California Budget Update

The California budget package has passed through the State Senate and is currently heading has passed through the State Assembly, with passage expected later today. But as Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters points out, this is only a short term solution as California is now on a 5 or 6 month budget cycle. Some parts of the deal that took money from local governments was taken out of the final package so that could prevent threatened lawsuits.

I tend to agree with Walters, we had a big budget battle earlier this year and now we are in another one, I wouldn’t be surprised if we are back in this mess by fall. Walters has previously pointed out that the budget fix this time is largely another baling wire and tape kind of solution and does not address the long term issues.

Among the problems California faces

• While we have only 12% of the US population we make up over 1/3rd of the US welfare rolls. This is a result of a variety of problems, including our large farm labor population, but it also is the result of having very high payments and very liberal qualification standards.
• We have roughly the same prison population as the state of Texas but we spend more than three times as much money on prisons. This is partly the result of court intervention which has forced lots of spending on inmates but also reflects the fact that the prison guards union has bought the legislature.
• We also have a state employees union that has obtained very high pay and very high retirement packages for employees. Obviously, as with the prison unions, it’s the job of a union to get as much as they can for their people, but the problem again is that they are sitting on both sides of the table
• California has a reputation of being hostile to business and this has helped to drive out many income producers, which lowers the tax base.

Obviously these problems are just the tip of the iceberg, but it is clear that we need a long term solution but is unlikely to come from the current crop under the dome.

One Response to “California Budget Update”

1. Brittanicus says:

   July 24, 2009 at 3:06 pm

   Now that our legislators are supposedly on the same track with E-Verify, it needs to be rigorously enforced? California–a Sanctuary State–will need exclusive attention along with other border states, because they have been occupied by millions of illegal immigrants, causing major damage to their economies. Once E-Verify is fully implemented on a permanent basis for all the working population, including all persons on a payroll? My suggestion is an army of federal inspectors of perhaps retired civil servants, senior citizens in their resident community, to make unexpected inspections on large and small businesses.

   The inspectors will probably have to be armed with a general search warrant, but honorable business will hardly impose this restriction if they have nothing to hide? This will be a strict deterrent to parasite businesses, who will never be aware–WHEN THAT FEDERAL OFFICER–is going to turn up, to observe their workers? They will audit their books and check for irregularities in the workplace. This is happening in Italy and other countries, because of the importation of illegal foreign labor, has caused major concerns amongst the countries bona-fide workers. If Washington is really sincere about the10.5 jobless Americans, then we need to impose heavy penalties on those business that scorn the law. Another possibility is a reward system for informants, who have positive knowledge of companies that are scoffing at E-Verify, and committing the offense of hiring illegal aliens.

   Get on the phone and tell your Representative, you support–THE SAVE ACT– 202-224-3121 Support for the bi-partisan SAVE Act, which will expand E-Verify and protect American jobs! We must focus on the key to this major problem-the jobs that attract illegal aliens. It would phase in a requirement for every employer to use the electronic verification system. We must also be aware that the Democrats are ready to open the gates to our nation, once a path to citizenship is announced. Search out the facts at NUMBERSUSA, AMERICANPATROL

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