Cities all over Calif yesterday voted themselves a `utility` tax increase. For cable, cell phone, land line phone, gas/electric bills. On Monday 11/2 the State of Calif began confiscating an extra 10% of everyone`s paycheck as a `loan` to be paid back next April as a tax refund. This is what the state is calling an interest free loan to the state. We`ll probably get this money back in the form of an IOU or not at all.

Voters in the 10th District of Calif had a chance yesterday to vote in a conservative candidate ( David Harmer) to replace the departed Ellen Tauscher. Who do they choose? THe State`s Lieut Gov John Garamendi. A career leftist politician who specializes in raising taxes and he doesn`t even live the in the 10th District.

There is no hope for Calif. It is stuck on liberal stupid….

There have been mistakes made by government and legislators, but also we have been victims of the housing, Silicon Valley and stock market bubbles.

Population is 37 million. TX is 24 million.

Big dreams cost money.

One wonders what Jerry Brown might be like after having dealt with the State of CA’s pickpocketing in Oakland. There were days when he almost made sense as mayor, but then again, I’m just a California Dreamer.

A-freaking-men. Pension programs are proven to be unsustainable even in the private sector. Add government shenanigans to the mix and you have an ever-looming budget disaster that tends to get gamed. CalSTRS and CalPERS, two of our state pension programs for government employees, are in serious trouble and has shown evidence of massive mal-investment and even fraud.

Expect a second financial collapse as the Baby Boomers retire and they transition from investors to consumers. In order for someone to withdraw from a retirement account, assets must be sold. Imagine for a minute what that does to the various funds’ value when you have millions upon millions of people suddenly needing to withdraw money instead of depositing it. Forget government confiscating your 401(k), they’ll be made worthless just through market actions.

#2 Make it illegal for state workers to be unionized. It creates a super-insider lobbyist group within the government. I realize that pricing market wages and benefits are difficult even for private sector jobs, but big companies still manage to do it. And getting a union’s help on this problem does not seem like a reasonable fix.

It was useless to explain that Texas’s economy (like California’s) is far more diversified than that. Also useless: Asking why, if this is true, Calfornia doesn’t do more to encourage on-shore/off-shore drilling and refinery construction.

Actually, sales taxes are approaching or exceeding 10% in California, depending on the county (9.75% in Alameda County where I live). So no, illegals don’t exactly get a free ride here. They also get the benefit of gasoline and energy bills well above the national average and higher overall prices for goods and services.

Granted, that only serves to illustrate how out-of-control Sacramento is. 10% sales taxes, 10%+ income taxes, 2% property taxes, DMV fees tripling since Ahnold took office, IOUs issued as currency…and California still runs a budget deficit.

Income taxes were just increased this year as well. A very telling scenario…my wife works HR and payroll for a small tech company in the Silicon Valley and has started receiving the brunt of complaints, as if the company were responsible for the increased withholding. She’s been really tempted to suggest that maybe they pay attention to the people they vote into office next time.