US News
Schwarzenegger set to OK California budget deal after record delay
Sep 15, 2008, 16:23 GMT
San Francisco - California lawmakers are set to approve a new budget for the largest state in the US Monday night, allowing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to end the longest budget impasse in California history.
The 77-day impasse was prompted by a record 15 billion dollar shortfall in state finances. The Democratic majority in the legislature wanted to raise taxes and avoid drastic cuts but were stymied by the Republicans. The budget needs a two-thirds vote to pass.
The compromise proposal increases spending for education and healthcare, while borrowing huge sums against the state lottery. It d relies heavily on manoeuvres that would push the state's financial problems into the future at a time when economists have little hope that revenue is on the rebound.
The Democrats dropped their proposal for a 1 per cent increase in sales tax.
The absence of a state budget has wreaked havoc on providers of government services and those who rely on them. Billions of dollars in scheduled payments to healthcare clinics, day-care centers, group homes for the disabled and others have been withheld since July.
Schwarzenegger has also been trying to cut the pay of most state employees to the federal minimum wage of 6.55 dollars per hour until a budget is passed. The governor, however, has been unsuccessful so far in getting the courts to force State Controller John Chiang, who runs the state payroll, to carry out his pay-cut order.
As the sixth largest economy in the world, California's total state budget totals 110 billion dollars.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
I did not realize thatCalifornia was the largest state in the US. I think Alska and Texas might object.
Why do people think they can just put one lie on top of another?
The 1% sales tax hike was an idea from the Democrats.
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/29/BAKT12KFFJ.DTL&typ e=politics
As far as population and budget, California is the largest state. Only since a certain vice presidential candidate was named has land mass been used as a criteria for size.
Please post a comment, not paragraphs of drivel.
I've learned as a child about our ever changing history,from ancient, to dinosaurs, to BC, to AD,to caveman,to monkeys, to Indians, to slavery, to discoveries, to today, I must admit that it was great learning about history, and it's changes that people have made upon America. But I must say living in today's history and watching it as it forever changes and I must say not for the good has not been my top featured films these days. What's really sad about America today is that we've lost our Morales and Values. The one thing that wealthy American's don't understand and won't understand is that poor people make this economy. The meaning? Simple middle class has been truly almost wiped out, so all those border line middle class people are now amongst us poor class people. So if you can't give to the poor whose gonna give to the rich, when the poor can't spend. I mean it's real simple, come on I can't believe all the things I hear about the budget and the mortgage crisis and wall street falling off their hill tops it's quite amusing to me because I'm one of the poor people just looking on. When were in a time that CEO's and Crop. heads feed themselves first on the food chain and here I lay looking for crumb's because MIN. WAGE is still in the single digits and and CEO's pay is in the triple digits and it's 2008 and gas is just as much as min wage come people come on America wake up. You can't have a budget, you can't have mortgage, you can't make wall street go places it's never been before, with out giving to the poor people, the min. wage people. Question why is min wage still in the single digits in 2008. And the governor of Cali for nia wants the state workers to work for min wage. How about his pay goes to min. wage and then maybe the Californians could get a break.
It is so simple to just blame others for where we are. Don't watch today’s history, get involved in it. If you are one of the poor just looking on, do something about it, go to night school and gain some skills, improve yourself and your economic standing. A minimum wage job was never intended for someone to support themselves or a family on, it's just a stepping stone to get started into the reality of working for a living. The Governor's wages are not relevant as he does not take a check for being the gov. Even if he did, $175K would surely not give cali’s a break.
Finally the budget is almost here. You can see what goes into crafting a budget for the world's 8th largest economy with the California Budget Challenge. The nonpartisan Challenge allows you to create your own version of the state budget-deciding what to spend and what to tax. Try it for yourself! www.next10.org/challenge
I don't think the poor are paying for the rich. you can read the book 'Class Matters' for a breakdown of who really pays through the nose and it is the upper middle class and lower upper class - basically the doctors and lawyers and the like.
they have a super high tax rate.
the rich and the corporations pay almost nothing in many cases
the poor now can take their section 8 housing vouchers and buy a house with it, and all the new housing where I live is for them specifically, and in fact, California mandates that a huge percentage of housing be built and literally given away to the poor, who not only own it then, but had the middle class pay for it, when the middle class and lower upper class in California, cannot afford their own homes
Ah but Sharon, the poor only know Gimmee Gimmee Gimmee and the politicians only know Votes Votes Votes. Don't expect rational thought from that quarter.
Hey, if the middle class and upper middle class don't like paying all the taxes in California, then they can just leave.
Ooops, they have been! Hmmm, wait, we didn't really mean that, hey come back, somebody's got to pay the freight.
By the way, what does this phrase that is being scrawled over the walls in California mean, 'Who is John Galt?'.
This state will be the first State to separate from the US you'll see.
page: 1
DriverladySep 15th, 2008 - 16:59:41
Please get fact's straight. The 1 cent sales tax is a Republican Governor's proposal not loved by Democrats because of its regressive nature. The Dems wanted to close tax loopholes exploited by the very wealthy-like the Yacht loophole- but Repubicans opposed that because they don't want thier billionaire freinds to have to pay taxes. The money for this budget will come primarily from additional cuts to health and human services (including health and mental health for the poor) and from future revenues (i.e. borrowing). In otherwords, this budget will be balanced on the backs of the very poor, the mentally ill and the children of California. It is a big win for the Republicans.
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