[bumxumer]

DinoDoc opposing proposition (8)

Why limit it to only one? The entire prop system should go into the trash.

[MasdMnPa]

Why limit it to only one? The entire prop system should go into the trash.

QFTMFT!!

[dodsCooggipsehome]

So in some cases it's okay to punish someone before they've been convicted?

We do it all the time, poor people cant make bail they sit in jail

And so presumably they took steps to make sure that doesn't almost happen again. None of which necessitates sending him to jail. He violated the terms of his house arrest. He's a thief and we let him hide some of the loot because he was not a "threat" to anyone... Just his victims.

[Kayacterype]

Direct democracy works fine as long as you have an educated public. Direct democracy plus private financing means that really bad policies that favor the rich get passed.

Direct democracy means people vote for the side with the slickest ads. Vote for no tax increases, better schools, more criminals in prison longer, better levies, and more highways [and for God's sakes, don't do the math! ].

[Mearticbaibre]

They need to write a budget that will garner the necessary votes. Pretty simple.

They actually had it until right wing radio nuts staged a protest at the office of one Republican moderate telling him they'd attempt to use the state's recall system (which both parties have used to target politicians who don't tow the party line) on any Republican who voted for any bill which included any tax increases. It's virtually impossible to cut enough spending to cover the almost $41 billion deficit because such massive amounts of the budget have already been made mandatory by voters (education alone is legally required to get 50% of all state tax revenue with some 2-3 dozen other mandatory spending measures spending measures having been passed over the last 40 years). Everyone always votes for propositions to increase spending while also voting for propositions to cut taxes. It doesn't take a genius to realize this causes deficits.

The other major problem is the constitutional "reforms" passed by Republicans in the early 80's which made it so super majorities are required to raise any taxes or cut any spending but only requiring a simple majority to add new spending. This has caused huge gridlock in the state government.

[Eromereorybig]

Why do they have such a large deficit?

California iirc has about as large an economy as Germany but unfortunately they are almost completely lacking in Germans. (fiscal conservatives)

[ElectraDupu]

CA has overspent and high taxed for decades, leaving no room to adjust revenue in a downturn. Furthermore, their tax structure was very heavily top loaded at higher income and capital gains, which proportionally dropped much more in the recession than a typical broader state tax base, savaging their tax base and demanding much higher adjustment than other states face. When your state finances sail on the edge for so many years, you are bound to fall over when a big crunch comes.

Capital gains are hardly an issue in this state since there are so many exemptions made into the law. For instance each year a person can sell a house (each and every year) and the first $500,000 in capital gains are completely free of the state capital gains tax. The only people who pay any state capital gains tax are people who realize more then $500,000 in capital gains per year; at least on real estate though there are similar exemptions out there for lots of other items.

[rvadipoldkov]

California iirc has about as large an economy as Germany but unfortunately they are almost completely lacking in Germans.

[floadaVonfoli]

You should be able to short states just like you do other stocks.

Shorting California would be awesome.

We already have the lowest bond rating of any State.

We're terminating teachers, cutting off disablity payments, turning loose 1/3 of our prison inmates, and closing down state offices a couple of time per month. And the Repugs keep crying: "You have to cut out more pork!"

Ignore the props instead of the Constitution. Oh yeah, and we're transferring funds out of specialized funds -- in violation of the Constitution -- and moving them to the General Fund.

[Sierabiera]

The Repugs just double downed. The Senate Minority Leader had compromised by agreeing to about $10 billion in tax increases, with the rest of the $40+ billion deficit coming from draconian cuts.

So the Republican caucus just fired him and is replacing him with a Repub says no tax increases at all.

You are right the extremists, and both parties in California are dominated by extremists because the gerrymandered district (by BOTH parties) tend to let extremists win primaries while the Nov elections are meaningless, and the extremists mounted a coupe against the state Republican leadership for daring to work towards a compromise solution. Make no mistakes the extremists absolutely control the state Republican party in this state and they'll attack people on their own side who don't tow the party line. The former (as of yesterday) state Republican leader's only fault was agreeing that it is mathematically impossible to end the deficit with just budget cuts (there is more deficit spending by the state as a percentage of the budget then there is decressionary spending to cut) and so some modest tax increases would be needed. For admitting that basic fact in public the right wing extremists had him removed as leader of the state Republican Party. That basically tells you all you need to know about who is responsible for shutting down the state government.

It's like 1998 all over again when the Republicans refused to pass a budget and shut down the federal government and just like 1998 this will blow up in their faces. When sick and dying people can no longer get health care because MediCAL isn't paying any bills, and when unemployed people stop getting their unemployment insurance checks, and when people can't go to the DMV, when the highway patrol/state troopers stop working because they're not being paid, and when when prisons are shut down because there is no money to buy inmates food, and when courts shut down because no one is getting paid, and a million other things then citizens will look around for someone to blame. The blame will almost certainly fall on the extremists who refused to make ANY compromise in order to get a state budget passed. Mark my words this will blow up in the faces of the state Republican Party.

[Barryrich]

He himself included ?

Naturally he exempts himself from his hate.

[Endatrybeeddy]

Does anyone else find it funny that one of the world's largest economies (California is the eighth largest I think) has managed to turn itself into an ungovernable swill?

[QWNPdpr5]

Why the hell is anyone worried about following propositions when the obviously are not paying any attention to the constitution itself?

[85IbLcwQ]

sadly my state has taken to propositions alot lately, but nothing as bad as Cali's.

you just gotta hope they can pass some tax increases.

[DghtRdc]

Ignore the props instead of the Constitution.

The props are given their power BY the Constitution.

[Tusethede]

So?

Your Constitution mandates two contradictory things.

Choose.