Solano County Government Center

 California Dreaming?  
More Like A Nightmare: Californians Can Expect
More Layoffs, Higher Taxes,
And More Deficits

If You Like Today's California Economy...

   
Democrat-Controlled State Legislature Continues To Push Failed Model For California's Economy.
"More budget gridlock appears on the way as legislative Democrats say they'll push for a tax increase and the governor says he'll veto it ... the Democrats who control the State Legislature have proposed dialing back the governor's suggested cuts and replacing the lost savings with taxes on oil and tobacco as well as surcharges on vehicles and home insurance premiums." (Brian Joseph, "Democrats Vow To Push For More Tax Increases," Orange County Register, 6/17/09)
 
California's Economic Troubles: State "Bleeding Jobs."
"But for now, California continues to bleed jobs, more so than most of the rest of the country. The national unemployment rate for May was 9.4%, and only four states had higher jobless numbers than California: Michigan at 14.1%, Oregon at 12.4% and Rhode Island and South Carolina, tied at 12.1%. California, which has 11% of the country's workforce, accounted for 1 out of every 5 jobs lost last month." (Marc Lifsher and Alana Semuels, "California unemployment rises to record 11.5% in May," Los Angeles Times, 6/20/09)

California's Energy Troubles: On Average, Electricity Bills For State's Residents Have Increased 34 Percent Since 1990. (Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Annual 2005 State Data Tables, http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/esr/esr_tabs.html

California's Fiscal Troubles: State "Could Soon Find Itself Unable To Pay Its Bills."
"Standard & Poor's Ratings Services put California on watch for a ratings downgrade today and it's not hard to see why. The Golden State's fiscal troubles appear unending. It has a $24 billion budget gap to fill, voters have already rejected raising taxes, and the political will to make hard decisions is apparently AWOL. As it stands, the world's eighth-largest economy could soon find itself unable to pay its bills. California, which has $59 billion in general obligation (GO) debt outstanding, could find its coffers empty by the end of July." (Ben Levisohn, "California's Credit Rating Poised for a Downgrade," Business Week, 6/16/09)

California's Debt Troubles: "Worst Bond Rating Of Any State."
"California's debt burden has multiplied so fast that it now has the worst bond rating of any state, and Governor Arnold Sc hwarzenegger and state legislators are pleading with Washington to command the other 49 states to pay off its IOUs. The interest rates on Golden State bonds have nearly tripled in the last two years." (Editorial, "The Albany-Trenton-Sacramento Disease," Wall Street Journal, 6/26/09)

 ..YOU'LL LOVE THE DEMOCRATIC BUDGET PLAN 

Democratic Leaders Pitch Same Imploding Model. 
"A substantial number of the budget revisions that will go before the Legislature today promise no real savings or revenue and would ensure that California's fiscal woes stretch beyond the current crisis into coming years."  (Shane Goldmacher, "State Budget Plans Are Built With Fiscal Gimmicks," Los Angeles Times, 6/24/09)

Democrat Inaction Adds $8 Billion In Credit Costs. 
"Lest you think that the failure of political leaders to reach an agreement on balancing the budget is so much tears and flapdoodle, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer points out that if the state is forced to issue IOUs and its infrastructure bonds in turn are downgraded by the credit ratings agencies to a BBB-plus level, it could cost California an additional $8 billion in credit costs on its public works bonds." (Steve Wiegand, "Downgrade Bonds Cost A Bundle," Sacramento Bee, 6/30/00)  

Accounting Tricks & Gimmicks. 
"As the Legislature's Democratic leaders unveiled their new - and, they say, improved - version of the deficit- ridden state budget last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sharply criticized its reliance on new taxes and "one-time solutions" that don't solve the fundamental imbalance. ‘And the key thing,' Schwarzenegger said, ‘is now to just really make sure they don't come up with one-time solutions, because even if you go and withhold your taxes, it's a one-time solution. Or if you go and move the date of paying your paychecks from June 30th to July 1st, to kick it over to the next fiscal year, that's a one-time solution. It doesn't help you in the out years.'" (Dan Walters, "Another Budget That's Rooted In Gimmickry," Sacramento Bee, 6/24/09)

Susan Kennedy: Democrats Are Pig-Headed And Owned by Unions And Special Interests.  
"Indeed, in an interview, Ms. Kennedy took several jabs at Democratic lawmakers and unions. For example, she recalled a meeting between Mr. Davis, the former governor, and the AFL-CIO, whom she said was asking for benefit increases. At one point, Ms. Kennedy said, the governor held up a legal pad covered in notes and said, ‘This is your four-year agenda, right?' Art Pulaski, a union leader, gave a startled response: ‘No, no, no. This is this year's legislative agenda.'"  Ms. Kennedy said moments like those disenchanted her with government. "Gray Davis would still be governor today if he had the chops to stand up to the unions and if the Democrats weren't so pig-headed and owned by the special interests," she said. (Stu Woo, "To Solve Deficit, Schwarzenegger Turns To A Democrat," Wall Street Journal, 7/1/09)