Schwarzeneggar Proposes to End HIV/AIDS Services

[Morrigoon]

I think you could get away with increasing taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. It'll cause an outcry, but not a strong enough one to stop it. I know I'm a jerk for suggesting it, but there you go.

Junk food, on the other hand, is in many cases the cheapest food available, so raise the prices on that and you've just made food for the poor more expensive. While execs can afford to lunch in sit-down restaurants that serve soups and lovely salads, the poor often run to McDonald's, etc.

I do wonder what the method behind this madness is. Are they trying to soften us up for approving something, or are they trying to get special interests riled up to help them get funds on a federal level? The optimist in me wants to think that's what's behind it. I don't know that it is, but I hope so. It'd be nice if the nation could toss us a freaking bone, since their closures of the bases sent CA into troubles that pretty much never left us, even in the good times.

[wolfy999]

Here in OC 8.75%

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by wolfy999

Here in OC 8.75%

That's sales, Moonie's talking income.

Though I wonder, did that flat tax proposal include nixing sales tax? That would make 15% seem a more reasonable #.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Alex

That said, I have no doubt that picking some of the highest profile most-likely-to-outrage things to cut is part of the game. That is always part of the game. If a city needs to cut $100 because they can't raise taxes then it will come out of the police or fire department budget, not the secretarial Christmas party budget. You cut the things that piss off the most people because that is how you get them to give permission to increase revenues.

As someone who has 1) assisted the library manager regarding budget cuts, 2) been part of a project to ferret out what areas can be cut, and 3) actually read our budgets when they are introduced, I can safely say that this is not the case in our city. Last winter's Christmas party was nothing compared to the year before and it was noticeable - I'm sure not because they saved a ton of money, but because it shows our commitment to cutting the fat.

Police and Fire do not get cut, so the library takes hits, including a 75% book/media budget cut. No joke. We understand, since we don't want to cut Police or Fire either. We're also closing our branches for an extra day each week.

I believe that our city has no real way to raise taxes - we get the county sales tax and the state money - so perhaps that's why there are no controversial cuts.

We only had to cut our city budget by 5% (this is only regarding sales tax revenues, as no one is even doing the numbers regarding the state shortfalls yet, and we'll probably have to cut more later). This is nothing near the 40% that Alex mentioned. If our city had to cut 40%, it would be hard to keep the library open at all. Would I take to the streets in outrage? I don't think so, mostly because I'd sound like an idiot.

I'm not going to bury my head in the sand and pretend that money grows on trees.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

I'm not going to bury my head in the sand and pretend that money grows on trees.

Technically, of course, it does. It's been a long time since it was based on anything of supposed value (such a gold). It's just paper.

Printing lots of it would devalue it greatly. But it has no inherent value, nor is it based on anything of inherent value. It's paper. Ok, it's made of trees, not grows on them.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

That's sales, Moonie's talking income.

Though I wonder, did that flat tax proposal include nixing sales tax? That would make 15% seem a more reasonable #.

Nixing the sales tax would be great for tourism.....

An 8.75% Discount on the entire state

[€uroMeinke]

I thought our dollars were linen

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

I thought our dollars were linen

Cotton, actually.

[Alex]

Not to mention that paper is only an occasional representation of money. Most money never sees the light of physicality.

CP, I should have been clearer in saying that cutting the fire department is the game of elected politicians. Much less those who actually have to run the agencies after the cuts are made (though I've still seen that plenty of times). And "always" was needlessly hyperbolic. Nothing is always. But a lot.

[Alex]

JW: In your example I'd probably tell those 37500 people to not drive their car but if they choose to they know the outcome that they're accepting.

Doesn't necessarily translate to the HIV funding though.