The State where I live people voted, and passed, tax breaks on the idea that they will get more money back - about a couple of hundred for the average person (of course the rich get more).
Add to this the continual drop in home prices, vacent homes, foreclosed homes, etc. The effect is a smaller tax base.
So with tax-cuts in hand this is what the citizens face (in my County) ...
* $70 million cut in education (lay-offs of teachers)
* Cuts in services such as no additional Fire-Rescue Stations
* Higher fees for County services (such as Fire & Rescue, Park & Recreational, etc.)
* No additional guards for Corrections as well as Law Enforcement Officers.
* To eleviate the Correction overcrowding, judges are allowing more criminals out earlier. This includes drug dealers.
This does not include other results of these tax cuts. Internally the County will cut budgets as well as lay-off people. At first they will release contractors and then employees. That will result in LESS money being spent and thus less taxes.
The result is that the general public will loose services such as Builders, childern at risk, inspections, road repair/construction, as well as many other services.
The news report that there are many people upset that there will be less teachers and school closings. I mean they are PISSED! But hey, you saved $200 in taxes!!!
People are STUPID because they DON'T think of the results of cutting taxes in the form of services provided but take for granted.
We are now going to allow guns on college campuses. This is so students can protect themselves from a gunman.
But wait! If there is a gunman on campus that starts shooting, another student shoots him, another student sees the second student shoot, pulls out his/her gun and shoots him, others see the shooting and whip out THEIR guns and start shooting ... then the cops show up and everyone has a gun and shooting, the cops shoot back killing all the students with guns ... Sorry but little Johnny is coming home in a box.
I can see it now ... "Where did you graduate?" ... "I'z graduated from the O.K. Corral University. Wanna see my gunshot wound?"
BTW - The State passed a law about a year ago that we are allowed to carry guns to work! GAWD! GET ME OUT OF THIS STATE!!! PLEASE!!!!
thelma(04/17/2008)
Politicians realized they could get elected just by promising "no new taxes" or "decreased taxes."
It's all bread and circuses.
UnsupportedSupport(04/17/2008)
Sounds like you live in the same state I do. Thank you Charlie Christ. I am pretty sure they could pass a bill allowing government officials to beat people randomly with sticks if it gave everyone a $5 gas card.
I'm just the opposite. I live in a state where spending is out of control. No matter what happens, spending goes up. Of course, when the tax revenues are up, spending goes up faster than when revenues are low.
On top of that, we have various parochial interest groups that want to "lock in" spending, so that no matter what happens, X% of the budget will go to education, or environment or something. That leaves very little flexibility.
We have a state income tax where the top 1% of income earners pay about 55% of all state income taxes. To make sure the "rich pay their fair share", we have a millionaire surcharge tax. Plus a sales tax that is one of the highest in the country. Plus property tax, if not for a certain proposition, would be high too.
With all the taxes coming in, we'd be OK right? Where's all the money going? Why are we having a crappy state education system? Why are prison guards getting a hefty pay raise? Why are we allowing illegal immigrant children to attend our schools? Why are illegal immigrants given state tuition rates when a citizen from Utah is charged out of state tuition rates? Why are the state university chancellors getting big salaries that are way out of line?
Gee, my government doesn't seem to care too much about how they spend the money I send them on 4/15. Maybe I should be less eager about sending it to them.
The only way out of this is a balanced budget amendment linked to a tax system where the only things that can be changed are the tax rate and the income floor level.
At VA Tech, the wacko started shooting and since VA was a gun-free zone, no one shot back.
There was another shooting at a VA college a few years back. Some student started shooting and killed a few students. One of the students ran to his car and got a gun he had in his car (legally). He used that gun to stop the wacko.
If that college wasn't a gun-free zone, there would have been more dead bodies.
Death by guns is a tragedy but it is overblown.
What is more dangerous to an 8 yr old? Living in a house where there's a load gun? Or living in a house with a swimming pool in the backyard?
CK(04/17/2008)
Bonus - I am not anti-gun but I am pro-gun control. What I mean by gun control is that not any wacko can get a gun. I grew up with guns my whole life but was taught by my father how to use a gun and about the dangers of guns. I even have a couple of guns myself!
But if anyone were to break in my house they would be facing my 45! I had some drunk college kids open (unlock) my door at a place we were renting. There were three of them. When I heard them, they found the front end of my barrel in their face!
But I would personally prefer having my 45 as a back-up and have my 150 lb crossbow with a broadhead bolt cocked and loaded!
BonusOnus(04/17/2008)
I'm not anti-gun control either. I don't want wackos getting guns. I don't want guns sold at auctions, thereby bypassing the background check. I don't want people with a propensity for violence to get guns, so anyone with a history of violence, even domestic violence, shouldn't get guns.
However, I don't want stupid gun control laws. No ban on "assault rifles". No stupid "gun free" zones (like that's going to stop wackos from bringing a gun into such zones). No laws about requiring trigger locks.
CK(04/17/2008)
I feel there should be 'gun-free zones' like banks and bars - at least! I am also an advocate of education. My father, being a vet drilled in me how to handle a gun. The unstable and criminal should never own a gun. That's how I feel. A potential gun owner should meet regulations such as gun education that is renewable just like a drivers lic.
Dumber than a Catbox full of sh*t(04/17/2008)
People ARE stupid! People are VERY stupid! I constantly wonder where all the tax money is going(Chicago, and Cook County as well). Cook COunty is the 2nd largest wealthiest county in the U.S. I think that all the money is going to the higher-ups--they have everything and bleed everyone else so they can have it all.
Gun Control - There are THOUSANDS of laws on the books pertaining to gun control. For a citizen to LEGALLY get a gun they have to sign up, wait X days and most of them generally go through a course to train them to be responsible. I can't imagine thousands of students just randomly pulling a gun out and firing away blindly. On the other hand, if a crook wants a gun he isn't going to go through the proper channels...he will get one NOW.
Taxes: Imagine if you spent all of yur money and then got yourself in debt by using your credit card. You then go to your boss and demand a raise to pay all of your bills. A miracle happens and you get the raise but instead of paying your debts off you continue spending so you demand another raise and so on...
That's what Govt does with our tax money! I'm sorry about the situation in your county but if people are like people in my area, they are fed up with txes and balk on any tax increases. Why would teachers be losing jobs if taxes were not raised? How were they paying them before?
BonusOnus(04/19/2008)
To add to SP's comment, there's a city about 1 hour north of where I live.
The city's tax base was on sales tax and property tax. Times were good a few years ago, and tax revenues were coming in. The local emergency services employees (police and firefighters) negotiated a union contract. Many of the council members were elected because of the support of these public employee unions. The contract was generous - starting salary was $70K, one of the highest in the state. Many senior firefighters got $100K. Health care costs were uncontained too. And many of these employees worked overtime, making $200K a year.
Then the city decided not to allow Walmart to build a store in the city because they felt Walmart would destroy the local small businesses (and Walmart usually does). But that prevented a large source of sales tax revenues. Then we had housing problems and taxes from property taxes and house sales plummeted.
But the union contract created a big increase in city costs. Unlike the state or Federal government, the city is constrained in increasing revenue. It can't raise taxes on income. So it is facing bankruptcy by August. The city is trying to renegotiate the union contract. If that is not allowed, the city is screwed. All money will go towards the union contracts - nothing left for park upkeep or public libraries.
This is an extreme example of when a government lives beyond its means. But my state is doing something similar. Unlike the city though, it can continue raising taxes without reducing spending. The last governor passed spending programs that continued year after year based on income tax increased based on the dot com boom. Taxes from the rich are the most unstable of tax sources and now my state is paying for it.
Unless government is faced with a requirement to only spend what it takes in, (mob) democracy means that parochial interests will block any spending cuts and instead taxes will be raised. After a point, the tax increases will kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
rtfm(04/20/2008)
Bonus-I'm in California too, and the city north of you is Vallejo, their troubles were on ch. 2 news. I'm not trying to expose your identity,(your clues weren't that hard). Anyway, nice rundown on our states issues.
No problem. I don't really care if people know I live in California.
I see how Schwartzenegger isn't really doing anything to solve the structural problems we have with our budget and the sources of funding.
You know, I voted against recalling Davis. I didn't see how anything he did merited an impeachment. Plus, since he and the Democrats caused the problem, why should the voters bail him out by getting rid of him? He should have been kept in office to try to fix the problem. The voters made their bed by voting for the incompetent Davis; they should have been forced to lie in the bed they made.
2006, we had a proposition for state funding of stem cell research. While I supported it, I read the fine print about how the funding would be locked in (non-discretionary), just like for education and such. If we keep on tacking on non-discretionary spending programs, just how much will be left for discretionary spending?
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