As California continues on a course that may well end in bankruptcy, the indispensable Iowahawk decides to give us a sneak peek of the future California funeral here. Any relation between California’s funeral and the funeral of a pop singer this week is purely intentional. After all, they both died broke!
Brilliant!
Funny as is usual from Iowahawk. I’d agree that most of the state’s problems result from a government whose spending is out of touch with reality, but to be fair, there are problems with the revenue side as well. Prop. 13, despite its good intentions, is becoming a big burden on local governments, not to mention its bizarre inequalities (e.g., My property taxes are more than 10 times my parents’). Of course, the state’s general fund relies heavily on income taxes to the wealthy — and when they take a hit, so does the state. A cautionary tale about relying too heavily on “tax the rich” policy?
I don’t know if one can blame prop. 13. Another take on that:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-fox9-2009jul09,0,7503532.story
They could benefit from legalizing marijuana. There’s billions to be had on taxed distribution by the government.
It’s not just Prop 13. There is a lack of revenue, but a lot of that has to do with the economic downturn. There’s a structural and a cyclical component to the budget deficit. Spending is definitely a problem, and for years we’ve been passing ridiculous bond measures for everything under the sun with the promise that they won’t increase our taxes. How exactly are those bondholders going to be repaid, then? Our spectacular economic growth?
“I don’t care what the tabloids and the Wall Street Journal say,” said a weeping Illinois. “I still love you, Cali!” (because you made me not look so bad!)
On a similar note, an MJ-parody-style obit for the state of Illinois, posted in comments by “Vanilla Man,” appears at this link:
http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2009/06/26/my-lifes-preparation-for-covering-the-statehouse/#comments
Inside joke alert regarding my last post: Stroger Hospital is the former Cook County Hospital, a fictionalized version of which was the setting for the TV series “ER.”
The Illinois obit was a hoot Elaine!