Time Lapse Film of Food Stamps in America

Wow. Fascinating video. Doesn't look too good. Basically charting how more and more of the population is on government support. At least in California they've finally figured out that paying for cruises and trips to the casino with money that is SUPPOSED to be used for food stamps is not appropriate. One wonders why it took them so long to figure this out.

California (Still) in the Hurt Locker

Four months after passing their "fix" for California's budget, it appears that the fiscal deficit for next year will be a paltry 20 billion or so (too bad California isn't the Federal government, they could just print this money and get on with life). That's quite some sticker shock. No doubt the politicians are getting straight to work. They will come up with a realistic plan that will set California's fiscal house in order for the generations to follow. How about this brilliant idea from State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg: California needs to focus on rebuilding the tax base" by "using our fiscal levers to increase the number of high-wage jobs." Oh...I see. Why didn't other states think of this? If you need high wage jobs, just create them. Mr. Steinberg is on the fast track for a Pulitzer Prize in economics.

California: Failed State?

My native state is in a hurt locker and the Guardian (U.K.) wonders if she'll ever escape. I wonder myself. If the economy turns around, she'll probably limp along okay. If the economy turns down again, she'll be a mess. Interesting read.

One very strange event from the article:

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and now an adopted Californian, remembers arriving here from his native New England. "In New England you would have to know people for 10 years before they let you in their home," he says. "Here, when I took my son to his first play date, the mother invited me to a hot tub."

Only in California...

California, Obama, and Never Ending Deficits

An excellent read from Bloomberg. I find this paragraph both sad and funny.

The federal picture is so bleak because the Obama administration is the most fiscally irresponsible in the history of the U.S. I would imagine that he would be the intergalactic champion as well, if we could gather the data on deficits on other worlds. Obama has taken George W. Bush’s inattention to deficits and elevated it to an art form.

"The intergalactic champion of fiscal irresponsibility," it has quite a ring to it, doesn't it?

Prediction: California is the Next Bailout

Sure the Obama administration claims that it isn't going to bailout California. I beg to differ. The cuts required to balance California's budget are draconian enough to set off unrest among the populace. California's economy is the 8th biggest in the world. If it goes off the edge of the precipice, where do you think the U.S. economy is going to be? If you're the president do you think you're going to allow this to happen on your watch? Nope. You're going to bail them out.

California Gets a (Short) Respite

This article is a good summary of all that has gone wrong in my native state. It's rapidly turning into a third world country with all the attendant crime, trash, lousy infrastructure and entrenched politicians. Some bullet points:

~Teacher pay and benefits 17% higher than the national average (adjusted for expensive living)
~Spends 70% more per capita (compared to national average) on welfare recipients because it has refused to encourage them to work
~2004 to 2007, 32% increase in the state budget
~9.3% unemployment

In other words, expect the Golden State to be in desperate need of a bailout soon, one that will certainly gain a receptive ear in the White House because Washington can’t conceive of our largest state defaulting on its debt, even though the prospect has now sunk California’s bond rating lower even than Louisiana’s.

But also expect Washington to take some heat if it simply bail outs out California, especially now that we have governors like Mark Sanford of South Carolina pointing out that the federal aid to states amounts to a subsidy by citizens of fiscally responsible governments to states where legislators have chucked responsibility out the window.

George Will Skewers The Politicians

George Will at his best.

The stimulus legislation is a strange response to the president's inaugural call for "a new era of responsibility." State and local governments, which in the five flush years 2003–07 irresponsibly increased spending five times faster than population growth, will get hundreds of billions. Forty-nine states have governors better than California's, but as that state sinks into insolvency (its budget deficit is 40 percent of the sum of all the states' deficits) Arnold Schwarzenegger is merrily saving the planet.

Cali Tries (and Fails) to Get Its Act Together

Nice to see that some things never change, the sun keeps rising, the Federal government keeps wasting money, and California still can't manage to close it's minor 42 billion budget gap (except by doing an end run around their own laws!?!).

California Deeper Into the Hurt Locker

My prediction is that when all is said and done, the Governator will join up with the Democrats and pass a bevy of new taxes, fees, et al., to make up for the minor 42 billion dollar shortfall they are experiencing, which is about half a day worth of handouts to Henry "The King" Paulson.

Ten Politically Incorrect Thoughts

Victor Hanson at his best. I especially like his comments about my native state, California. Of course I'm thinking that he hasn't seen "3.10 to Yuma," which negate his comments both about movies in general and westerns in particular.

Bailout # 4...or 5.... or Whatever...The States

For their next magic bailout trick the Federal government will have to bailout several states, not the least of which is California. According to The Governator, the reason that California is having a hard time is the Federal government:

Government is really at fault, and this is why government has to get us out of this mess now and figure out very quickly how to get us out of it," he said. "And I'm talking about Washington.

Laughable. He conveniently forgets to mention that California has increased expenditures 95% in the past decade, spending money like drunken sailors, and now it is time to go get Bernanke to print them some money so they can pay off their debts.

The Politicians Dither...

...while California burns. Good luck with closing that 17.2 billion dollar budget gap.

On the other hand, maybe the politicos were on an L.A. freeway trying to collect enough money to balance the budget...

The Children are in Control in California

Problem: You are 15 billion in the hole with your budget. Solution: Raise taxes and drive as many people as possible out of the state that you can. Yeah. That should work pretty well.

This Certainly Explains a Lot

A California judge presiding over an obscenity trial apparently keeps a website with obscene material on it. I believe the outcome of this trial is pretty predictable.

Cali is in a Hurt Locker (of it's own making)

A budget deficit of 20 billion? No one willing to accept cuts? What do you do? What else can you do but soak people for more taxes? California is in a hurt locker, that it created through run away spending during the boom years which can in no way be sustained in the bust years. Eventually, they're going to have to make painful, difficult cuts because you can only raise taxes so much before they becoming self-defeating.

This Could Only Happen in Cali!

A man in a wheelchair robs a bank...and gets away with it. He apparently was last seen wheeling away down the street at what - 8 miles per hour, max? No one could jump in their car and follow him? Very strange indeed.

How Cali Will (Attempt to) Fix It's Budget Deficit

Taking a play from the "scare-the-tar-out-of-them-and-then-raise-their-taxes" playbook, Governor Schwarzenegger will no doubt raise taxes in California in order to try and balance their incredible budget deficit. I'm not even sure that would work since Cali has been spending money on anything and everything like drunken sailors the last decade or so (lest you think I'm impugning drunken sailors, I've seen a few and boy can they go through money!). From the article: Some reports have suggested that the highly emotive cuts proposed by the governor are part of a calculated plan to ready the ground for tax increases.

The Terminator is a Coward

Arnold Schwarzneggar surrenders to the homosexual lobby. So much for courage in politics, eh?