State Budgets: Day of Reckoning (how much, unemployment, construction)

[Vascodagama]

If you missed 60 minutes tonight then you missed a good report on the next phase of the economic crisis. They interview Meredith Whitney who I feel is one of the best banking analyst and tells it like it is without spin.

Below is a link to the episode.

State Budgets: Day of Reckoning

[TimC2462]

Originally Posted by Don9

If you missed 60 minutes tonight then you missed a good report on the next phase of the economic crisis. They interview Meredith Whitney who I feel is one of the best banking analyst and tells it like it is without spin.

Below is a link to the episode.

State Budgets: Day of Reckoning

I read the article. The sad reality is that we will have a California governor who is already beholden to the union. We don't have an income problem, since the state of California is a net federal taxpayer. It is the cost of pension that is simply unsustainable.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by TimC2462

I read the article. The sad reality is that we will have a California governor who is already beholden to the union. We don't have an income problem, since the state of California is a net federal taxpayer. It is the cost of pension that is simply unsustainable.

But it's not just that. It's also the twin issues of mandates resulting from propositions and legislation that have severely limited the state's budgetary flexibility and responses as well as unfunded mandates stemming from the same two sources that bleed the treasury dry.

Yes, pension reform, including rollbacks, is desperately needed but that's simply a handy flash-point at which the politicians and the people can point the bony finger of blame. The problems go much deeper than that and have been factors since the passage of Proposition 13 in the 70s, exacerbated by Proposition 98 in the 80s.

Add the power of the unions (thank you Jerry Brown) and their stranglehold on the various governoirs and the Legislature and you have a recipe fopr disaster with obvious results.

If Brown ignores the infrastructure during his new term as badly as he did in the past, things will only get worse and unemployment will continue to be high. CA needs top-down, massive change but I've yet to see signs of the political will and momentum necessary to effect it. It's painful to watch.

[NewToCA]

During the 60 Minutes interview it was acknowledged that NJ substantially ignored their requirement to make the matching pension fund contributions. I suspect that problem may exist in other states too (perhaps CA???).

If you want to complain about pension shortfalls needing to be funded, you have to look at how much of the issue exist simply from states refusing to meet their basic original funding obligations.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

During the 60 Minutes interview it was acknowledged that NJ substantially ignored their requirement to make the matching pension fund contributions. I suspect that problem may exist in other states too (perhaps CA???).

If you want to complain about pension shortfalls needing to be funded, you have to look at how much of the issue exist simply from states refusing to meet their basic original funding obligations.

One can also look at states that were wise enough to never let public employees unionize or have since rescinded that authorization. California should follow their example. Actually, pay and benefits were better for state employees under DPA with raises being regular than they have been since the unions started scooping up all those dues and taking control of administrations and the Legislature.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

But it's not just that. It's also the twin issues of mandates resulting from propositions and legislation . . .

The voters have passed propositions that are pushing the state deeper in debt. Examples: the $9 billion bond for a high speed train that will end up costing over $100 billion and won't be finished in our life time or Prop 71 (2004) to spend $3 billion on stem cell research which will come to nothing. And there's a lot more such as endless school bond proposals that get passed. This money will have to be paid back someday .

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

The voters have passed propositions that are pushing the state deeper in debt. Examples: the $9 billion bond for a high speed train that will end up costing over $100 billion and won't be finished in our life time or Prop 71 (2004) to spend $3 billion on stem cell research which will come to nothing. And there's a lot more such as endless school bond proposals that get passed. This money will have to be paid back someday .

Quite right and unless my grandchildren, great-grandchildren and perhaps beyond follow our example, they will be the ones on whom the burden will fall the hardest.

[BlackShoe]

A person with the misery-loves-company mindset would have enjoyed the 60 minutes segment, since states other than California are in a mess. With todays entitlement thinking, the warnings will be ignored until it hits them personally. Whitney and Christie will be ignored, and the attitude will continue to be "I dont care, I want mine, and I dont care about anyone else". If and when the spigots are tightened or turned off we will see protests on the order of Greece and France, or worse. Imagine the reaction when the gravy train is eliminated for the illegals, benefits stopped for the long time unemployment leeches, and major pay and pension reform enacted for government workers at all levels.

[Lafferty Daniel]

I get a kick out of all the union bashing on this site. You people should realize that unions only make up about 12% of the workforce in our country. Seems like most of you have been brainwashed by right wing radio to suggest that unions are the primary reason for our problems.

Note: I'm a former construction union member who knows that they have flaws, but they are far from the source of all of our major problems. Most of our trade deals are the bigger problem.

[UB50]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

The voters have passed propositions that are pushing the state deeper in debt. Examples: the $9 billion bond for a high speed train that will end up costing over $100 billion and won't be finished in our life time or Prop 71 (2004) to spend $3 billion on stem cell research which will come to nothing. And there's a lot more such as endless school bond proposals that get passed. This money will have to be paid back someday .

I disagree on the part I bolded. That was money well-spent since it helps to insure California's hold on biotech into the future, and biotech produces good jobs in this state.