They are trying to bring things to a head in Sacramento:
Drudge says "CA on the brink!"
Despite this variety of sources, the stories are mind-numbingly similar. There's a deal involving "pain for everybody," but a couple of jerk GOP state senators are refusing to go along. Everyone expresses the same level of exasperation and impatience. The demand for lower, or at least stable, taxes is dismissed off-hand as the old way of doing things.
Left unstated are the motivation of these Republicans. They are simply treated as "selfish". No attempt is made to learn what their constituents (who?) might think.
Worst of all, there is little more than the barest outline of what the proposed $41B deal entails. There are apparently are "deep" spending cuts. There are also billions in tax increases that are promised to be "temporary" (hah!). And, the way the numbers are being run, the voters must approve no less than 5(!) separate changes to the state constitution. And, all of this is supposed to work, how?
The problem is not a couple GOP state senators. The problem is CA's governing class has been making too many promises to too many constituencies for too long.
Why are prison guard demanding, and getting six-figure incomes?
Why are public employees in their late forties allowed to retire on full benefits, and continue to draw those benefits when they go to work in the private sector?
Why is the DMV not doing most of its work on-line, and getting rid of its deadwood staff?
Why is there a UC-Riverside or US-Merced? Why should we subsidize the tenured radicals at UC-Santa Cruz or the rich kids at UC-Santa Barbara?
Why is CA doling out welfare that goes above and beyond the millions of $$ that come from DC?
Better yet, why does CA insist on duplicating so much of the federal government's work? Why is there a California Air Resources Board when there is already a fully radicalized "green" EPA?
Why, oh why, in the midst of an epic economic meltdown are we spending billions of $$ on high speed rail when flying would be faster AND cheaper?
No one will talk about these and a hundred other questions that have built up over the last 20 years. Instead, it's easier just to chase a couple GOP state senators that no one has ever heard of.
I say, give "Financial Armageddon" a chance. Only that will focus minds enough to try to make some real choices.
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