Posted by
Bill Crawford on Monday, May 31, 2010 2:37:04 PM
Here I go again, and not about the spending in D.C. I speak of the deficits in about a third of the States, and in many Counties across the nation. Many of them have been holding off on the toughest decisions, relying on a pastiche of federal grants and aid to patch their budgets together.
Well, that is coming to an end. This year's budgets will be a nightmare for them, and the next two years will be a rancorous series of union contract battles, which run in different cycles than the annual budgets. This is not a pleasant time to be a public service union member. Telling them that their salaries and pensions put the private sector to shame is not going to placate anybody.
California, as usual, is the worst nut case. Not as badly mismanaged as Michigan, but much larger. They are also indicative of the Progressive argument about where the problem is: the problem with California's budget is that Proposition 13 (1978) and it's structured limitations on property tax increases have hampered the ability of Sacramento to balance the budget.
That's right, folks. If they could only increase taxes to a responsible level, there would not be a problem. Segue to Washington, present day. Trillion dollar deficits are on the horizon, and a blue ribbon commission is set to come up with a solution, AFTER Election Day (of course). What do you think will be the top five suggestions posed by them?
So, there is a simple menu out there. Three items, take it or leave it. Public service layoffs, public service pay cuts or tax increases to make you blanch. Cap and trade energy taxes, or value added, take your pick. Axelrod and company have already made their preferences known. If the Democrats hold either end of Capitol Hill this year and Obama gets re-elected, it will be posed to all of us as a referendum on tax increases.
So, there you have it. That's where we are going. Another proverbial fork in the road, albeit a big one. So, which is it folks? Do we want to be Europe, or do we want to be different?