It stems from the Reagan “no tax is a good tax” philosophy as governor, and is reflected at the national level as well. No medicine, read viable tax policies to actually PAY for what they spent, has left the nation malnourished and needing multiple organ transplants, not just a shot of cold medicine.
Part of the problem with CA is how badly the political districts are gerrymandered. It has gotten to the point where the only important election is the primary and there are both Republican and Dem guaranteed seats. As a result extremists, on both sides, tend to win the primaries. Result, Rep. don’t want to raise taxes whether or not the end of the world is coming and Dems never saw a service they didn’t like whether or not the state could afford it.
According to Timeline(I googled California ious history) it was1992. They barely avoided it in 1983 and apparently already had the ious printed. Sadly, it’s not new.
Anthony 2816 has it right. When both the Dems and GOP pols start thinking and acting like citizens instead of ideologues, they’ll figure out that both spending and taxes have got to be on the table.
I remember a California Congressperson stating it shouldn’t be the task of public schools to teach kids how to balance a checkbook. Does THAT tell you anything? BOTH parties, and the voters DO need a little remedial math. If you want it, pay for it. If you DON’T want to pay for it, don’t buy it. That applies to missiles, bridges, air traffic controllers, cops, prisons, firefighters, schools, agricultural subsidies, corporate bailouts, and medical care.
The bottom line is fiscal responsibility. If you want something, you’ve got to pay for it. Why do you think that most Eurpoean countries have 40–50% tax rates? Americans decry those tax levels, yet they want that level of government. Try running your houshold the way the government does and see how long you’ll stay out of jail.
Whether you agree or disagree as to whether we should have that type of government, I think that saying all Americans want it is a foolish generalization.
Most people don’t realize that except for the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, California is fairly conservative.
The Central Valley, where I live, sure is.
But most of the universities are concentrated in the SF and LA areas, so obviously the educational element makes them more liberal…and those are the two biggest population densities.
Anthony and MKitt, both points are on the money. CA is nowhere near as liberal as many make it out to be, There are more progressive areas, but north of Napa, it’s all red state, in addition to the “red-state” inland.
But we (CA) are in a world of hurt right now, financially speaking. It’s almost like the state is not governable. They haven’t passed a balanced budget in years, even though they’re required to by our own state constitution.
The Red and Blue mapping of California is deceptive, as is the Red and Blue mapping of the U.S. as a whole. For the most part, those pockets of the map which show consistently Blue are the more densely-populated areas, while the Red swaths are largely rural (Orange County being the notable ecxeption, even though Laguna Beach is liberal). Old news, but it explains why Blue (liberal) measures are passed despite an overbalance of Red acreage. However, if the votes of INDIVIDUALS are tracked rather than the larger units, most of California (like most of the U.S.) ends up varying shades of Purple.
In San Francisco, as you might imagine, the proportion of “No” votes on Prop. 8 was overwhelming, but there were still a couple of precincts which on the whole voted “Yes”; these were the districts primarily populated by Blacks and Chinese.
Nurb almost 15 years ago
What do people expect them to do? They’re trying to solve a huge debt, but they aren’t allowed to cut services or raise taxes.
That’s like saying “You can go for a swim, just don’t get wet”
riley05 almost 15 years ago
The Democrats are allowed to cut services, and the Republicans are allowed to raise taxes.
dwyant almost 15 years ago
Hey! Why doesn’t the rest of the country follow their model? Let’s start with their building codes in the cap & trade legislation!
raycity almost 15 years ago
The are paying the price of being trend setting liberals.
Dtroutma almost 15 years ago
It stems from the Reagan “no tax is a good tax” philosophy as governor, and is reflected at the national level as well. No medicine, read viable tax policies to actually PAY for what they spent, has left the nation malnourished and needing multiple organ transplants, not just a shot of cold medicine.
Gladius almost 15 years ago
Part of the problem with CA is how badly the political districts are gerrymandered. It has gotten to the point where the only important election is the primary and there are both Republican and Dem guaranteed seats. As a result extremists, on both sides, tend to win the primaries. Result, Rep. don’t want to raise taxes whether or not the end of the world is coming and Dems never saw a service they didn’t like whether or not the state could afford it.
Gladius almost 15 years ago
According to Timeline(I googled California ious history) it was1992. They barely avoided it in 1983 and apparently already had the ious printed. Sadly, it’s not new.
Bluejayz almost 15 years ago
Anthony 2816 has it right. When both the Dems and GOP pols start thinking and acting like citizens instead of ideologues, they’ll figure out that both spending and taxes have got to be on the table.
Hmm. Could work in Washington, also.
Dtroutma almost 15 years ago
I remember a California Congressperson stating it shouldn’t be the task of public schools to teach kids how to balance a checkbook. Does THAT tell you anything? BOTH parties, and the voters DO need a little remedial math. If you want it, pay for it. If you DON’T want to pay for it, don’t buy it. That applies to missiles, bridges, air traffic controllers, cops, prisons, firefighters, schools, agricultural subsidies, corporate bailouts, and medical care.
tomcib almost 15 years ago
The bottom line is fiscal responsibility. If you want something, you’ve got to pay for it. Why do you think that most Eurpoean countries have 40–50% tax rates? Americans decry those tax levels, yet they want that level of government. Try running your houshold the way the government does and see how long you’ll stay out of jail.
Gladius almost 15 years ago
Whether you agree or disagree as to whether we should have that type of government, I think that saying all Americans want it is a foolish generalization.
NoFearPup almost 15 years ago
It’s all good, man.
riley05 almost 15 years ago
Most people don’t realize that except for the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, California is fairly conservative.
The Central Valley, where I live, sure is.
But most of the universities are concentrated in the SF and LA areas, so obviously the educational element makes them more liberal…and those are the two biggest population densities.
riley05 almost 15 years ago
Prop 8 was such an embarrassment.
Iowa beat us! How bad is that?
believecommonsense almost 15 years ago
Anthony and MKitt, both points are on the money. CA is nowhere near as liberal as many make it out to be, There are more progressive areas, but north of Napa, it’s all red state, in addition to the “red-state” inland.
But we (CA) are in a world of hurt right now, financially speaking. It’s almost like the state is not governable. They haven’t passed a balanced budget in years, even though they’re required to by our own state constitution.
fritzoid Premium Member almost 15 years ago
The Red and Blue mapping of California is deceptive, as is the Red and Blue mapping of the U.S. as a whole. For the most part, those pockets of the map which show consistently Blue are the more densely-populated areas, while the Red swaths are largely rural (Orange County being the notable ecxeption, even though Laguna Beach is liberal). Old news, but it explains why Blue (liberal) measures are passed despite an overbalance of Red acreage. However, if the votes of INDIVIDUALS are tracked rather than the larger units, most of California (like most of the U.S.) ends up varying shades of Purple.
In San Francisco, as you might imagine, the proportion of “No” votes on Prop. 8 was overwhelming, but there were still a couple of precincts which on the whole voted “Yes”; these were the districts primarily populated by Blacks and Chinese.
fritzoid Premium Member almost 15 years ago
That’s true, but in rural areas you don’t have to be rich to be conservative. The small farmer generally votes about as Red as the mega-rancher.