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Gray Davis and the candidates, failed to ask the toughest questions and let false statements go unchallenged. The utter fallacy, repeated two or three times by Cruz Bustamante, that illegal immigrants pour $1,400 more into Californias economy than they get back, for example, should have been stopped cold. Look closely at his wording, and you will see that each time Bustamante was asked about all the troubles surrounding illegal immigrants, he altered his answer and spoke only of what we gain from immigrants. Bustamante also knows that underground cash-for-work economy created by the 3 million illegal immigrants in California is one reason income taxes paid to California state coffers are so out of balance. Now, is the $1,400 he cited a figure Bustamante got from some think tank study about how much money our legal immigrants pour into California? Faced with experienced tough journalists, Bustamante would never have gotten away with that kind of slimy word game during a debate. But look at who was doing the questioning: small-market journalists from public radio, a small Bay Area paper and a Spanish-language paper, whose questions about abortion rights and other irrelevancies betrayed their left-leaning sympathies and their intellectual flaccidity in the face of phony Davis propaganda. Abortion rights in California have never been threatened, despite a number of conservative Republican governors during the past 25 years, and never will be. This is a media/Davis/NOW concoction that the media should slap down now and stop pandering to. Why was Cruz Bustamante silent during the gross overspending of the Davis years? Why did Davis ignore former chief economist Ted Gibsons data indicating the states revenue had dried up? Is Arianna Huffington, the anti-tax loophole candidate who uses tax loopholes, merely gathering anecdotes for a book? The debate merely distracted journalists while some of the worst legislation in years hurtled toward Davis desk. Lets review some of the worst stinker bills in Sacramento, shall we? Senate Bill 2 comes closer to socialism than anything Ive seen heading for approval in 20 years. It would force Californias hard-hit small and medium-sized businesses, with 20 or more employees, to pay 80 percent of employees health coverage. Companies with more than 200 employees would be forced to pay that for the whole family. SB 2 will spawn layoffs as small businesses pare down to get below the 20-employee cutoff. It is widely known among insiders that key details of SB 2, by state Sen. John Burton, were ghost-written by the Service Employees International Union. Then, miraculously, the SEIU handed Davis a check for $250,000 a few days ago. The goal here is to co-opt workers before the recall, then let the chips fall. Davis says hell sign SB 18, giving the obscure Native American Heritage Commission the power to stop development on anyones land in California if tribes feel construction interferes with a sacred site anywhere in the region. Initially, this turkey included a five-mile zone around each sacred site, meaning construction could be challenged five miles down the freeway from a burial grounds or other site. So its authors Burton again, and also ditzy San Diego Democrat state Sen. Now, tribes can challenge development even further removed from sacred sites. This bizarre bill also allows the public to be barred from the Heritage Commissions proceedings. Bowing to religious pressure, the location of the sacred sites will be secret.
Although you cannot find this fact in the shallow media coverage, the real reforms were quietly killed weeks ago. True reform, proposed in a package of highly detailed bills by the Republicans that copied the top workers comp programs in the nation, were all wiped out in a quiet Democratic massacre over the summer. A Democrat-dominated conference committee now claims that its heavily watered-down proposal will give major relief to California. Davis was too gutless to force through the two basic reforms that make all others mere fingers in the dike. First, although the media rarely explains this Californias nutty rules allow the workers to essentially determine if they were injured on the job. Many doctors who make their living off workers comp are happy to oblige, proof or no proof. Only three states give workers so much say in this important matter-and naturally California clings more than any other state to this grossly abused and terribly subjective practice. In 47 normal states, determining if a worker was injured on the job isnt largely up to the worker because that would be crazy! These states use objective standards-basically, an independent doctor who makes no money treating workers comp, and who utilizes American Medical Association guidelines. But in California, we dont allow independent doctors to make the judgement. The unions view the rampant abuses as a form of paid time off-a perk for their workers. And heres the proof: years ago, special interest groups including the unions pressured the politicos to make it illegal to use the AMA guidelines. Second, when determining if a worker should get permanent disability payments-a huge slice of Californias crisis-our Orwellian no fault laws encourage the parties to go fight it out for months in court as the trial lawyer lobby insisted so it could get rich off the system. As a result, 50 percent of all California workers comp cases hit court. In Utah, where independent doctors determine permanent disability, 4 percent of cases hit court. The end result is, truly injured workers get screwed and are forced into court for months, and everybody else from doctors who look the other way to lawyers who string cases along, sucks the system dry. Reforms youll hear touted this week by less-than-honest media spinners like Los Angeles state Sen. Richard Alarcon, such as capping some medical fees and chiropractor visits, wont end the crisis. The reason highly irritated Costco CEO Jim Sinegal delivered 150,000 signatures from Costco workers demanding reform to the capitol this week is that businesses-and now even the workers-are sick of the lying and delaying out of Sacramento. Costco operates in 36 states in the United States, but 70 percent of its workers compensation costs come from California. Thats as good a measure of the level of corruption and wealth-creation inside Californias workers compensation system as any Ive heard. The plain truth is, only by copying how the top-rated states use objective standards will we see major relief. US: California KEYWORDS: CALGOV2002 1 posted on 09/06/2003 1:29:45 PM PDT by John Jorsett Post Reply Private Reply View Replies To: John Jorsett that illegal immigrants pour $1,400 more into Californias economy than they get back, Where does Bustamante think that money they get comes from in the first place? Illegals take jobs, they make some money, they spend some money - but illegals are doing nothing to actually create any wealth. There is no way an illegal who has brought over 5 to 8 kids is paying enough in taxes to pay for what its costing to educate those kids. Also - who does Bustamante think is sending $35 billion to Mexico?
It would force Californias hard-hit small and medium-sized businesses, with 20 or more employees, to pay 80 percent of employees health coverage. Companies with more than 200 employees would be forced to pay that for the whole family. He is awaiting word from his mentor his handlers Warren Buffet, Rob Lowe, Ted Kennedy before making a statement. Davis says hell sign SB 18, giving the obscure Native American Heritage Commission the power to stop development on anyones land in California if tribes feel construction interferes with a sacred site anywhere in the region. Another instance of Arnold failing to prove to the voters of Kalifornia that he has their best interests in mind. Arnolds Handlers and Policy Makers: Arnold has said he supports sensible gun-control laws, campaign spokesman Rob Stutzman. In reality Im for gun control, Arnold as reported in The Los Angeles Slimes. Warren Buffet: Billionaire socialist who advises Arnold on economic policies. Shriver is noted as saying to Char...
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