Goodbye California

As California drives full speed ahead over the financial abyss, there seems to be no one holding the steering wheel, just a foot on the gas peddle. Four months into their fun and games, called the new budget, they are already facing a 6.9 Billion dollar deficit. And that is just going to get uglier.

The Unions are hard at work, trying to keep the legislature from cutting any funds from their interests. Feels like we are living in a giant version of GM. The Unions run the place into the ground, and in the end, they own everything, and the state becomes a ward of the Federal Government.

Last week it leaked out that the State Financial Officer had been looking into the Constitutionality of the state filing bankruptcy, or my favorite, dissolving the state and state government entirely, and becoming a federal territory. I guess they could make Guam or Puerto Rico a state, to save money on changing the stars on the flags.

While that probably won;t happen, just that fact that they were looking into it speaks volumes as to how messed up the states finances are.

Their answer will of course be, more taxes. They already snuck in a 10% income tax hike. They say it is temporary. No one believes them. They say it is just a loan. No one with a brain believes that. They say the tax payer will get it back April 15th when they file their tax returns. My dog doesn't even believe that.

This from the state that handed out IOU's to the tax payers this year, and didn't actually give out the refunds until after the Federal Stimulus money funneled in. And where else did that money go?

Mostly Union pension funds.

As goes California, so goes the country. We have all heard that. And unfortunately it is true. California can be used as the indicator on where every other state will soon find itself. 9 of them on right on her heals. Not counting New York, where they expect to be bankrupt by the end of December.

Old California has led the country in social welfare programs,and entitlements. It has also lead the way in government regulations and taxes. They have regulated many business's right out of the state, and all the new tax ideas will send even more out. That will ccreate even more unemployment, and even less tax revenue for the state. Which will send the budget into an even deeper hole.

It is hard to tell if they understand this in Sacramento, or if they just expect the Fed's to bail them out again with another Stimulus, The only thing for certain is they have no intention of cutting any spending. In fact, they have actually voted to increase spending since they “fixed” the budget 4 months ago.

Keep doing the same thing, and expect different results. That is the definition of insanity.

Until next time, fellow Komrads.