Originally posted by: eskimospy
Originally posted by: Mursilis
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Maybe they should get the same percentage of Federal Taxes paid out back like N Carolina does. That would help their credit rating quite a bit.
If Californians are so unhappy with the amount of money they get back from Washington, maybe they should stop sending so much? And yet, they continue to elect the sort of politicians who contribute to thier own undoing. Way to go, California.
Maybe Californians vote based on more than one issue.
Regardless, California's budget problems stem far more from an inability of its legislature to function than anything else. Because of a retarded provision in the state constitution it requires a 2/3rds majority to pass a budget. This has allowed a minority of lawmakers to completely destroy the budgetary process, and render the legislature incapable of functioning.
The basic story is that the Republican minority in California has said that they will not allow any taxes to be raised. They are a small and shrinking portion of the legislature, but still more than 1/3rd. The Democratic majority, with the support of the governor has attempted to compromise them by closing the budget gap created by the current housing price collapse partially through tax increases and partially through spending cuts. The Republicans have refused, and so instead... nothing has happened, and now California can't pay its bills.