Comments on: Jobless victims stagger California

By: PRI

PRI — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:44:50 +0000

Prop. 87 back in 2006 would have imposed an extraction tax of a maximum of 6%, gaining $1 billion, according to Michael Hiltzik (at the current price of oil of around $78/bbl; Prop. 87 was to fund alternative fuels, but we can use it to see what a deficit-reduction tax would do). Even if you quadrupled the oil tax, to 24%, you’d still only get $4 billion. And it would raise costs for drivers. The deficit is $20 billion. So you’d still be $16 billion short.

Everybody is going to be suffering, like during the Great Depression, when states severely cut their budgets and tax increases sparked tax revolts.

I’m sorry people are going to suffer. But most folks I know already are suffering from the Bush Depression (caused by Bush’s wars, Bush’s inflation, Bush’s wild spending, Bush’s deficits, and Bush’s debt — all passed by the Republican Congress). Suffering is inevitable when you have a decade of bad policies. The money StevefromSacto wants for “people out of work…the elderly, blind, and disabled” was wasted in the sands in Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, which wars themselves produced plenty new soldiers “out of work…blind, and disabled.” (Why then, Steve, is Obama continuing Bush’s expensive and deadly follies?)

Meanwhile, China, India and other new economic powers — even Brazil — are growing because of free-market reforms. The only way we can compete is to cut government spending and reduce tax rates. Let government grow only when the private economy grows — and no faster. Our competitors sure aren’t going to wait.

— John Seiler

Hiltzik article: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/15/business/fi-hiltzik15

By: stevefromsacto

stevefromsacto — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:53:02 +0000

“There’s just no money anymore?” And the only solution is to cut state jobs?
C’mon, John, you know that’s not true. For starters, we could do the same as Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska and every other oil producing state in the country does–tax oil production. How about a deal in which the state allows reasonable, environmentally safe oil drilling off the coast in return for an oil production tax?

I’m sure there are other creative solutions we could come up with. Throwing people out of work or cutting programs for the elderly, blind and disabled aren’t our only choices.

By: PRI

PRI — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:05:06 +0000

I do remember it, StevefromSacto. But there’s just no money any more, so state jobs will have to be cut.

— John Seiler

By: StevefromSacto

StevefromSacto — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:35:50 +0000

Some very good points, John. This one in particular:

“When we look at these numbers, we should realize that each involves a person with a real problem, perhaps a family he needs to support, or a career that needs to get back on track. And every person unemployed is not paying income taxes, and likely is collecting some form of assistance from the state — worsening the budget crisis two ways.”

Understand that this is true of public as well as private-sector employees. So the next time you hear the governor propose to throw nearly 400,000 home care providers out of work, or EMeg crow about cutting the state workforce by 40,000, remember this.

By: EastBayLarry

EastBayLarry — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:57:36 +0000

This story feels like it was written for me. Out of work since May 2007, resources exhausted during 2008, home foreclosed 2009 and I still cannot find work.
For these reasons I believe the ONLY focus of government has to be JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!