I have to admit to not having visited the FlashReport prior to coming to the Liberal OC and on a whim I went to check it out. I guess that was my first mistake. Yes, Democrats hope to seize 2/3 of the State Legislature to raise taxes!
Of course, if you actually read the articles they don’t really say that. I skimmed the first two and then gave up. The first at the “CC Times”:
If a wave does crash down on California, Democrats hope it sweeps through at least six Assembly and two Senate districts, which is what they’d need to capture a two-thirds majority in both houses. That would give them the power to pass budgets and taxes without Republican help.
Okay, so that means we might have less gridlock in the State Legislature but there is nothing that says raising taxes.
The following article from the “VentStar” talks about the reality of our current economic woes. It’s not the late nineties anymore, now is it?
The situation has created a political standoff in the state Capitol as the choices of how to close that shortfall have been crystallized to these: Either revoke some of those good-times tax cuts to generate more revenue, or slash spending on the state’s biggest-ticket item, public education.
Most Republican lawmakers have signed a pledge promising never to do the former. Most Democratic legislators have vowed never to do the latter. The standoff will last through the spring and perhaps into the summer; to end it will require a two-thirds majority vote.
So, of course the FlushReport fails to mention the fact that Republicans refuse to even think of ending tax breaks that were enacted in better times and that Democrats want to avoid cutting the School Budget increases slated for the next fiscal year. Stalemate yes, but at what cost?
In the meantime, school districts around the state are having to make decisions about their budgets for the 2008-09 academic year  budgets almost entirely dependent on how much money they are allocated by the state. As a result: At least 20,000 layoff notices were mailed to teachers, counselors and school librarians around the state to meet Saturday’s notification deadline.
Ah, that detail. Education is paying the biggest price in this budget pie fight and since others around here have pointed out the fact that the State of California is one of the States that spends the least per student per year, can we afford to cut more to education?
It’s easy to ring the alarm bell and shout the same old battle cry, “Democrats want to raise your taxes!!!!!”, but it’s just more complicated than that. There is some point when even Republicans have to ask, Are we willing to fund the right priorities in the State of California? I guess the “FlashReport” means it’s quick but it may not be clear.
Ultimately, the biggest issue is the fact that many Californians and Americans are really sick of things not getting done because of the political tango. It’s like a dance where everyone knows their steps and they know exactly when and how it’s going to end. Why do Democrats and Republicans think that if they keep doing the same thing over and over again they will get a different result? And the reason there is so much optimism is because we might actually get something done and the Country might go in a different direction, I mean, you don’t get a 24% approval rating as President for being fantastic? And the Federal Legislature? Their record is even worse! Why? Because, we’ve all watched the same thing happening on the Federallevel that we are seeing on the State level.
No one wants to budge, not because it’s the right thing to do but because it’s the party line that matters and it’s the same spin that has to be kept spinning. S-Chip? Well it’s just going down the path of socialized medicine!
Bush argued that the congressional plan would be a move toward socialized medicine by expanding the program to higher-income families.
There we go, more Republican alarmism , it’s going to lead us right down the road to a Stalinist State! Of course, Bush also fails to recognize that we are the last of the industrialized nations to actually offer Universal Health Care. And many smart Democrats remind us that it’s not actually Health Care we need to fund but Universal Health Insurance. Crazy, right? But it’s an important distinction and the single payer system of Medicare actually spends much less than what is considered the norm by profit driven Health Insurance.
I could go on and on, we have the FISA bill where Democrats don’t want to give immunity to Telcoms and Bush is adamant that if we don’t we’re going to leave ourselves open to future terrorist threats because of having to “reopen dangerous intelligence gaps by putting in place a cumbersome court approval process that would make it harder to collect intelligence on foreign terrorists.” Oh, you mean those annoying laws we have? He fails of course to mention that in an emergency they can forgo such “cumbersome court approval” and file for the warrant within 72 hours. Yes, I did say I could go on and on.
So, maybe we are just sick of nothing getting done and far too many cries of “stop those Democrats”, for it is tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.
Outstanding report Heather; Thanks for reading the Flash Report so I didn’t have to. It’s shameless who the Republicans can defend protecting a loophoel for luxury boat owners but want draconian cuts in education, healthcare, and transportation.
I keep my fingers crossed that folks keep following the likes of Jonny Flash.
It won’t be too much longer before republicans are kept around for intellectual curiosity and not much else.
Well, locally the Democrats on the Santa Ana City Council have recently voted to raise water rates. Councilman Sal Tinajero, and La Habra Councilwoman Rose Espinoza were the keys behind raising the OC sanitation rates recently as well. And the Santa Ana School Board voted to put another bond on the June ballot. Two Democrats voted for that bond as well – Audrey Noji and Jose Hernandez. Thank God one Democrat, John Palacio, voted against it. That means the bond will need a supermajority to pass.
I am told that the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Board of Ed is also considering putting a new bond on the November ballot. And the City of Santa Ana is likewise pondering putting a city bond measure on the November ballot. Both bodies are majority Democrat.
So at least on a local level elected Dems are keeping busy raising our taxes and fees as quickly as they can, which is crazy considering that the Bush recession looks like it is going to be a very nasty one indeed.
Art- But the question should be, were those rate hikes needed or were they merely for the sake of raising them? There is a difference and that is my point.
“Councilman Sal Tinajero, and La Habra Councilwoman Rose Espinoza were the keys behind raising the OC sanitation rates recently as well.”
Art why do you insist upon trying to sensationalize everything?
Sal and Rosie were just two of many that voted to increase the fees. They were by no means the “keys” to raising the rates.
We get it, you hate Sal (I’m sure he’s losing sleep over it). However, must you let your hatred taint everything you write?
I don’t what the big deal is with repubs. Their patron saint Ronald Reagan
raised taxes both as governors and president. It’s not like that seal hasn’t
already been broken by conservatives.
RHackett,
The Reeps only want to remember their romanticized version of Ronny. They seem to forget that he cut and ran from Lebanon, granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants and yes, as you pointed out, raised taxes.
Lets not let facts get in the way of their fantasy.
The massive bailout of the rich [Bear] once again proves the hypocrisy of the “I’ve got mine Reepugs” and fantasy world libertarians alike. We live in a complex society and we fund it ourselves. Called taxes, you OC cavedwellers.
Sean,
Please stop obfuscating. You know the truth. Sal did indeed play a huge role in changing Rose’s vote. And he seconded the motion to do so. Let me put this another way. Without Sal and Rose there would be no 60% hike in sanitation fees over the next few years. Is that clear enough for you?
Art,
The role that Sal and Rosie played was no larger than anyone else that supported the measure. The overwhelming majority of those on the board supported it.
As far as Sal’s role in Rose’s vote you sure seem obsessed by that. She is responsible for her own actions, not Sal.
You sure do seem to think that Sal is ultra-powerful. And yet you don’t think Pulido is influential at all. You really need to educate yourself as to who the players really are in OC politics. Your ignorance is showing.
Sean,
In this case Art is right!
Because of the voice vote method used by OCSD Each member votes in sequence by last name. Once Rosie cast her ballot the rest of the board already knew the outcome and stuck with the raise in our fees/taxes. Pressure builds on each subsequent voter to support the political allies. In this instance Dem’s and Reep’s joined to raise our fee’s/taxes in concert!