Is California Heading for Bankruptcy?

[Warph]

TIME FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO PRESS THE RESET BUTTON BY FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY
By Bill Baker, J.D.
Editor and Publisher, The San Bruno Beacon

The State of California needs to dramatically shrink the size of State Government; cut State employees salaries, benefits, and perks; reduce all State taxes and fees; and file bankruptcy to get out from under the debt and debt service it is drowning in. Bottom line, the State of California needs to press the "reset" button by filing bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy will allow California's State Government to reduce or even eliminate it's debt and the interest it pays on that debt; dramatically reduce the number of State Employees and the size of the State government bureaucracy; allow restructuring of pension payments and benefits to government retirees; and undo the destructive, divisive, counterproductive stranglehold that government employee unions have on the State government. Finally, the reduced cost of government brought about by bankruptcy will allow California's State government to dramatically reduce or eliminate the State income and sales taxes as well as many of the other outrageous fees charged by the State.

Unfortunately, the California State Legislature is controlled by liberal, dreamworld, welfare state Democrats who don't understand that private sector taxes pay for all State welfare programs and the salaries, perks, pensions, and everything else that anybody who works in the government receives.

California's State Government has been turned into a welfare giveaway program supported by the private sector. When the government sector abuses and overtaxes the private sector it loses the revenues it needs to pay for its existence. The private sector pays for everything anybody on the government dole receives. Liberal Democrats and their ilk never realize that the government exists at the pleasure of the private sector to assist and support the private sector. When government gets too big, the private sector shrinks away leaving the government without revenues.

[dnalexander]

Yes we are heading for bankruptcy. When is it who knows. I've been hearing for years that California will be bankrupt tomorrow, two weeks, two years etc. I found articles on the internet from the 70's, 80's, 90's and 2003, 2006-2009 that it was just around the coner. Will it happen soon? My best guess is no. With Pelosi, Dem Congress, and Dem President I think we will be "bailed out" as too big to fail. Should California file bankruptcy, yes, otherwise there will be no incentive for the state to change the things that put us in this situation. Time to hit the reset button and set things back on track. If California does file bankruptcy just wait you all are next, when is just a matter of time.

David

[Teresa]

Bail out California ?

President Obama has less than 50 days to decide this one.  California is in deep, deep, deep trouble.  It is now asking for the Obama Administration to bail it out.  Should it? California is the 8th largest economy in the WORLD! (bigger than Brazil, Canada etc.) If the Obama Administration does not bail it out, will California go into such a deep recession (depression) that it then drags down other (all?) states since all the states are economicallly dependent upon each other?  By the way, if Feds don't bail out California, I think the state will have to cut services drastically and raise taxes steeply.  The state relies on income tax and business taxes to fund itself -- and both sources of income to the state have dropped with the downturn of the economy. If people and businesses are not making money, then they are not paying taxes....do you have a solution?

http://gretawire.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/06/16/bail-out-california/

[larryJ]

whoa!  Why are all of you concerned about California?  Is California headed for bankruptcy? 

Answer to question #1:  I don't know why this is such a big deal.  It is a yearly tradition that California faces bankruptcy and the state legislators argue and argue well past the deadline for approving a new budget for the state.  I believe it was last year that the legislators went well past the deadline and then faced with the fact their own salaries would not be paid managed to put together a budget for the "Arnold" to sign.  And only a few months after that "Arnold" began shouting budget cuts as the state was not going to meet its obligations.  Of course, this bodes the question:  Wait a minute!  Didn't California have a budget to see it through?  You would think so.  Once a budget is approved, then the spending goes on.  There are those of us who create a budget for the coming year, like me, and manage to not stick real close to it, like me. 

Answer to question #2:  This year, yes.  Last year, yes.  Pretty much every year before that, yes.  Like many states leaders, they will tell you that the biggest expenditure is education.  If you are running out of money, you look to see where you can make the cuts.  This begins with the biggest expenditure.  Say, your mortgage.  Okay, go get refinanced and have a lower payment and a lot more years to pay.  So states (California) look at the budget and say our biggest expenditure is education so lets lay off some teachers and close some schools.  That will save a bundle.  This has already been done.  They don't look at smaller expenses that may not be really necessary.


So yeah we are probably going to be bankrupt.  Thanks Warph for bringing it up!

Larryj

[srkruzich]

It is quite amazing that a state that supposedly boasts the 8th largest income can't pay its bills.  The unheard of taxation going on there is unconscionable, the graft and freebie givaways to the welfare queens and kings and the big lotto jackpot for the illegal population. 

Simple solution

1. hunt down, and export the illlegals. Period. No waiting period, do not pass go do not collect their 200 dollar welfare check.

2. Start with the gov and work your way down to the trash guy.  Start cutting jobs, cutting pay by either 10% monetary value or remove some of those govt holidays that the rest of us don't get. 

3. instead of government running things like trash service, street mainenance, ect ect contract it out. 

4. LA could get a chunk of change if they leased out the airport instead of trying to run it as a govt entity.

5. i don't know much about what is spent by california. but why not toss those inmates in their prisons out on the road with a few chains on their legs, and give them some slingblades and axes to clear brush and cut down weeds, pick up trash and other road maintenance.

[dnalexander]

It is quite amazing that a state that supposedly boasts the 8th largest income can't pay its bills.  The unheard of taxation going on there is unconscionable, the graft and freebie givaways to the welfare queens and kings and the big lotto jackpot for the illegal population. 

Simple solution

1. hunt down, and export the illlegals. Period. No waiting period, do not pass go do not collect their 200 dollar welfare check.

2. Start with the gov and work your way down to the trash guy.  Start cutting jobs, cutting pay by either 10% monetary value or remove some of those govt holidays that the rest of us don't get. 

3. instead of government running things like trash service, street mainenance, ect ect contract it out. 

4. LA could get a chunk of change if they leased out the airport instead of trying to run it as a govt entity.

5. i don't know much about what is spent by california. but why not toss those inmates in their prisons out on the road with a few chains on their legs, and give them some slingblades and axes to clear brush and cut down weeds, pick up trash and other road maintenance.

Steve I don't expect you to know anything about California, but your post shows no knowledge of the real problems.

Yes illegal aliens are a big problem. As they are in the country as a whole. I know you understand this problem so I won't elaborate.

As far as point 2, 3, 4 that is not the problem and is wrong. Still I don't expect you to know what is going on here. I do appreciate your concern though. Truly, and I am not being sarcastic. I respect you and know how smart you are.

As far as 5 is concerned already a done deal. To some degree it has been done on point two.

David

[dnalexander]

Warph, I have no idea what the San Bruno Beacon is, but I wonder how in the hell you found the San Bruno Beacon. Tell Slappy to get your butt out on the golf course more often.

David

[srkruzich]

It is quite amazing that a state that supposedly boasts the 8th largest income can't pay its bills.  The unheard of taxation going on there is unconscionable, the graft and freebie givaways to the welfare queens and kings and the big lotto jackpot for the illegal population. 

Simple solution

1. hunt down, and export the illlegals. Period. No waiting period, do not pass go do not collect their 200 dollar welfare check.

2. Start with the gov and work your way down to the trash guy.  Start cutting jobs, cutting pay by either 10% monetary value or remove some of those govt holidays that the rest of us don't get. 

3. instead of government running things like trash service, street mainenance, ect ect contract it out. 

4. LA could get a chunk of change if they leased out the airport instead of trying to run it as a govt entity.

5. i don't know much about what is spent by california. but why not toss those inmates in their prisons out on the road with a few chains on their legs, and give them some slingblades and axes to clear brush and cut down weeds, pick up trash and other road maintenance.

Steve I don't expect you to know anything about California, but your post shows no knowledge of the real problems.

Yes illegal aliens are a big problem. As they are in the country as a whole. I know you understand this problem so I won't elaborate.

As far as point 2, 3, 4 that is not the problem and is wrong. Still I don't expect you to know what is going on here. I do appreciate your concern though. Truly, and I am not being sarcastic. I respect you and know how smart you are.

As far as 5 is concerned already a done deal. To some degree it has been done on point two.

David

I pretty much just pointed out problems i see in kansas and georgia and figure similar problems if not the same problems exist.  The problem really is we need less government, government services.   I honestly have no clue as to how many departments in area there are.  I suspect they have a comittee for everything.    I Have lived where some cities have sold off water departments, trash services, to private companies which is a whole lot better than taxpayor paying for it.  Fee for service usally works much better.   

Give you a prime example.  Atlanta Ga water and sewer was paying out around 50 -100k a month in fines for dumping raw sewage into the chattahoochie river.   I know that they sold off the water to a company and they don't keep up with it so there was a resolution to bring ina new company.  The sewage department though was still run by fulton county. They refused to upgrade the system saying they didn't have the money but they had money to pay fines.  Go figure.

Atlanta is one of those cities that has been raped and pillaged by the succession of mayors that has been elected since 1980 when maynard jackson took office. Since then only the ones who were close to the mayors won elections when the mayors stepped down.
I think the last one is in prison hopefully for his crimes in office.   I think shirley franklin is mayor now but i don't give her long before she's doing the same thing.   

[Catwoman]

Last night I heard that there will be no bail-out for CA...Is this accurate?

[dnalexander]

Last night I heard that there will be no bail-out for CA...Is this accurate?

Here is a copy of part of the June 16th press briefing by Press Secretary Gibbs

(The whole briefing can be found at the link below)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Briefing-by-White-House-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs-6-16-09/

Q    Will the administration provide emergency aid to California, or are you rejecting that to avoid similar requests from other states?
MR. GIBBS:  Well, look, obviously many states throughout the country, because of the slowdown in our economy, find themselves with severe budgetary constraints.  The President believed and addressed part of this in the recovery and reinvestment plan by ensuring the largest amount of fiscal relief that we've seen moved to states in the history of our country.
It's obviously not an easy time for the state of California. We'll continue to monitor the challenges that they have.  But this budgetary problem, unfortunately, is one that they're going to have to solve.
Q    Following up on that, is the administration comfortable with the kind of precedent California would have to impose, specifically on its participation in Medicaid and SCHIP, which the President has identified as significant priorities of his administration, and in one regard, SCHIP, an achievement of this administration?
MR. GIBBS:  I don't know if -- I don't know the degree to which we've analyzed each of California's individual cuts. Obviously we've had to make -- and states have had to make very difficult decisions as it relates to our budget.  And these aren't easy times for states.