California's budget. YOU decide how to make up the deficit

[LongWayToFall 0]

Here is a cool interactive thing I found which allows you to select what cuts and tax increases you want in order to recover the deficit. So, what did you do?

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-statebudget-fl-2,0,6957202.htmlstory

[Broke 0]

Where is the leagleize and tax the shit out of prostitution option

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[BDashe 0]

more importantly, legalize MJ- the green one not the dead one. that's what, 3 Bs right there?

So there I was...

Making friends and playing nice since 1983

[downwardspiral 0]

you can cut every program listed and still have a $841,000,000.00 deficit.

www.FourWheelerHB.com

[BikerBabe 0]

yeah...sorry to the "no new taxes" crowd. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and raise em up.

I ended up with about 2-4 cuts (only 1 from education) from each area and a few new taxes.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[thrillstalker 0]

legalize pot and tax it. if the us did it nationally the government would save 14 billion dollars a year. we know it will just go to bail out more companies but at least you could smoke weed and not face prison.

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[Broke 0]

Notice how the LA times game doesn't mention services to illeagle aliens?

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[SkyDekker 1,150]

Hard to quantify the number of martians amongst us

[Ion01 1]

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yeah...sorry to the "no new taxes" crowd. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and raise em up.

I ended up with about 2-4 cuts (only 1 from education) from each area and a few new taxes.

So you raise taxes which results in people and business leaving the state for states with lower taxes meaning you actually being in less money than before.
Or you could lower taxes to attract people and businesses to your state so you tax a whole lot more people businesses and thing meaning you make more money.

-there was a man trying selling a pencil on a street corner and when asked how much it cost he said 1 million dollars. When asked why he said, "well, I only have to sell one!"

[BikerBabe 0]

yah, the only mention of illegals was in the "law enforcement" section where you could choose to get them out of our prisons and turn them to the INS for deportation.

Of course it's a limited simulation, there's no way they could feasibly put every possible cut/tax on there.

I was also a little disappointed at not seeing things like legalizing marijuana or even eliminating prison sentences for non-violent drug possession/use charges.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[BikerBabe 0]

um....did you miss spiral's post?

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you can cut every program listed and still have a $841,000,000.00 deficit.

So how do you propose that $841M should be made up? Please, rather than just complaining about taxes, offer a solution. Come on, you have 841 MILLION DOLLARS to solve.

be realistic.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[BDashe 0]

yeah i did, thought that was funny too actually. lots of 'legal non-citizens' talk. i didnt touch most of those because i have lots of canadian friends
i taxed smokes and booze, the rest were cuts. The world will still turn without many MANY of those programs, and you wont have to scare away businesses that generate the vast majority of the tax revenue we so desperatley need. Additionally, the loss of various programs may ACTUALLY inspire someone to work for a living! Of course there are exceptions, but that is exactly what they are, exceptions to the majority, which does suck for that person. So move, or differentiate yourself and try harder.

edit: again legalizing various 'past times' and taxing the bejesus out of em will allow for many of the programs I cut to be revived.

So there I was...

Making friends and playing nice since 1983

[downwardspiral 0]

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yeah...sorry to the "no new taxes" crowd. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and raise em up.

I ended up with about 2-4 cuts (only 1 from education) from each area and a few new taxes.

I want to know what the remainder is made of and why it is not expendable. why and how are we spending so much money and how much of that is waste? Los Angeles alone was the 10th largest economy in the world the last time I looked.

www.FourWheelerHB.com

[kelpdiver 2]

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yeah...sorry to the "no new taxes" crowd. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and raise em up.

We've already done that this year - income taxes and sales tax. And it didn't even keep up with the growing deficit.

Unfortunately, the failure was in the past few years as the budget continued to rise. Right now, we're screwed.

Shutting down the parks, for example, saves very little money as you now have to secure the place and can't charge admission. And the local economies around the parks suffer, so you lose the tax revenue. By the time you're done, you've saved almost no money here.

ultimately it comes down to schools and prisons.

[georgerussia 0]

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yeah...sorry to the "no new taxes" crowd. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and raise em up.

That's assuming the list of categories is full - which is definitely not the case. For example, I do not see any suggested cuts for transportation projects (I bet a lot of those who voted for high speed rail back in Nov now regret it; BART extension and seismic retrofitting could definitely wait too). I do not see any possible attempts to renegotiate union contracts with various state workers for lower pay. No suggestions to cut the number of boards below those 33 even the governor labeled redundant. No suggestions cutting the enforcement of victimless crimes. Denial of services to illegal immigrants. Of course, pet projects are not even considered for being cut.

Seems like this measure worth voting for.

* Don't pray for me if you wanna help - just send me a check. *

[LongWayToFall 0]

The way I found this interactive thing is a page talking about state parks being closed. I guess the plan would be to cut state funding to the parks, and have them operate completely on funds from entrance fees. So they would still be open, but I don't see how it could last, because so many of them have hardly any visitors and generate a very small amount of money as it is, and when they jack up the entrance fee to $50 a person, nobody will be there.

[justinb138 0]

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The way I found this interactive thing is a page talking about state parks being closed. I guess the plan would be to cut state funding to the parks, and have them operate completely on funds from entrance fees. So they would still be open, but I don't see how it could last, because so many of them have hardly any visitors and generate a very small amount of money as it is, and when they jack up the entrance fee to $50 a person, nobody will be there.

I think the majority of the budget cuts that have been proposed are mostly just pathetic appeals for the Federal Government to give them money so that they won't have to actually make any cuts.

[LongWayToFall 0]

Yeah, I wish I knew more about the exact details. I do know that there is only one place to put the blame, and that is the voters and elected leaders of California. If the state is going to burn, so be it, I am not a fan of the federal government bailing out states who cannot control spending.

[justinb138 0]

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I am not a fan of the federal government bailing out states who cannot control spending.

Nor am I. Unfortunately I think Obama will eventually bail them out. I think the only reason he hasn't yet is so that he can claim that he did so regretfully, had no choice, etc..

[LongWayToFall 0]

The more they burn, the more of an example they set for other states that are following CA's practices, I don't mind seeing the state go up in flames.....

[kelpdiver 2]

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The more they burn, the more of an example they set for other states that are following CA's practices, I don't mind seeing the state go up in flames.....

The example set is of human nature. No one will be learning much - it's about the 3rd time for CA in the past 2 decades.

[stitch 0]

Talk to the hand.

"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

[Nightingale 0]

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yeah...sorry to the "no new taxes" crowd. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and raise em up.

I ended up with about 2-4 cuts (only 1 from education) from each area and a few new taxes.

I did it, did not cut the state parks, and the only things I raised taxes on were alcohol and cigarettes. Ideally, I wouldn't even do that. I'd legalize prostitution, gambling, and marijuana and tax that.

[Nightingale 0]

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The way I found this interactive thing is a page talking about state parks being closed. I guess the plan would be to cut state funding to the parks, and have them operate completely on funds from entrance fees. So they would still be open, but I don't see how it could last, because so many of them have hardly any visitors and generate a very small amount of money as it is, and when they jack up the entrance fee to $50 a person, nobody will be there.

So don't put a fee, stop "managing" them, and let most of them go back to being wild, the way they were when people started visiting them to begin with, and let people hike in to camp if they want to. Nature generally doesn't require maintenance.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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yeah...sorry to the "no new taxes" crowd. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and raise em up.

Washington State gets by with a 0% top tax rate. Colorado handles things with 4.63%. California gets 9.55% from normal people plus 1.1% up to the salary cap for SDI.

California property tax rates are fine, although properties taxed at $2800 a year in Washington or $1500 in Colorado are more like $8000 a year.

Then there's the sales tax which is also very high.

Slice and dice.