board77

The Last Homely Site on the Web

State of the State of California

Post Reply   Page 10 of 10  [ 193 posts ]
Jump to page « 16 7 8 9 10
Author Message
sauronsfinger
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Fri 22 Jan , 2010 12:12 am
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 4336
Joined: Mon 28 Feb , 2005 9:28 pm
Location: The real world
 
Apparently not that I could tell. But thanks for letting me know. ;)

_________________

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. - John Rogers


Top
Profile Quote
elfshadow
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Fri 22 Jan , 2010 12:41 am
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Offline
 
Posts: 5407
Joined: Tue 09 Aug , 2005 2:27 am
 
SF, I'm going to (generously) assume that those latest two repeat posts were a computer error and delete them for you. Since you already put that exact paragraph in another post on the last page of the thread, to repeat those same words just clutters the discussion.

[/Ranger]


Top
Profile Quote
sauronsfinger
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Fri 22 Jan , 2010 12:47 am
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 4336
Joined: Mon 28 Feb , 2005 9:28 pm
Location: The real world
 
no problem :cool:

_________________

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. - John Rogers


Top
Profile Quote
Lord_Morningstar
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Sat 23 Jan , 2010 6:05 am
Offline
 
Posts: 2420
Joined: Thu 03 Mar , 2005 8:22 pm
Location: Queensland, Australia
 
TheEllipticalDisillusion wrote:
What happens if California cannot weather its current budgetary crisis? I say do what the republicans and libertarians want: cut the taxes hoping that business will pickup and then we all watch one state go down. I think it's the easiest way to figure out who has the better idea.
That’s something I’ve been (seriously) wondering myself.

It turns out that, in 1991, the Massachusetts city of Chelsea went bankrupt and had to be taken over by the State Government (first time it happened to an American city since the Depression). It’s possible that, if California defaulted, then the Federal Government would take it over. But I can’t see a way Washington could afford to pay off CA’s debts – they’d be in the hundreds of millions of dollars by that stage.

A second possibility is that the state would simply go into receivership like a corporation and liquidate its assets. But I have no idea what happens after that – there must be some sort of Government in California.

Finally, I’ve read that California is required by law to balance its budget. Someone could take it to court – in that case, it’d be obliged to cut spending until it could pay off its debts. Given their size, I suspect that would involve cutting back the bulk of the state’s services and selling a good deal of its assets.

Either way, it looks disturbingly like a trend towards a failed state.

ETA: Found this (rather morbid) article from The Guardian on the subject.

_________________

[Space for Rent]


Top
Profile Quote
elfshadow
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Sat 23 Jan , 2010 4:45 pm
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Offline
 
Posts: 5407
Joined: Tue 09 Aug , 2005 2:27 am
 
California can't fail! We don't need any more of them moving to Colorado. ;)


Top
Profile Quote
Riverthalos
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Sat 23 Jan , 2010 5:02 pm
bioalchemist
Offline
 
Posts: 5205
Joined: Wed 16 Mar , 2005 2:10 am
Location: at a safe distance
 
elfshadow wrote:
California can't fail! We don't need any more of them moving to Colorado. ;)
:spider:

Though elsha, they're coming here because the PacNW got saturated.

_________________

"He attacks. And here I can kill him. But I don't. That's the answer to world peace, people."
-Stickles Shihan


Top
Profile Quote
sauronsfinger
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Sat 23 Jan , 2010 5:05 pm
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 4336
Joined: Mon 28 Feb , 2005 9:28 pm
Location: The real world
 
Until something is done about the effects of Proposition 13 on the ability of the state of California to deal with this crisis, it is just band-aids and make-up. That is the straight jacket the state finds itself it and it is constricting the breath out of the population. Until that straight jacket is removed, normal activity will be impossible.

from wikipedia
Quote:
On the State tax structure
Proposition 13 has introduced major problems of equity and efficiency into the state's tax structure.[14] An analytical approach to examining a tax policy is to apply the traditional principles of taxation, including equity, allocative efficiency, revenue yield/elasticity and administrative and political feasibility. Equity reflects the basic values of how society determines different groups should be treated; these values include horizontal and vertical equity, ability to pay and benefits received. Allocative efficiency refers to the ways in which a tax policy influences changes in private consumption behavior. Revenue yield and elasticity refer to whether revenue from a particular policy has the capacity to increase in the future to meet citizens' expectation for services. Lastly, administrative and political feasibility refer to whether a government can implement and enforce a tax policy with reasonable effort and without excessive political resistance.
Proposition 13 freezes the value of properties at the time of purchase with a possible 2% annual assessment increase. Therefore, properties of equal value have a great amount of variation in their assessment, even if they are next to each other.[4] Assuming the price of a house determines a person’s wealth (and therefore ability to pay) and benefit received, this feature leads owners who purchased similar properties at different times to pay different assessments, without regard to ability to pay[clarification needed] or benefits received.[4] Overall, these qualities create what some[who?] see as serious inequities and a potentially regressive tax structure.[15] The imbalance between state spending and state tax revenues had contributed to near constant budget crisis that has pushed the state to near bankruptcy and deadlocked the political system.[citation needed]
[edit]On cities and localities
Proposition 13 disproportionately affects coastal areas, such as Los Angeles and the Bay Area, where housing prices are higher, relative to inland communities with lower housing prices. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, more research would show whether benefits of Proposition 13 outweigh the redistribution of tax base and overall cost in lost tax revenue.[12]
Cities and localities have become more dependent on state funds, which has increased state power over local towns and cities.[4] The state provides "block grants" to cities to provide services, and bought out nearly all local county health and welfare centers.[16]
Local governments have become more dependent on sales taxes for funds, which some maintain has resulted in poor land planning, and has made cities encourage more retail stores and "big box" outlets. The jobs and ongoing sales tax those stores provide may discourage growth in other sectors and job types that may provide better opportunities for residents.[4][16] In addition, cities have increased fees to make up for the shortfall, with particularly high fees levied on developers creating new houses or industrial outlets.[16] These costs transfer to the building's buyer, who may be unaware of the thousands in fees included in the building's cost.[16]
California public schools, which in the 1960s had been ranked nationally as among the best, have fallen to 48th in many surveys of student achievement.[17] Some [18] have disputed Proposition 13's direct role in the move to state financing of public schools, because schools financed mostly by property taxes were declared unconstitutional in Serrano vs. Priest, and Proposition 13 was then passed partially as a result of that case.[16] California's spending per pupil was the same as the national average until about 1985, when it began dropping, which led to another referendum, Proposition 98, that requires a certain percentage of the state's budget to be directed towards education.[4]
Public libraries have seen a decrease in funding from cities.[16] Fire departments were gutted because of a drastic loss of funds.[citation needed] Police departments received generally the same amount of funding, from 15% in 1978 to 16% in 1995.[16] Cities also cut water, gas and electricity expenses.[16]
California localities have taken measures to offset Proposition 13 revenue losses. Some newer cities or established cities experiencing rapid population growth such as Irvine and Roseville have carefully incorporated sales tax revenue generators into their city's general zoning plan, while others have used eminent domain and redevelopment laws to condemn blighted residential and industrial properties and convert them into sales tax generators such as shopping malls, multi-dealer "auto malls" such as the Cerritos Auto Square, and strip malls anchored by big-box stores such as Costco and Wal-Mart. Cities that have been notably successful with this strategy include Cerritos, Culver City, Emeryville, and Union City. However, the spread of big box retail is considered another major factor behind California's severe housing shortage, as cities have routinely rezoned vacant parcels and "blighted" neighborhoods for retail in an attempt to increase their share of the sales tax pie. With developable land made scarce by open space preservation laws and by the resistance of single-family homeowners to up-zoning, the resulting market pressures have led to urban sprawl that has brought formerly rural areas like the Antelope and northern San Joaquin Valleys into the urban areas of Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively.
[edit]2008-2009 Budget Crisis
The two-thirds majority requirement to pass a budget and the cap on property taxes limits the legislature in raising taxes. In the 2008–2009 California budget crisis some legislators claim these restrictions have prevented Governor Schwarzenegger and a majority of California legislators from raising taxes on property owners. The budget crisis required drastic cuts in state services. Matt Welch and the Reason Foundation at Reason[19] and Chris Reed at the San Diego Union Tribune,[20] have argued that unbridled spending, rather than the tax cap, is the cause of California's budget crisis. (It was Jarvis' intention to curb government spending with Proposition 13.)[5]
In response to the budget crisis, citizen groups have been organizing to repeal Proposition 13.
One can compare Prop 13 to a person who does not eat enough proper foods and is constantly losing weight, is almost skeletal, and cannot perform normal physical functions of living and work. A radical whacko doctor keeps telling them all will be fine as long as they do not over exert themselves. Avoid situations in which you can get hurt because you are so thin. Rest and relax and try not to burn so many calories. Every other reasonable doctor would tell them to increase their caloric intake and put on some pounds so their health is not in danger and they can function like a normal person.

_________________

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. - John Rogers


Top
Profile Quote
Cenedril_Gildinaur
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Fri 21 May , 2010 3:44 pm
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 3348
Joined: Mon 15 Aug , 2005 3:48 am
Location: Planet Earth
 
Cenedril_Gildinaur wrote:
Well, I took the first step today. So that I may enter a partisan primary, for the second time in my life I registered as a Democrat.

So from now on, whenever I post, it is as a Democrat.

Cut taxes, cut spending. Decrease government and increase liberty.
TheEllipticalDisillusion wrote:
Good luck. I'm sure you'll keep us well-informed on how your success comes along.
Well, it looks like I'm destined to finish second in a three way race for the Democratic Assembly primary. One of the bigger names in the local DP sensed that our Assemblyman might be a bit weak and decided to go for the same target.

The race isn't over yet, but with my campaign budget I figure that the trends are probably going to continue as is. Maybe if I was rich I could do an advertising blitz. Still, second out of three is pretty good for someone who has only been a Democrat for less than a year.

I guess I do a pretty good job of representing Democratic ideals, and am in many ways a model Democrat.

_________________

It is a myth that coercion is necessary in order to force people to get along together, but it is a persistent myth because it feeds a desire many people have. That desire is to be able to justify hurting people who have done nothing other than offend them in some way.

Last edited by Cenedril_Gildinaur on Tue Feb 30, 2026 13:61 am; edited 426 times in total


Top
Profile Quote
nienna
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Sun 23 May , 2010 7:15 pm
The best things in life are not things
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 1957
Joined: Thu 02 Jul , 2009 3:32 pm
Location: west of West
 
Cenedril_Gildinaur wrote:
Well, it looks like I'm destined to finish second in a three way race for the Democratic Assembly primary. One of the bigger names in the local DP sensed that our Assemblyman might be a bit weak and decided to go for the same target.

The race isn't over yet, but with my campaign budget I figure that the trends are probably going to continue as is. Maybe if I was rich I could do an advertising blitz. Still, second out of three is pretty good for someone who has only been a Democrat for less than a year.

Why so pessimistic, C_G? ...the votes haven't even been cast yet...who knows, you might do better than forecast :D

(is there much of a margin of error in the polls you use?)

So, how does your "paltry" budget compare to the front runner's? Would you need to win the lottery to match their's?
Surely you can reach the voters in other, cheaper ways - I guess it depends how much time each week one can manage to spend campaigning whilst holding down a full-time job... :shrug:

_________________

There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound.
~Diana Cortes


Top
Profile Quote
Cenedril_Gildinaur
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Mon 24 May , 2010 5:58 pm
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 3348
Joined: Mon 15 Aug , 2005 3:48 am
Location: Planet Earth
 
Part of the problem is, as I said, that I'm running against a big name in the local DP. This is a candidate who is well known here and has often received the nomination for various offices. Name recognition counts. Mine is as a bit of a rabble rouser, a heckler of the status quo.

But pessimistic? Considering that I've been a Democrat for less than a year, I'm considering my prospective return as doing mighty well.

I might have had a better budget, but then the car decided to act up on us...

_________________

It is a myth that coercion is necessary in order to force people to get along together, but it is a persistent myth because it feeds a desire many people have. That desire is to be able to justify hurting people who have done nothing other than offend them in some way.

Last edited by Cenedril_Gildinaur on Tue Feb 30, 2026 13:61 am; edited 426 times in total


Top
Profile Quote
nienna
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Mon 24 May , 2010 6:42 pm
The best things in life are not things
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 1957
Joined: Thu 02 Jul , 2009 3:32 pm
Location: west of West
 
I see...I just wondered because, as you know, we had our General Election recently, and also the local council elections were held on the same day. But all we had in the way of canvassing for their votes was a flyer through the door from each of the leading candidates - from memory, Tories, Lib Dems and the UKIP. That was it - no knocks on the door, though that has happened in the past. No big adverts in the Press or on billboards.

Of course, over here the candidates are selected internally and the electorate only has one name per party to choose from on election day, so they are voting for the Party, not the personality, (in principle!) And naturally voting at local level usually reflects local issues rather than national.

_________________

There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound.
~Diana Cortes


Top
Profile Quote
Cenedril_Gildinaur
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Tue 16 Nov , 2010 12:55 am
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 3348
Joined: Mon 15 Aug , 2005 3:48 am
Location: Planet Earth
 
Well, this is an interesting twist. I won my election.

Just not the one I originally stated.

Vison, Voronwe, and Yovargas have all seen the election results. I'm now official a councilman.

California won't know what hit it. Well, at my low level there isn't much I can do about the state's problems. We've just elected Moonbeam.

_________________

It is a myth that coercion is necessary in order to force people to get along together, but it is a persistent myth because it feeds a desire many people have. That desire is to be able to justify hurting people who have done nothing other than offend them in some way.

Last edited by Cenedril_Gildinaur on Tue Feb 30, 2026 13:61 am; edited 426 times in total


Top
Profile Quote
Cenedril_Gildinaur
Post subject: Re: State of the State of California
Posted: Tue 07 Jan , 2014 4:10 pm
User avatar
Offline
 
Posts: 3348
Joined: Mon 15 Aug , 2005 3:48 am
Location: Planet Earth
 
California students sue state over ineffective teachers
Quote:
California’s laws surrounding teacher tenure, dismissal, and layoffs violate the state’s constitution — specifically, students’ right to an equal opportunity to access quality education — say nine students suing the state. The trial is set to begin Jan. 27.

If they win, the effects could ripple across the country.
This should worry public school teachers everywhere.

_________________

It is a myth that coercion is necessary in order to force people to get along together, but it is a persistent myth because it feeds a desire many people have. That desire is to be able to justify hurting people who have done nothing other than offend them in some way.

Last edited by Cenedril_Gildinaur on Tue Feb 30, 2026 13:61 am; edited 426 times in total


Top
Profile Quote
Display: Sort by: Direction:
Post Reply   Page 10 of 10  [ 193 posts ]
Return to “The Symposium” | Jump to page « 16 7 8 9 10
Jump to: