A report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office on wednesday said the “Golden State” of California will face a nearly $21 Billion shortfall over the next year and a half. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service downgraded their credit rating to the lowest of any state except a handful that aren’t rated. This means even further increased borrowing costs to taxpayers.
All of this despite some of the highest taxes in the country on individuals and small businesses. We’ve gone past the point of no return, and raising taxes further will only decrease revenue as businesses continue to leave. One such blog, ‘Biz Leaving California’, tries to take note of as many businesses as possible that are leaving the state for greener pastures, and are only noting the tip of the iceberg. You can see a great write up on the stark differences between Texas & California here. Or how states like Colorado and Nevada are cherry picking California businesses through huge incentives and decrease in taxes.
Simply put, our only option going forward is to severely decrease the amount of wasteful government spending. One of the most corrupt cycles in government is that of the public employee unions that prop up candidates to push their agenda and add to their bottom dollar. Then through forced union dues, take those same dollars and give them back to prop up more pro-union candidates. Spiraling union pensions are the number one reason for California’s problems.
And since we are a social media invovled blog, here are some great grass-roots groups that are doing their best to stop the union cycle and further new taxes:
The Citizen Power Campaign is getting signatures for a ballot initiative to stop this endless cycle in November 2010:
www.unplugthepoliticalmachine.org – or check out their Facebook page
Or check out www.notosacramento.org or their Facebook page – which is gaining petitions against the 10% ‘temporary’ withholding tax the politicians in Sacramento are using to fill in the gaping budget holes that they have created.
Please, if you live in California and want things to change – it’s as easy as becoming active, getting involved, or sometimes just signing a petition.
Allan…
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