| The onetime jewel in this country's crown of | | | | the state lottery? Native American casinos? |
| achievement and testament to the "good life" has | | | | Increased gas taxes? Higher sin taxes ( cigarettes |
| tarnished to the point were it is unlikely to be | | | | and alcohol)? The recent hikes in sales taxes at |
| restored to its former greatness. With unbridled | | | | the state and local levels? Are Californians |
| spending by a virtual one-party State Assembly | | | | destined to depend on the legalization of |
| and Senate, unsustainable concessions to public | | | | marijuana and the taxes gained from it to tide |
| sector unions, unfriendly restrictions and taxes on | | | | the state over until the next financial crunch? |
| business along with personal income taxes and | | | | Too many special interest groups resulting in too |
| sales taxes that are among the highest in the | | | | many petitions that end up as ballot propositions |
| nation, it's no wonder the California dream has | | | | have taken much of the budget responsibility |
| turned into a nightmare. | | | | away from the elected representatives. This |
| California is ranked 7th worldwide in terms of GDP | | | | experiment in direct democracy may be popular |
| (Gross Domestic Product), placing the state above | | | | with residents, but it hampers budget control - |
| nations such as Spain and Canada. There was a | | | | assuming the free-spenders in Sacramento would |
| 50 percent increase in the number of new | | | | actually be concerned about finances as opposed |
| residents from 1980 to 2000, today there are 37 | | | | to pushing their own agendas. |
| million people living in California, which represents | | | | The cycle of higher taxes imposed in order to |
| 8.5 percent of the US population. | | | | pay for immigration services, education, health |
| But the population mix is changing. Since the | | | | care, an aging infrastructure and increasing |
| millennium, businesses have moved or closed at | | | | government costs are hangovers from the glory |
| an alarming rate, causing the state to lose | | | | days of the Golden State. This is not 1960 or |
| corporate taxes and the revenues skilled workers | | | | 1985. It is 2010 and the countdown to |
| represent. Even the work for unskilled labor has | | | | self-destruction is a reality. |
| been diminished with draconian environmental laws | | | | Change is not an option; it is an imperative. The |
| for manufacturers and farmers losing vital | | | | voters of California must send a loud and clear |
| irrigation sources in order to protect an | | | | message to politicians to stop the madness. If |
| endangered minnow at the expense of growing | | | | they don't listen, perhaps the state can declare |
| crops to feed the nation and the world. | | | | bankruptcy (not actually do it, just take it to the |
| At the same time, pension funds for public sector | | | | brink before the federal government steps in), |
| employees has increased 2,000 percent in the last | | | | get out from under the commitments that |
| decade while revenues are up only 24 percent. | | | | shackle reform and start anew. If California gets |
| The state deficit for this year will be in excess of | | | | a fresh start other states might follow. Think it |
| $20 billion. What happened to the money from | | | | could work? |