Proposition 13 in Browns sights

Krugman Debunks the Texas Miracle
by eschipul The state of Texas is a gargantuan right-wing policy laboratory, spewing noxious governing ideas across the country just like our refineries pollute the air. We’ve had a Republican Governor since 1995 and the Republicans have controlled the both houses of our State Legislature for the past decade — and recently won a super-majority in the House. The result? One of the highest Poverty rates in the United States to go with a massive Budget Deficit. These are tough times f...

Texas is not having financial problems
Image via Wikipedia Kevin Williamson: n terms of harbingers of the apocalypse, it isn’t exactly dogs and cats living together or John Bolton exchanging facial-hair-grooming tips over sugary mint tea with ayatollahs, but, brace yourselves: Texas is facing a projected Budget Deficit. I know, I know: horrors, right? Paul Krugman is practically rubbing his hands together with Glee like some thin-mustached and top-hatted melodrama villain: Bwahahaha! If Texas goes down, conservative economic...

Washington Primary: Moving Up, Back or Packin' It Up?
The answer, it seems, is "Both A and C", but it depends on which primary you're talking about. That Washington Governor Christine Gregiore called for the elimination of the Evergreen state's presidential primary is old news -- she did that back in December -- but the idea appears to be gaining momentum with Secretary of State Sam Reed now endorsing the idea as well. As was the speculated to be the case in California, with the proposed shift of the primary there, this effort in Washington is a ...

Illinois Budget Math: Hike Taxes by $7 Billion, Use it to Borrow $12 Billion
Or, how to turn a dynamic state economy into a basket case in just a few years. As you know, Illinois has raced past California to claim the mantle of most fiscally irresponsible state. Its bonds are just a tad above junk status and it has to patch up a $13 billion hole-half its general fund Budget-within days, to pay a back-log of unpaid bills and cover a missed payment to the public Employee Pension fund. (Then they’ll have to do it all over again next year.) Because the  ...

2010 Census Says California State Budget is $254 Billion, Not $90 Billion
Californians have not been told the truth about how much the State Government is spending.  A blockbuster bit of information has been buried in a new U.S. Census report and has not been covered by the Mainstream Media.   This  raises questions about the integrity of  California’s legislature,  former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, indeed about ANYONE who has been involved with the stewardship of public funds and the California state Budget.  Who is ...

Jerry Brown's talk of ending redevelopment sparks fears, cheers around California
Redevelopment has transformed San Jose, with an infusion of tax money that helped revitalize a dying downtown and turned former swampland along North First Street into a bustling high-tech corridor. In other communities, redevelopment dollars have built shopping centers, Affordable Housing and championship Golf Courses. But a Budget-reform proposal that new Gov. Jerry Brown is widely rumored to be weighing may end redevelopment statewide to free up more tax money for schools and other programs. ...

Madore Term Limited From Newsday Cap Bureau
Here’s CapTon’s Liz Alesse’s brief exit interview of Newsday Capitol Bureau Chief James T. Madore, who is departing Albany for points South after four years of covering the seat of State Government. Madore told Liz A. his Long Island-based employer has a tradition of limiting the tenure of reporters in his current post to four years (also the duration of a single gubernatorial term). So, now that there’s a new Governor in town, Madore will be heading to the Newsday mothe...

Tax hike roundup
* Sun-Times… Gov. Quinn struck a deal with the Legislature’s ruling Democrats Thursday to raise the state Income Tax by 75 percent and boost the tax on Cigarettes by $1 a pack… The cornerstone of a dramatic day, the revenue agreement reached by Quinn, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) would impose a temporary, four-year increase in the state tax on workers’ paychecks from 3 percent to 5 ¼-percent. The money from that, the

House lawmakers leave tax hike hanging
House lawmakers quickly left the Capitol on Friday without voting on a major income-tax increase, a sign the proposal faces an uncertain future despite a tentative agreement between Gov. Pat Quinn and Democratic leaders on what the hike should look like. "The votes aren't here in the House yet," said Budget expert Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley. "There's not 60 votes." So instead of staying in town to do laundry and watch the pressure mount to take action on the tax plan, lawmakers return...

Lawmakers leave tax hike hanging
SPRINGFIELD — House lawmakers quickly left the Capitol on Friday without voting on a major income-tax increase, a sign the proposal faces an uncertain future despite a tentative agreement between Gov. Pat Quinn and Democratic leaders on what the hike should look like. "The votes aren't here in the House yet," said Budget expert Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley. "There's not 60 votes." So instead of staying in town to do laundry and watch the pressure mount to take action on the tax pla...

Quinn Talks Budget, Taxes and Snow on Gambling
With Mayor Bloomberg out monitoring the snowstorm, Council Speaker Christine Quinn filled in for the Friday morning slot on John Gambling's Radio Show and said that everything is on the table as the city continues to grapple with a Budget hole. "Given that we are on ninth round of Budget cuts and that we face big cuts from Albany there aren't any ideas as it relates to Budget cuts that are going to disappear and never come back," she said. "We are not at a point anymore—and I know New Yo...

High-Speed Rail vs. Californias Budget
(San Francisco--Casey Miner, KALW News) It’s only been a few days since Jerry Brown retook the California Governor’s office, but all signs suggest that he’s planning to put the state on a serious fiscal diet. Rumored to be among the casualties are local redevelopment agencies — groups that undertake projects like revitalizing downtowns and building Affordable Housing. California’s perennial Budget Deficit is projected to be more than $25 billion this year, and slash

End Game
"The White House says President Barack Obama will return to upstate New York next week. In a brief statement, the administration says the president will visit Schenectady, an ailing former industrial hub and one-time headquarters of General Electric," says the AP. "A birther trampled over the reading of the Constitution in the House of Representatives today. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) was reading Section 1, Article 2, of the famed document, which relates to a person's eligib...

The Over/Under for 2012
Less than a week into 2011, the presidential race of 2012 already seems to have begun in earnest. The chattering class is speculating about President Obama's Reelection prospects, his campaign strategy, the location of his campaign headquarters (likely Chicago), and the Makeup of his organization--not to mention the maneuverings of potential Republican opponents. But if you want to keep it simple, just pay attention to one number over the next 22 months: Obama's job-approval rating. It will pro...

Russian president to visit Palestinian territories
MOSCOW -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will visit the Palestinian territories even though his trip to Israel has been canceled due to an Israeli Foreign Ministry strike, the Kremlin said in a statement. The Kremlin statement, released late Tuesday, said Israeli President Shimon Peres had apologized to Medvedev for the inability to prepare for his visit in mid-January. During their telephone conversation, the two presidents agreed to meet during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerlan...

Russian president to visit Palestinian territories
MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will visit the Palestinian territories even though his trip to Israel has been canceled due to an Israeli Foreign Ministry strike, the Kremlin said in a statement. The Kremlin statement, released late Tuesday, said Israeli President Shimon Peres had apologized to Medvedev for the inability to prepare for his visit in mid-January. During their telephone conversation, the two presidents agreed to meet during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switze...

Another nail in the tax hike bills coffin
* I’d been wondering whether this $325 Property Tax rebate check funded by the proposed state Income Tax hike was a sham. For those with high Property Tax bills, it could very well be because the idea on the table would also eliminate the state’s current property Tax Exemption on the Personal Income tax… “Anybody with Property Tax bills over $6,500 loses completely because they would have had a bigger exemption on their income taxes then what they are going to get back from...

Roanoke Times Withdraws Endorsement of Greg Habeeb
Of course, as we pointed out Wednesday, the liberal Roanoke Times editorial board never should have endorsed a hard-right conservative like Greg Habeeb in the first place, but I'm glad to see they've belatedly come to their senses. Greg Habeeb, the Republican Candidate in the Jan. 11 Special Election for the House of Delegates in Salem, western Roanoke County and Southwest Roanoke County, has signed a "no Tax Increase" pledge. During our editorial board interview, Habeeb also said this: "Authe...

Kentucky Senate OKs Ultrasound Before Abortion Bill
Just hours after a Kentucky state Senate committee approved a bill that would allow women a chance to see an Ultrasound of their baby before an Abortion, the full state Senate has approved it. “It’s our first victory,” Mary Spaulding Balch, the attorney who oversees state Legislation for National Right to Life, told NRL News. “What can be more informative than an Ultrasound image of the mother’s own unborn child?, “Balch said. “It offers her a window to ...

Jerry Brown talks Pinocchio and campaign ads with tourists
Gov. Jerry Brown is apparently still quite fond of his campaign ads that depicted Republican Meg Whitman 's nose growing like Pinocchio's. Brown, heading downstairs to the basement cafeteria this afternoon for a rice, cheese and bean burrito, was met in the hallway by Visalia tourists Berta Mendez-Perez and Jose Perez and their Children Sofia, 5; Diego, 8; and Alexandra, 10. "We voted for you," Mendez-Perez said. Brown asked the children, "Did you follow the campaign?" Alexandra nodded. "You s...

Gallup Poll May Exaggerate Support For Full Repeal Of Health Care Law
As the new Republican majority in the House begins debate on a proposal to scuttle President Obama's landmark health reform act, Gallup released a new poll showing net support (46% to 40%) for Repeal. Although Gallup characterized the result as falling short of a strong Endorsement of the repeal proposal, their results imply more support for a complete repeal than indicated by other recent polls. Gallup's question was framed to replicate the decision facing members of Congress: As you may know...

Merrill: Changes needed to avoid another Election Day fiasco
The state's new chief Elections officer says she plans to promote changes to ensure that the Election Day fiasco of 2010, when polling place in Bridgeport and a half dozen other communities ran out of ballots on Election Day, doesn't happen again. "There are some common sense solutions," Secretary of the State Denise W. Merrill told a Task Force she convened Friday to begin drafting election reforms. The biggest problems in the last election were in Bridgeport, where several polling places sta...

Sen. Manchin takes aim at part of healthcare law
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has been under fire from Republicans to reveal where he stands on healthcare Repeal, announced Friday that he's co-sponsoring a bill to repeal one provision of the law.  Along with Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Manchin is co-sponsoring a bill to eliminate the so-called 1099 provision of the healthcare law, which imposes an additional tax filing requirement on small businesses for transactions over $600.  Manchin did not endorse a full repeal of the law.  "As sm

'Job-killing' regulation? 'Job-killing' spending? Let's kill this GOP canard.
By Steven Pearlstein Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, January 6, 2011 Republicans these days can't get through a sentence without tossing in their new favorite adjective, "job-killing." There's "job-killing Legislation," in particular the health-care reform law. And "job-killing Regulations," especially anything coming out of the EPA and the IRS. Big Deficits are always "job-killing," which might come as something of a surprise to all you Keynesians out there, along with the "job-killing...

Illinois opts to chaves away voters and business
Image via Wikipedia IBD: Unimpressed by data showing that businesses, jobs and people flee high-tax states, the Land of Lincoln opts to squeeze the last penny out of Taxpayers with a whopping 75% income-tax increase. ... Temporary tax hikes are like unicorns — they exist only in legend. Even if this promise is kept, four years is long enough to drive out more businesses and workers and accelerate Illinois' death spiral into Bankruptcy. ...I would use the term insolvency to describe Illin...