Calif. Speaker's solution for state deficit: U.S. taxpayers chip in billions

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?

--Andrew Malcolm

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Comments

[Carracticus]

NOW WE ARE FINALLY PAYING THE PIPER. Thats where my tax dollars are going, by forced federal mandate...?

37 MILLION illegal aliens--that we support for parasite employers, according to the Tucson sector Border Patrol union local 2544, not the propaganda brought forth by the Liberal national press and special interest lobby of only 13 million.

An additional half-million coming every year. California is $11 billion dollars in the red, so now they are looking for ways to cut programs.

Don't re-elect Mayor's like Antonio Villaraigosa or any other politician that is selling your future for campaign contributions Villaraigosa embraced LOS ANGELES as a SANCTUARY CITY, in a SANCTUARY STATE. Just because the West Coast border states are far away, don't think for one-minute this doesn't have a financial impact on YOU..?

A massive financial impact on our economy by importing the worlds poor. THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT 'THE RULE OF LAW' BUT OVERPOPULATION?
THIS IS ABOUT AMERICANS FORCED TO PAY FOR ILLEGAL SLAVE LABOR?

Go to www.numbersusa.com for immigration facts not lies.

TIME TO FIGHT BACK OR BE SUBMERGED IN ILLEGAL FOREIGN NATIONALS, LEECHING FROM OUR WELFARE SYSTEM! REMEMBER PROP 187? YOU HAVE BEEN PAYING EVER SINCE. EDUCATION, HEALTH-CARE, HOUSING! JUST THE TIP OF THE ECONOMIC ICEBERG. REMEMBER? LOW INCOME PEOPLE GET ALL THEIR TAXES BACK! REMEMBER ALL THE RISING CRIME RATES IN SANCTUARY CITIES AND STATES!

Learn about many positive legal cases won at www.judicialwatch.org We are beginning to stop the open border zealots and immigration special interest lobby.

The issues that concern me is the corruption that we face every day from Washington. That's why I took full membership in JUDICIAL WATCH. They are a legal team an organization made up of lawyers, investigators, and concerned citizens." It was established in 1994 "to serve as an ethical and legal watchdog over our government, legal, and judicial systems. This legal group is very pro-sovereignty, anti-illegal immigration and works to protect American workers and the legal population.

Take a trip to their website and read the positive lawsuits they have pending and won against corrupt politicians and the criminal element that surrounds us. JUDICIAL WATCH has brought ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION to the forefront, because they realize the substantial losses to the American people in trillions of dollars every year to accommodate the worlds poor.

That 'Sanctuary cities and state policies are killing millions of Americans every year, because they promote shielding illegal aliens. JUDICIAL WATCH knows the true number of illegal immigrants settled here, not the propaganda offered by the Liberal press.

Find the time to read the facts at www.judicialwatch.org, Factual information can be found at www.numbersusa.com YOU MUST DECIDE OUR COUNTRIES FUTURE?

[Dan]

Welcome to Democratic America.

Dems F up Cali; Cali-ex pats escape the taxation and move to red states like Colorado and impliment the same Dem policies and destroy that state.

Then they move on.

There'sno where left to run.

[Magic]

Not only no but "HELL NO"

We are talking about a bluer than blue state so the Dali Bama will fork over.

[Thomas Cutler]

Ms. Bass, are you serious? There is no way that taxpayers in other states will go for that proposal. How about reducing spending and living within your means as a start to the deficit problem?

[MarkJ]

As far as I'm concerned, California won't slide into the ocean fast enough. Let's hope Tahoe becomes a seaside community in the very near future.

[Just Me]

Terrific idea. The bailout will solve CA's problems. This year.

What about next year? The year after? How long will CA spend beyond it's means? How long will we residents of other states be required to pay for our states and CA. And NY. And Michigan, And .....

[cubanbob]

As a Floridian and US taxpayer, not a chance in hell.
We manage just fine here without a state income tax and a mandatory balanced budget. And we have a cap on property taxes as well.
Here is a better idea: cut spending on the "entitlements", cut back COLA and other automatic pay increases and balance your budgets.

[nick danger]

pathetic. welcome to obamaworld! and thanks to the outgoing president for doing all the heavy lifting socialism-wise.

just in case any republicans are wondering how mccain lost, it's pretty difficult to scare people with a candidate "wanting to spread the wealth around" when a republican president just participated in the biggest government takeover of the private sector EVER!

yep, people just notice that kind of stuff.

[stwf]

You're slightly wrong when you say no one cares.

The reality is that most people are delighted that California is in trouble and are greatly looking forward to it going bankrupt.
So no, don't expect any sympathy or help its not that we don't care, its that we want you to fail!

Thanks for all the subprime, negative amortization mortgages ruining my 401k. At this point I don't care how bad things get for me as long as they are worse for you!

[david]

How about making McClintock governor.

He's the only one who's ever been able to circulate a rational budget.

It's well past time for serious cuts in gov't spending to take place. Not a piddly 4% or whatever across the board cut, let's talk about 15%, the elimination of entire redundant departments, ratcheting back retiree benefits, the whole 9 yards. UC profs whining about contributing 4% to their pensions? Who else gets a pension these days? Whack it. Ditto with retiree health benefits. What, Medicare isn't good enough? You all support nationalized health care, well there it is with Medicare. Enjoy.

You're retiring at 50? Tough, get another job or pay for it yourself.

[DontTreadOnMe]

Are you kidding me? Does the phrase "no taxation without representation" ring a bell to anyone? I live in Chicago. Why should my federal tax dollars go to California to bail them out? What benefit is there to me here? The people of California have elected these idiots into office, they should have to pay the piper. The loony liberals have screwed up that state just like they have screwed up Michigan. NOW the Gov. of Michigan is on B. Hussein Obama's economic transition team???? That's like making General Custer the Defense Secretary. Ugh, we have a long, hard road ahead of us... People should really start studying the writings of our Founding Fathers and get an idea what this country was built on.

[Pam]

I think California is in such a sad state because of the huge number of illegals that live there and demand "services" even though many of them do not contribute to the state and country via taxes. Bailing them out is akin to giving the Dutch boy at the dike a toothpick to stop the leak. We cannot "save" everyone who appears in our country. We need to take care of real Americans first. If you don't pay into the system, you shouldn't be allowed to withdraw funds from it.

[william]

Again...California is what you get when democrats controll everything.

[John]

Alessandro Machi,

CALPERS replaces social security and so the State doesn't pay any kind of social security tax. Likewise, state employees don't receive any social security when they retire. Just so you know.

[JimL]

Two thoughts:

1. Not only can't we balance a budget, we just voted to spend a ton of money on bling. Otherwise known as high speed rail. You all don't want to help us pay for that??

2. On the flip side, CA residents have been paying more in Fed taxes than they've been getting back probably for 50 years now. So you guys owe us.

[New Crusader]

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Tax and spend California Democrats calling for a bailout from the Federal Government.

How about quiting the tax and spend, spend, spend.

How did Arnold get in office? Who was the Democrat - Gray something. Arnold is not a Republican and has no leadership or control of the California Senate of Assembly. The left wing liberal elitists do and they are going to make sure that we are buried in legislation and in debt. They know what is best for Californians - Being Broke!

[john]

HOW ABOUT ALL THOSE POLITICIANS, THAT GOT US INTO THIS MESS, AND THAT WOULD BE ALL OF THEM, WORK FOR A DOLLAR A YEAR UNTILL THEY GET YHIS MESS FIXED.

[charles]

well, here we go again......i just contributed my input to the governor of Connecticut. She (RELL) wanted ideas to help balance the budget deficit. Well, my suggestion to her was the same as I am suggesting to the State of California. Live within your means. Layoff about half the overpaid, overbenefitted, state workers, and have the other half that do mostly nothing all day, actually go to work and earn their donated compensation. Run the damn State like a business. When business is bad, cut back. No profit, no business......simple to me.

[Vladimir]

Ms. Bass, I think it's a great idea. California recieves $0.81 in federal aid for each $1 paid in taxes. The California economy helps keep the rest of the country afloat. If the California economy does fail, there's going to be a lot less federal money available for other states.

[VGfromCA]

Californians are being robbed by the rest of the country for a long time. CA residents get back about 85% of what they pay out in federal taxes (obviously red states have no shame in taking money from CA or NY and BTW isn't that Socialism?). It is time the Feds pay back a little of what they took from us.

[Sincar]

Unfortunately, the workers you'd love to screw over might be a bit upset about this. As a state worker from another location, I know that I'm making half of what I could make in the private sector. Eventually, I will leave my job in order to afford a mortgage. The sad fact is that state's need people to arrest bad people, move documentation for birth certifications and process your tax refund. You may think they are shiftless people who stand around all day (or half a day, lol) but most of these jobs ensure that you can renew your car tags and other mundane stuff. My pension is about the only decent thing in my pay package.

[dick]

drill oil wels all along the coast.use this to pay dept.
Put a 25% tax on all money orders to Mexico.

[dick]

all elected officals pay, pensions,perks and pork to be paid OUT OF BUDGET SURPLUS...

[Stikman]

The Terminator lives up to his name. CA tries to survive with caps on property taxes when they have the highest priced propery of any state. Also now the properties must be appraised at lower value so tax revenue falls even more. Rasing Sales taxes is not a good idea when consumers have already slowed buying.

But no one should wish ill to the people of CA. Any state or business that is forced to cut their workforce will have a negative effect on us all.

[Dantes]

You know, I live in SW Montana, which is being Californicated before our eyes.

At first this sounded like a ridiculous idea, but I've thought about it and if California will agree to just one condition, I will heartily endorse giving it 50 Billion dollars in federal money.

Just build a really long fence, starting at the Mexican border, head north,and don't stop until you hit Oregon, then take the fence west from the Ca/Ore border, to the ocean. (I realize some would just as soon keep going north to Canada...).

Watchtowers, triple roll barbed wire and landmines in a dead man's zone. Orders to shoot to kill anyone trying to get out of California, but free passage into California.

Yeah, I could support that.