Don't Tase Me Bro
Active member
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- May 30, 2009
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- South Carolina
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- Political Leaning
- Libertarian
Could California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare?
That doomsday scenario is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with a staggering $24.3 billion budget deficit.
County welfare directors are "in shock" at the very idea of getting rid of CalWORKs, which has been widely viewed as one of the most successful social programs in the state's history, said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento.
"It's difficult to come up with the right adjective to react to this," Wagstaff said. "It would be devastating to the people we serve."
McClatchy
I guess the people they serve will just have to try harder to take care of themselves like they should be in the first place. As for those that literally can't because of a true disability or condition, the Feds are still there to provide support and their families will have to step up their own support. California's astronomical debt is partly due to their overly generous spending on the welfare state in the first place.
Could the flat tax come to California?
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said today that he would like to see such “radical” proposals come out of a commission now studying an overhaul of the state’s tax system. The governor told the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee that he hoped the commission would not be afraid to propose something like “a 15% straight tax.”
“That’s the kind of radical, daring kind of a proposal that I want to see on the table so we can look at it and say, ‘Oh, let’s study this, maybe that is the way to go,’ ” Schwarzenegger said during the discussion, which was webcast.
The current system, based on highly unstable income tax revenue that fluctuates with the economy, “doesn’t work,” Schwarzenegger said.
Los Angeles Times
A flat tax isn't a bad idea either. Several of the Eastern Bloc nations that were once part of the Soviet Union or controlled by Communist governments have gone to a flat tax and their economies have boomed ever since. 15% seems rather high, however, for a state, so I would have to think this flat tax would replace more than just the state income tax.
One thing is for certain. California can no longer function the way it is today and the people there had better get it through their heads. Ironically, this budget crisis might be the best that ever happened to them. I do have my doubts, however, that either of the above will actually come to fruition.