| Last night, the California Assembly Democrats snuck leveraged successfully passed new tax hikes to help close California's budget problems. From the LA Times: Included in the package are a tax increase of $1.50 per pack of cigarettes, a 9.9% extraction tax on oil companies, a $15 vehicle license fee surcharge to fund state parks and a charge on homeowner insurance premiums to pay for emergency response systems.
Don't get excited, Ah-nold has vowed to veto it if it gets through the state Senate. Meanwhile, the Politico title "Washington to California: Drop Dead" about says it all. Most interesting part of the article is that the state delegation in DC is not in any way working to try to get federal loans or bailout funds, and the state doesn't seem to mind. I'm not saying that it would be a good idea that the feds should save California, just that it's interesting that their delegation isn't even trying. It appears that the state will still have to pay cops, fire personnel, electricity bills, and other essential services, but that everything else could stop cold tomorrow night at midnight if things aren't resolved. |
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