Posted by
OldRelayer on Thursday, May 21, 2009 1:40:46 PM
A state that can be a little fickled voted 61.5% Obama and 37.1% McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election. Did they know what they were voting for, I doubt it by the looks of yesterday's blood bath. At the moment it is hard to think of a State as bad off as California, although Michigan might give them a run, talk about shooting your self in the foot, what were they thinking, I suppose they weren't.
They are saying now, you have to get creative to solve this problem that you created and expect us to solve, I applaud them, it isn't the peoples problem, let the Governor and the legislature make the tough choices, that is what they are being paid for. Although, I guess the Governator doesn't take a salary and he still seems to be over paid. Just another Rino like the ones we have here on the other coast in Maine. Here are the results of the special election.
— Proposition 1A would have been the most damaging to taxpayers, as it would extend tax hikes on sales, income, and vehicles for two years, to the tune of $16 billion. It was disguised as a spending cap, but that cap was weak. Voters sniffed out the tax hikes and overwhelmingly opposed them 66-34.
— Proposition 1B didn’t fare much better, as it was rejected by a 62.5 to 37.5 vote. This measure was Gov. Schwarzenegger’s bow to the all-powerful teachers unions. It would have thrown an addition $9.3 billion toward education. It hoped to draw that money from the rainy day fund 1A would have established (so much for a spending cap). Thankfully for taxpayers, both measures were defeated.
— Proposition 1C would have allowed the state to borrow against future lottery revenues, about $5 billion. You have to give state government credit for creativity — they’re tops when it comes to new and innovative budget gimmicks that ignore the reality that they consistently spend outside their means. Voters recognized that Prop 1C ignored this fundamental reality and rejected it 65-35.
— Proposition 1D would have shifted almost $2 billion from the California Children and Families Program into the general fund to close the budget gap. This is more budgetary maneuvering that would have left taxpayers on the hook when the program’s funding was inevitably restored. It lost 66-34.
— Proposition 1E failed by the same 66-34. Like Prop 1D, it would have diverted funds from elsewhere in the budget to shore up general-fund overspending (about $230 million annually from Proposition 63 — a tax on the rich).
— Proposition 1F was the only measure to pass. It imposed a weak limit on pay raises for legislators, theoretically disallowing them during budget deficit years. Regardless of its actual teeth, the results show true populist outrage in California: The measure passed by a resounding 74-26.
This may or may not be an indicator for the 2010 election, I sure hope that it is. The Democrats are saying they will pick up another 10 seats in 2010, I will seriously think about selling my house for 1/2 of what it is worth and moving somewhere, not sure where, we need at least a filibuster Senate to slow them down if not a majority which would be hard to obtain but not impossible. More of what we have seen will just bankrupt the country far sooner than anyone might imagine.