5/18    Thank you Gray Davis, who increased state employement by 30%, and
        who rewards his primary contributor, the Prison Unions, with fat
        pay raises.
        Vehicle-tax plan praised - Fee hike would spare drastic local cuts
        http://www.recordnet.com/daily/news/articles/051803-gn-4.php
        \_ I'm really tired of all this budget bullshit.  Is there not a
           single state that believe in fiscal responsibility?    Any state
           that require balanced budget in their constitution?
           \_ The last time California ran budget surpluses during a boom
              time, we had a "taxpayers revolt" and ended up with Prop 13.
              We get what we deserve here. Every recession is like this.
              Remember Pete Wilson's big round of tax increases?
              \_ No, we had prop 13 because people were losing their houses.
                 I was here and I remember it.
                 \_ People were not losing their homes. That was all
                    bullshit.
                    \_ Idiot.  I was there.  Get out of the ivory tower and
                       join the real world where real people are hurt or helped
                       everyday by the real decisions real politicians make.
                       \_ I was there too. Everyone wants to pay
                          less taxes, but the money for things like schools
                          has to come from someplace. School quality in
                          California, which had been in the top 10% of
                          the country, plummeted and has stayed low since.
                          How old were you when this happened? No way can
                          you remember what was really going on. If you
                          go back and look at the newspaper archives, you
                          will find one or two people on fixed incomes who
                          supposedly lost their homes, out of a state with
                          a population of 20M. You live in a fantasyland.
                          \_ Yeah all the neighbors who put their houses up for
                             sale and left the state were just figments of my
                             deranged and aged mind.  CA has many reasons for
                             being at the bottom of the school rankings, not
                             teaching the "three Rs" anymore is the primary
                             reason.
                 \_ And now people are losing their houses because they can't
                    afford the property tax that's subsidizing the people who
                    are benefitting from prop 13. Irony is delicious. Munch.
                    \_ The problem with prop 13 is that while it was
                       motivated by a need to protect a primary residence
                       from fluctuations in the real estate market, it
                       was written to include *all* property.  For humans,
                       frozen contribution rates on a primary residence
                       are a good way to apportion the total tax burden
                       over the life of the taxpayer.  For coporations and
                       other entities that never die, Prop 13 is a nightmare
                       that has only just started crushing our economy.
                       \_ Actually it's been crushing it a while. Each
                          economic downturn just emphasizes it. When the
                          economy recovers, it'll be forgotten again. After
                          you finish the cookie, you'll feel right as rain.
                          \_ Can someone explain what prop13 is?
                             \_ Quickie version: In 1978, property taxes
                                assessed according to 1976 prices with a max
                                +2% change until prop sold. Then it's
                                reassessed and taxed at current price. Note 2%
                                is below COLA and certainly way below real
                                estate increase. Plus, to raise taxes takes
                                2/3 vote of the legistlature.
                                \_ Only because we learned the term "double
                                   digit inflation" under Jimmy Carter. In any
                                   sane world, the COLA would be about 2%.
                                   \_ Communist!
                                   \_ Ford invented double digit inflation.
                                      Carter just carried on the tradition.
                                      \_ Ford?  Oh pleeeeeaaaaase.  It's the
                                         only thing the news talked about for
                                         his entire term.  Oh yeah, that and
                                         the Hostage Crisis.