You will be surprised to read what inaction I am proud of but you won't be surprised at my reason.
The
California Legislature has been in a deadlock since July over the
current 08-09 budget. The Senate has 40 members and needs 27 votes to
pass a budget, the 15 Republicans can stop passage of the budget and they have. The
Assembly has 80 member and needs 54 votes to pass a budget. There are 29 Republicans
in the Assembly who can stop a budget bill; and they have.
The budget consists of $126 billion in expenses and $100 billion in revenue.
The Republicans in both houses have been unified in refusing to pass any budget that requires a tax increase. The Republicans are being viciously criticized for not proposing a specific alternative solution. I am very proud of the Republican legislators. If they remain unified the State will come to a dead stand still in March, possibly sooner.
I was a legislative analyst early in my career,
working in Sacramento. We had a non-partisan legislature at the time.
Soon afterward the legislature became part of a statewide Democratic
Party machine created by Jesse Unruh. It has remained part of the Democratic Party machine ever since 1964.
The entire budget debacle has been created by the Democrats in conjunction with the California unions. More than 55% of the budget is paid to education union members. Why should the Republicans antagonize anyone by proposing areas to cut the budget...they didn't bring the pigs to the trough in the first place.
In the 1950's California always
ranked #1 in education from K to 12 and at the University level (I didn't personally like it then when I was in it).
Today, K-12 in California ranks somewhere between Louisiana and
Mississippi. Today California Colleges and Universities teach one
common curriculum: Lefty socialism.
Since the Democrats created the teats on the hog of the state budget it is obviously their job to cut off the milk supply. They will have no choice in a few months. California has one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S. and has been especially hard hit by sub-prime mortgages.