: They don't have all those things not for want of money. Again.... 50% of the general fund budget, $140+ billion this year, goes direct to K-12 education without passing go or collecting an additional $200.

The schools are not short of money... it is how the schools spend the billions they receive that is the problem, and has been for many years.



And this is fixed how?

And, for another simplistic response, if the state "budget" is cut so is the education funding."

How is it fixed? Start with ACCOUNTABILITY in the school industry. People say, and rightly, that there needs to be fiscal accountability in the Pentagon. Well, that should go for the schools too. There is far too much spend on administration rather than on the necessities. Too much spent on the gee-whiz stuff to turn learning into a media and special effects extraviganza. Yes, the bells and whistles may make learning more "fun and exciting", but in the end, the kids remember the bells and whistles, not their mulitplication tables, the fundamentals of aritmatic, or how to read and understand what was read.

And a huge amount is wasted (yes WASTED) on teaching in languages other than English. Give them half a year or a year of intense English language education (like many of our parents or grandparents went through AFTER putting in a full shift in the factory or mine) and let them know it is swim or sink.