The Economic Downturn and the GOP's Obstructionism: Twin Wrecking Balls Destroying California

[Joanne98]

There was a recent story about a computer chip equipment making company, Novellus, pulling up stakes and deciding to move out of California. Its CEO, Richard Hill, cited among other things the high living costs. The CEO of Novellus painted California not only as being too "pricey" (which forces it to pay its employees more in salaries) but also cited the ongoing California governent's budget crisis as making California a bad place to do business.

Businesses don't like to operate in an unstable environment.

Novellus is typical of many more companies in this regard. California is poised for not only draconian cuts in state services for its people, but it is also poised for a major exodus of its businesses. The one-two punch of out of work people no longer being able to buy anything and the instability of the business climate will ensure that the business exodus will accelerate, the longer this crisis goes on in Sacramento.

I find the Republicans' citing new taxes as the reason for their obstructionism in fixing the budget really hypocritical and ironic. They love to blame California's relatively high income tax and sales tax as the most important factor in forcing business out of California. Statistics actually show that California is nowhere near the top of the list of states with the highest aggregate tax rate (including property tax, sales tax and other types of taxes). Yet the GOP has successfully convinced the California public that its tax load is unbearable and that businesses base their decision to stay in California or leave it mainly on the amount of taxes the state collects. The other villain they love to point to are the number of social safety net users who are sucking the life, as they would have it, out of California. Never mind the billions on tax havens, write offs and subsidies that the State gives upper income people and the many deductions and tax credits even middle income people get. Entitlements for the over-privileged rich are 'good for business' but children, the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed are a class of 'greedy, selfish, fraudulent parasites' that need to have their (in the words of Governor Schwarzenegger, "cadillac entitlements' pared down. Actually, California does spend the bulk of what it spends on the social safety net on medicaid and the amount each recipient of either Welfare or Medicaid gets is smaller than many other states. California has a bigger population than most and so it spends more on its needy than most other states. But it is FAR from a 'cadillac' safety net, as anyone who has ever tried to use it can attest. It is hard to get on it and staying on it and satisfying State requirements and not being kicked off for the slightest reason they can find, is even harder.

It is ironic because Republicans they use the 'overtaxed' and 'blood sucking bums' bogeymen to sell their excuse for continuing to generate the BUDGET CRISIS. Yet they never ever will consider any other ways to raise revenue which eliminate many loopholes left in place by Proposition 13 and many more which have been written into tax law over the years by lobbyists for the large corporations and special interests.


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http://www.opednews.com/populum/diarypage.php?did=13821

He forgot to mention the HUGE GIGANTIC prison system that sucks the blood out of everything else.

[Buzz Clik]

1. California voters have been slitting their wrists for decades. They are finally killing the state.

It's a crisis sponsored and supported in by the voters of the state. They are getting exactly what they want.

[Mz Pip]

2. Legislation by initiative

has required CA to fund programs that it can't afford. I stopped signing petitions to have initiatives placed on the ballot ages ago.

Some of the initiatives sound real good. THing is people are too lazy to read the fine print and notice how much they will cost the state.

[Buzz Clik]

3. Gray Davis was recalled supposedly in response to a huge deficit.

The shocking deficit was roughly $30 billion. Today, that deficit is $42 billion.

[Mz Pip]

4. The recall was pushed

and funded by Republicans who used an ancient CA law to recall Davis. Darryl Issa put up tons of his own money for this thinking he could end up being governor. He was in tears when he had to drop out. He never could make it past the primaries in other elections.

[sam sarrha]

5. ReThuglicans r a psychotic narcissistic ideological cult that believe if they destroy the government

a Magical Utopia will rise out of the ashes.. i am serious, it is typical of Narcissistic cults.. they are one

they are Anarchists.. it is believed they train all the black hooded so called Terrorists Anarchists to disrupt all the progressive marches, etc.. they do go to secret training camps.. they look/act like a trained militia

[disidoro1]

6. Cali

California has done this to themselves regardless of who we want to blame. You have to make more money than you spend. it's simple and until we all do it(individuals, corporations, governments), nothing will change whether there or the country as a whole. As an aside, Republicans are not boogie men or mentally ill. They are ignorant and need to be taught properly. I see the reason for these problems being that we do not hold our public officials accountable. Just my take but then again I'm in NY where everything is hunky dory except for the little disagreement in Albany and the taxes and the education issues and the...nevermind, I have to go for a walk.