Pajamas Media

46 Comments

1. Typewriter King:

Democracy and debt, because the only disenfranchised voters are those living in the future.

Oct 17, 2008 - 2:52 am 2. Richard:

What an imposter. Runs all “Republicany” in 2K now he’s basically a r.i.n.o., at best, and now he want MY tax dollars?
What’s HIS net worth anyway? Between he and uh….all his movie star anti-American idiots they could fix California’s federally funded, budget deficit overnight..where’s the love Hollywood? Come on!

Oct 17, 2008 - 3:14 am 3. Marc Malone:

The funny thing is, Chuck Norris says they passed this budget in the face of a balanced-budget LAW! Ah, what’s a little law, and $7B amongst friends?

Let their State government fold! The people will get upset and vote against McCain, because it will be blamed on Bush, but it’s California. They’re not going to vote Republican, anyway.

Oct 17, 2008 - 4:03 am 4. Eagle Eye:

Hey Arrrnoold, allow drilling off the coast without regulation from the government, and tree hugger’s, and we might think about it

The liberal way of government really work’s for you, does’nt Cali.

Oct 17, 2008 - 4:11 am 5. RKV:

And when it comes around to actually cutting government spending, the first things to go will be the things we taxpayers really want, and the crap that will be left will be the programs that buy DemocRAT party votes.

Oct 17, 2008 - 5:40 am 6. katablog.com:

Why doesn’t the CA Governator just ask all those patriotic Hollywood Actors who are speaking out on behalf of ‘the poor’ to do their patriotic duty and shove a little more into the state’s coffers?

Oct 17, 2008 - 8:25 am 7. keithacia:

he’s too busy being a climatologist saving the planet like in a movie

Oct 17, 2008 - 8:28 am 8. Charles:

So I get to pay taxes for my state plus California?

Oct 17, 2008 - 8:48 am 9. Kevin:

Boy if I were Michigan and Ohio, plus any other state in dire need of tax revenue, I would start courting businesses in Cali right now. And as they do that, lower their corporate tax rate to further provide incentive to move there. California’s problems are California caused. They have over taxed their businesses. Silicon Valley is but a shadow of it’s former self. Many have moved to Austin, Tx. You can only tax so much before businesses move their operations. Of course many won’t see the reality of what has happened in California as a reason to reject socialism.
Socialism, what an ugly word.

Oct 17, 2008 - 9:10 am 10. deguello:

This, once , was a man.All it took to bring him down was a delilah clone with teeth like a horse, and Kennedy ties.The people’s republic of mexifornia is a harbinger of blue state decline.Schwartznegger’s moniker should be changed to the”GELDEDnator’.

Oct 17, 2008 - 10:53 am 11. rocketeer:

If you want to see what the country is going to look like when democrats are in charge of everything, take a look at California. Our state government is completely out of control. Don’t send us any money, we’ll just use it to promote gay rights or some other colossal waste.

Oct 17, 2008 - 10:56 am 12. deguello:

Amen to you, rocketeer. Get out if you can!

Oct 17, 2008 - 11:30 am 13. YesIVote:

Yea, I live in the “once great state of CA”. The state employees get a gazillion paid holidays, while I drag my hiney to work to pay their salaries. I voted for McClintock. He would have kicked butt and taken names. Arnold tried, but he is up against a painfully liberal legislature that only promotes the rights of their special interests. See Prop 8—-

Oct 17, 2008 - 11:57 am 14. The governor wants your taxes - Orange Punch - OCRegister.com:

[...] Here’s a link to my column today in Pajamas Media about California’s illustrious governor. I argue, “We’ve got a state government that can’t say no to any sort of spending and a governor who blames the national financial mess for the state’s current mess. He predicts dire consequences if the state’s bloated bureaucracies can’t get a quick fix of taxpayer cash.” Share and Enjoy: [...]

Oct 17, 2008 - 12:04 pm 15. Ditto:

I can’t help but wonder how much further our budget here in California would stretch if we didn’t insist on feeding, housing, clothing and paying medical bills for so many who are not in our country legally. There are charities and nonprofit organizations who work tirelessly to assist people in numerous countries. Why does our government insist on supplanting these good works and using our tax dollars for the purpose instead?

Oct 17, 2008 - 12:38 pm 16. deguello:

Well ditto,without illegal aliens to become future welfare-dependant democratic voters, how do you expect the democratic party to win elections.

Oct 17, 2008 - 2:09 pm 17. Someone75:

California needs to stop being so wasteful and start living within their means. If other states can do it, so can California – they just have to want to.

Ditto:

I don’t think illegals are the ones hurting your state. They do the work that you and I refuse to do. We need them. If you replaced all of them with American citizens with actual rights and privileges, you’d be paying WAY more. Illegals can make below minimum wage – far below it. They’re actually saving you a lot of money.

Oct 17, 2008 - 2:14 pm 18. Seerak:

When the bailout was announced, there were indications here and there that it wasn’t the supply of capital for *private industry* that was threatening to dry up, but that governments might have their deficit financing spigot shut off.

Pay close attention to the line, in the letter from Congressman Price in my first link above:

“Today Wachovia Bank, a North Carolina mainstay, collapsed. But this goes much deeper than bank failures. Last week, the City of Raleigh could not find a buyer for a $300 million bond, and Wake County cancelled its planned $472 million bond issue for school construction, Wake Tech, libraries, and open space acquisition. Both have AAA bond ratings.”

Notice the congressman’s emphasis — that *government* borrowing was endangered (and that this went much deeper than the mere failure of banks.)

At the time Price wrote, local governments were already being squeezed. California is the first *state* I know of to get caught in that bind. One wonders what might have happened if this eventually reached the national governments? What would a sudden cutoff of the deficit financing spigot do?

It would force governments to slam the tax pedal to the metal, radically cut spending (gasp!), shut down — or run the printing presses. And I mean RIGHT AWAY.

I bet that was the real reason for the freakout scare that brought about the bailout bill; they weren’t worried about us, so much as the sudden stop of their deficit gravy train.

The bailout is a stopgap, and it might be working in the short term to loosen the credit markets and restore the flow of loot to governments, as of now, but the strangulating effects of excessive regulations — now likely to be augmented even further — is only going to continue reducing the amount of available wealth for government to beg, borrow and steal — and for us to live on.

Oct 17, 2008 - 2:34 pm 19. Marc Malone:

Someone75 – Illegals do NOT save us money. They hurt us more than help us.

They pay no taxes, but are a HUGE drain on services. They require more assistance, because they tend to be poor. Food stamps, housing, schools, ESL teaching, etc….

They find ways to get loans through fraudulent ID and such, then walk away from the bills. Many of these no doc loans are just such people.

They fill up our free clinics. They go to hospitals. Hospitals can’t turn them away, by federal law. They then disappear and don’t pay the bill. WE end up paying for those bills in higher healthcare expenses. It’s a big part of why healthcare in this country is so expensive. That federal law is essentially national healthcare for Mexico. Just cross the border and check into an American hospital. They can’t turn you away, and can’t collect.

They destroy neighborhoods. They pack 15 people into a house and don’t maintain it. They do this to entire neighborhoods, making them look like some part of Mexico. They either don’t care or don’t know better.

They send much of their wages out of the country, rather than adding to the local economy. That’s $50B/yr in negative balance of trade. They also depress wages. When they say that middle-class family wages haven’t grown during the Bush years, this is why. In these years, illegal immigration has gone way up.

The competition helps keep the wages low, and they affect the average to make it seem like the wages haven’t risen even when they have. Yes some do the work we won’t, but others take the jobs we want. This administration has created 5.5M jobs officially, but that doesn’t count the millions of unreported jobs filled by illegals.

They bring massive amounts of crime with them. Over 10% of them are hardened criminals, with all the costs that that entails. 10% of California’s budget is for prisons. One SW U.S. gang of hispanics is over 2,000,000 strong… all armed. That’s not a gang. That’s an Army.

We spend massive amounts of money trying to keep them out, but then spend massive amounts of money on them when they’re here.

Tell me again how they actually save us a lot of money.

Oct 17, 2008 - 3:35 pm 20. Frank:

Why doesn’t arnie inject some of the 10s of millions he has made in hollywood flicks into California’s economy? He has as much money as entire towns of people.

Oct 17, 2008 - 3:51 pm 21. cedarford:

Arnold is actually playing this cleverly. For years he has fought against an extreme Left Legislature in Sacramento that are from fearful lapdogs to enthusiastic boosters of special interests ranging from public employees to do-nothing-parasites. (Sometimes the two are the same).

Arnold has tried, but lost that battle again and again. Now, he probably knows that the Feds cannot start bailing out every state living beyond their means. Nor will Cali get much more loans without lowering their credit rating.

And Obama to Cali – “Drop Dead!” message is good for Arnold and good for delivering a reality check to Cali and 49 other states that only the Feds and their squalid little African village can be subsidized. Pelosi will hate it – but she knows if she springs for home state of Cali, herds of Congresscritters and lobbyists from 49 other states will be waiting outside her door begging for money and “fairness”.

Oct 17, 2008 - 4:59 pm 22. USAF Captain:

Someone75 writes:

“California needs to stop being so wasteful and start living within their means. If other states can do it, so can California – they just have to want to..Ditto: I don’t think illegals are the ones hurting your state. They do the work that you and I refuse to do. We need them. If you replaced all of them with American citizens with actual rights and privileges, you’d be paying WAY more. Illegals can make below minimum wage – far below it. They’re actually saving you a lot of money.”

Someone..

You are truly gifted: one ordinarily has to work very hard to be as stupid as you are.

Granted, California (the state in which I live) cannot manage their ways and means, but a large part of that is due to the waves and waves of illegals we have sweeping into the state from the South and the Democrat dimwits in our legislature throwing them bouquets like tuition assistance and two sanctuary cities where they can congregate, form gangs (like MS-13), gun down innocent citizens, and generally disobey our laws. They knock indigent minorities off the bottom rung of the economic ladder, treat our hospital rooms like their clinics, and have little or no interest in citizenship..

Why do folks like you who live in other states vomit that “lettuce would be $5 a head” sh*t. I’d just like to say three things to you:

(1) you priced lettuce lately?
(2) Move out here and walk a mile in our zapatos.
(3) Pu-leeeze, I’m beggin you! S.T.F.U.!

Oct 17, 2008 - 5:13 pm 23. Bogdan of Australia:

From Schwarzenegger to Schwachenegger… he, he, he…

Oct 17, 2008 - 5:36 pm 24. vivo:

19. Marc Malone:

“They destroy neighborhoods. They pack 15 people into a house and don’t maintain it. They do this to entire neighborhoods, making them look like some part of Mexico. They either don’t care or don’t know better.”

They may be messy, but they pick your food, cut your lawn, cook and serve your food, clean your office, pave your streets, build your home, babysit your kids and who knows what else, all because NOBODY else wants to work for minimum wages and do real work. Get off your ass and try it. You’ll be messy then . . .

Oct 17, 2008 - 5:48 pm 25. Someone75:

Marc:

Mexicans work hard and they do jobs YOU will not do, for basically no money. I’ve got better things to worry about than those poor illegals.

USAF Captain:

I’d say there’s a lot your state could do to help itself. It’s so easy to scapegoat illegals, but first maybe you should take a look at what the whites are doing. At one level, I think illegals should be jailed or deported. But, if you look at the big picture (please, try to see the big picture with me), your state would cease to function without your slave labor. Everyone is to blame. Illegals mess up the system, but so do the rest of us. My state, Iowa, has an unusually high percentage of Mexicans, but man, they work HARD. They’re breaking laws and they should probably pay for that, but you can’t call them lazy.

Vivo is right. They do terrible work for next to nothing. Tell me exactly how you are going to balance your state budget when the cost of living skyrockets?

Oct 17, 2008 - 6:40 pm 26. kabud:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66z5TDrwPxM

A fact-based look at what the alternative tax plans of Barack Obama and John McCain will do to our economy. A little common sense is all that is required to make your choice!

Common sense, however, seems to be a rare commodity these days

Oct 17, 2008 - 6:48 pm 27. Nan G:

Couldn’t CA simply not fund the $1 billion to embrionic stem cell researchers it voted for last election?

Oct 17, 2008 - 10:50 pm 28. Dave:

What a dilemma. Deport all the illegals, and millions of “dirty” jobs will find no hands willing to do them. Eliminate all government functions not essential to law and order, and millions of bureaucrats will be out of work.

Maybe we should do both at the same time?

Oct 18, 2008 - 7:39 pm 29. B Dubya:

If Arnold promises to get Pelosi out of Congress, then $7 billion is a bargain.
Oh, and if California gets 7 billion from me and my friends, the US taxpayers, then Vichy San Francisco is going to get a serious makeover.

I wonder if Nevada would do a deal on Reid?

Oct 18, 2008 - 8:18 pm 30. lee:

Wait a minute here. Who cuts grass and cleans trash in Germany, Japan and France? Mexicans?

If we actually deported every illegal Mexians who perform manual labor that “we” refused to do, someone else will eventually take their jobs. The bottom tier of society that has no choice but to work low paying jobs will always be present, legal or otherwise.

Oct 19, 2008 - 2:32 am 31. Marc Malone:

Someone75 – I spelled it all out for you, and all you can do is give me that tired canard of how they do the work that I wouldn’t do. Bull.

I’ve done that kind of work growing up. I used to shovel dry turkey manure (real powdery) in the desert Summer heat (117 degrees). I was slightly allergic to it too, and would get skin rashes. I’ve cleared fields, built fences, slopped hogs, mucked out pens, milked cows, and slaughtered animals. So, don’t tell me what I wouldn’t do or to get off my ass and try it. I paid my dues, curse you!

Illegals make things cost more, not less. Sure, mayhap our food costs less, but all the other services cost way more, like medical and schools. Besides, I didn’t say get rid of the legals, just the illegals. Legals work and pay some taxes. Many or most want to become citizens. That’s all I ask. There’s a big difference. Do you see it?

Oct 19, 2008 - 2:51 am 32. lee:

I gotta agree with Rocketeer. California is a certifiable mess. Some of the worst democratic / far left politicians reside here – Maxine Waters, Fabian Nunez, Don Perata, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (who had an affair with a Spansish language TV reporter who was COVERING him), etc.

More importantly, Democrats in California tend to be symphathetic to the kind of agendas BHO figures to carry out. “The millionaires should contribute” type of argument is fairly commonplace here.

And yes, cost of living and taxes are fairly high here, as is random shooting of shopowners, high speed car chases, and freeway gridlock that Cali politicians could not find a way to relieve if their mother’s lives depended on it. I’m sure democrats in other states fare better in running their state, but California is typically dominated by politicians who act and reason JUST like BHO.

Oct 19, 2008 - 2:53 am 33. vivo:

31. Marc Malone:

If you did those jobs, why are you so spooked about hard working immigrants/illegals? It’s not their fault the immigration system is so screwed up. The people who hire them don’t want to fix anything because they make money. The employers are both dems and reps. Go figure.

Oct 19, 2008 - 4:11 am 34. Marc Malone:

vivo – I agree with you to some extent. Never thought I’d say that. I’m not spooked about the immigrants. Immigration, new blood, keeps this country strong.

The illegals, however, greatly unbalance the scales of our economy. They don’t contribute their share, while extracting an enormous cost. You’re right that Dems and Pubs both hire them… and they shouldn’t.

I’m 1/4 Native American (I’m a real mutt.) My “maiden” name was Ojeda. Spanish was my Father’s family’s tongue. I’ve lived among them, natch. It’s not a xenophobic thing with me. It’s just the very real economic threat. I’m all for a better immigration system. I want people to come here who want to become U.S. citizens. I want them to be emotionally invested in our country; to share its core values and concept of the American Dream. I don’t want those who just want a job and don’t want to integrate.

That’s the same problem I have with American blacks. They seem to not share our values, and refuse to integrate. Too many seem to hate America, and they tear at the fabric of our society. They are just as destabilizing as illegal immigrants, and generally don’t work as hard. That’s the real basis of the remaining “racial” divide in this country. It’s the culture, not the skin.

Oct 19, 2008 - 12:32 pm 35. Mark_0454:

California has offshore oil. If they need money they can drill

Oct 19, 2008 - 3:11 pm 36. vivo:

34. Marc Malone:

I’m impressed by your honesty and self-disclosures. I agree with everything you just said. But those are the realities of a melting pot. It takes generations to assimilate, look at the Irish, Italian, German immigrants of the past centuries.

Oct 19, 2008 - 4:12 pm 37. Marc Malone:

vivo – Yes, it took time to assimilate in the past, but because the whites weren’t accepting. The immigrants wanted to assimilate, for the most part. They came here, because they were Americans at heart already. They were just born in another country.

Now, it really is of little matter. Oh sure, you still get some prejudice, but no more than what goes both ways. (The exception, of course, is for Arabs/Muslims. Special circumstances.)

We still get a lot of people coming here who really want to be Americans. Believe me when I tell you that the legals and illegals do not get along all that great unless related. Hispanic citizens really resent the illegals who refer to the citizens as “porchos”, from the word for porch; left out in the cold.

There’s a gap even there between those who wish to assimilate and those who do not. Believe when I say that prejudice is no longer about skin color, but cultural differences.

We better be careful, or next thing you know, we’ll be getting along and finding common ground. Can’t have any of that!

Oct 19, 2008 - 7:09 pm 38. vivo:

37. Marc Malone:

Yes, I’ve noticed the cultural differences. Hispanic educated immigrants don’t mix with blue collar or farming immigrants. It takes a lot of effort and intelligence to go from working class to professional class. Lots of them are surviving and some of them are thriving. The Latin conservatives are as right wing as you can get or worse. The blue collars and farmers are still fighting for justice or care less about politics, except unions, of course. Their kids assimilate faster through the school system, so it make take a generation or two. Now, the Islamic group, that’s another story . . . The Asian group (quiet revolution) . . . Eastern European and Russians (white blends faster) . . . Africans, the road has been paved for them . . . But class distinctions rule for everyone and impacts their place in the American society.

Oct 21, 2008 - 4:19 am 39. deguello:

As a cuban-american,I have to tell you all that Malone has it exactly right;attitude,culture,class, and education matter more than language and race. Unfortunately,liberals want to continue playing up racism and victimhood, to prevent latino immigrants from self improvement,so that they can become welfare dependent, that is to say ,democrat party-dependent.

Oct 21, 2008 - 9:49 am 40. urbanleftbehind:

Vivo-

Even the rate of assimilation for Eastern Europeans is S L O W I N G … Polish- and Russian- language enclaves are becoming more commonplace, at least in NE Illinois. I just saw some Russian lady at the mall unable to respond to me in English when I asked if her kid was ever going to leave the coin-operated horse so that my kid could get a couple of turns in.

The kicker – she was wearing a T-shirt that said K G B!!!!

Oct 21, 2008 - 9:59 am 41. Jeff:

I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat but a true Independent who believes in facts and really believes in learning the lessons of our history.

So here is a simple fact for America -
1) During Ronald Reagan’s Presidency of 2 terms, between 1981-1989, we were at our economic best in a quarter of a century. We made the right choice in these 8 years as a country.
2) During George H. W. Bush Sr.’s Presidency of 1 term, between 1989-1993, we were at our economic worst in a quarter of a century. We made a huge mistake as a country but corrected it by keeping him in office for only 1 term.
3) During Bill Clinton’s Presidency of 2 terms, between 1993-2001, we were again at our economic best in a quarter of a century, even better than Reagan’s era. We made the right choice again in these 8 years as a country, despite his personal scandals.
4) Now, during George W. Bush Jr.’s Presidency of 2 terms, between 2001-this coming January 20, 2009; we have been at our economic worst in a quarter of a century, even worst than Bush Sr.’s era. We really made a huge mistake as a country on this one by not realizing that the apple really doesn’t fall very far from the tree. Yet we chose this apple again the second time around.

Now, really let this simple fact sink in America and take your time to think carefully this time around about how you want the direction of this country to go.

We made history with Reagan. We then made a mistake with Bush Sr. but corrected history by allowing him to only serve 1 term. We then made history again with Clinton, despite his personal scandals. Now, we have made 2 mistakes with Bush Jr. by allowing him to serve not once, but twice. So my last question to America is, guess which candidate shares the interests of both, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.? I will let America answer this one. We are much, much smarter as a country to want to make history rather than make mistakes and to suffer yet again from our own mistakes by not using objectivity as our first and foremost agenda.

Oct 21, 2008 - 10:19 am 42. Jeff:

What people don’t understand is why some of us are so against the current Republican ticket, but we have an obligation to fight against history of ever being repeated again. Many of us out here are not fighting for the Democratic campaign but are fighting against an ideology.

1) An ideology that completely mirrors the ideology of this past 8 years.
2) An ideology that recognizes the few while completely disregarding the masses.
3) An ideology that believes in taking military action against Iraq, an incident that is completely unrelated to 9/11, without solidifying our claims beforehand. In the present, we have found no evidence of weapons of mass destructions or a tie to Osama Bin Laden. The devastation of this war has cost us over 4,000 of our brave troops and counting, over 1/2 trillion dollars of taxpayer’s money and counting, and over 1 million Iraqi lives unrelated to the terrorists or insurgency.

Cost of the Iraq War — http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

4) An ideology that still believes that the Iraq War is the right war on terrorism when the Afghanistan War should had been the right war on terrorism, where Osama Bin Laden actually was until he slipped into the mountains and into Pakistan’s territory now. The Iraq War also diverted our attention away from the Afghanistan War. We now have extended our resources in two separate places and have heightened our risk to our troops, our expenses, and creating another dilemma that will take quite some time to finalize. The Iraq War will not go away overnight and it is now our obligation to see it all the way through for God knows how many more years. This has also been the most unpopular war in the eyes of the world’s communities.
5) An ideology that believes that we are at our safest state since 9/11, when a recent terrorist plot was still trying to enter Great Britain’s airports with liquid explosives heading directly to us, but thankfully the plot was foiled. While in Afghanistan, the terrorists are regrouping and strengthening and we have recently suffered another high casualty to our troops yet again within this past month. We currently have the least amount of alliances in the world’s communities due to this unpopular Iraq War. True national securities are the ties that bind us to our world’s communities and the ties that bind them to us.
6) An ideology that vetted one of the most inexperience VP ticket in history, from foreign policies to national defense. If God forbids that anything happens to this President if elected and is stricken with illness, this VP will be running the country. For a more compelling look at Sarah Palin’s VP readiness, please look at these links below —

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loUHRv3ipLE

http://www.salon.com/opinion/walsh/election_2008/2008/09/30/palin_gaffes/

7) An ideology that believes in “the fundamentals of our economy are strong” while we are facing the highest mortgage foreclosure crisis, high unemployment rate, and the largest collapse of our financial infrastructures since The Great Depression of 1929.

This is an ideology that many of us in America are against. Whether this ideology is in the Republican or Democratic ticket is not the main issue but the fact is that America does not want to fall into another 4 more years of devastation. We cannot afford this anymore.

Oct 21, 2008 - 10:20 am 43. Roark:

He should stick to over-the-top Hollywood movies and leave the role of leadership to those men who CAN lead.

Oct 21, 2008 - 1:02 pm 44. Marc Malone:

deguello – Chica (small g, you’re the misses, right?), correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you one of those with whom I’ve been butting heads? Am I starting to really get along with the opposition? 3rd in 3 days.

I better go see Ann Coulter and get my head examined.

Thanks for the acknowledgment.

Oct 21, 2008 - 1:40 pm 45. vivo:

40. urbanleftbehind:

“The kicker – she was wearing a T-shirt that said K G B!!!!”

That was funny!!

Yes, you are right. I’ve seen Ukranians in my area having a hard time communicating.

Oct 21, 2008 - 6:22 pm 46. vivo:

44. Marc Malone:

“deguello – Am I starting to really get along with the opposition? 3rd in 3 days.”

When people are honest (truthful), you can’t refute the facts . . . Enjoy.

Oct 21, 2008 - 6:30 pm

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