Los Angeles, 2009: California may be the eighth largest economy in the world, but its state staff are being paid in IOUs, unemployment is at its highest in 70 years, and teachers are on hunger strike. So what has gone so catastrophically wrong?
[...] Yet California is currently cutting healthcare, slashing the “Healthy Families” programme that helped an estimated one million of its poorest children. Los Angeles now has a poverty rate of 20%. Other cities across the state, such as Fresno and Modesto, have jobless rates that rival Detroit’s.
[...] “I believe in California. It pains me at the moment to see it where it is, but I still believe in it,” said Michael Levine.
If California is failing then clearly rich fat-cats like Charlie Sheen, Sean Penn or Steven Spielberg are not paying their fair share.
It’s time these Hollywood hypocrites put there money where their mouth is and start donating their entire fortunes to the California coffers.
They should do it for the children and the socialism they claim to love so much.
Well, if Californians were stupid enough to elect Arny as their governator, I guess they deserve all they get
Lotsa rich folk living in California, if they don’t care, I’ll be damned if I do. Maybe when the cops, emergency rescue, and firemen go on strike they’ll realize they have a problem. Being part of a community requires the commitment of it’s members. What would happen if the rich folk decide California’s too dangerous or depressing? They would leave. Making a desperate situation a tragic one.
California may not be the first state to go bankrupt, but it probably won’t be the last to do so.
What’s wrong with CA? The taxes are to high. The government and elite took an anti business attitude while trying to create a perfect welfare state while kissing up to the unions.
Business fled the state or failed and the money ran out.
Now the government needs to cut taxes and change laws to encourage businesses while vastly reducing spending.
If they do that the public will turn on them like sharks and if they don’t the public is going to turn on them like sharks.
At least for now CA may be a good place not to be job hunting.
“That and the fact that it takes 2/3 majority to pass a budget and you get a small minority (Repub) with a controlling power to mess things up.”….
If less than 2/3rds think something is legit, maybe it isn’t. I doubt that the police, fire and highway patrol are too controversial to get a 2/3 vote. The rest is probably just pork, patronage and social engineering. To hell with it.
1. You have to figure that the one state that lives on a huge network of earthquake faults, and still builds most of its priciest taxpayer funded projects in those cities. Not to mention being subject to massive forest fires, on a yearly basis. And you can see how this would rack up the States debt problem. They’ve got a huge negative cash flow.
2. I’m betting that lots of millionaires, billionaires, and megabuck corporations there, are hiding their wealth from being taxed. By using offshore and Swiss bank tax havens. Placing the sole burden of taxes on the poor middle and lower class Californians.
I waiting for the “big one” to come and sever CA away from the rest of this country. Hopefully Nancy Pelosi will be there when it hits and we will be rid of her too.
#28 gq… You may just get your wish ->
http://scienceagogo.com/news/20090830200310data_trunc_sys.shtml
#28, gq,
I see you still have anger issues. I thought you resolved those with your doctor.