<![CDATA[U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum - State & Local Politics]]> http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/ A forum to discuss state and local politics. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:22:08 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.USPoliticsOnline.com/images/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum - State & Local Politics]]> http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/ McCain facing a tough primary run ? http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57337-mccain-facing-tough-primary-run.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:12:07 GMT so sayeth Rasmussin (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/arizona/election_2010_arizona_senate_gop_primary) Mac 45 other guy 43 that hurts, other guy isnt even running !... so sayeth Rasmussin

Mac 45 other guy 43
that hurts, other guy isnt even running !

more evidence that the pendulum is swinging right


Quote:
Hayworth, a conservative former U.S. congressman who now is a popular radio talk show host in Phoenix, is reportedly interested in the race but has not formally declared for it. He captures 59% of the male GOP vote, while McCain wins 58% of female voters.

Younger GOP voters like Hayworth more than their elders. McCain has a solid lead among the relatively small number of moderate and liberal Republicans in the state while Hayworth picks up a plurality (48%) of conservatives.
]]> daddio http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57337-mccain-facing-tough-primary-run.html So. WHO was at fault in New Orleans again? http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57321-so-who-fault-new-orleans-again.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:57:42 GMT No, not us say the Cons, it was the GOVERNOR, or, uh...the MAYOR Well the Court has spoken And the US Army was under the FEDERAL branch, last time I looked. AFP: US Army Corps at fault for New Orleans levee failures: judge... No, not us say the Cons, it was the GOVERNOR, or, uh...the MAYOR

Well the Court has spoken

And the US Army was under the FEDERAL branch, last time I looked.

AFP: US Army Corps at fault for New Orleans levee failures: judge

Quote:
US Army Corps at fault for New Orleans levee failures: judge
By Allen Johnson (AFP) – 11 hours ago

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — The deadly levee failures that led to the 2005 flooding of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina were due to negligence by the US Army Corps of Engineers, a federal judge has ruled.

The late Wednesday ruling could open the federal government up to billions of dollars in liability for the damage wrecked when levees meant to protect the low-lying city crumbled under the weight of a massive surge of sea water that raced up a narrow navigational channel.

It was hailed as a vindication for those who had spent years trying to convince the Corps to fix the flawed system and who have insisted that the flooding of nearly 80 percent of New Orleans was in fact a man-made disaster.

"The Corps' lassitude and failure to fulfill its duties resulted in a catastrophic loss of human life and property in unprecedented proportions," Judge Stanwood Duval wrote in his 189-page ruling.

"Furthermore, the Corps not only knew, but admitted by 1988, that the MRGO (Mississippi Gulf-River Outlet) threatened human life... and yet it did not act in time to prevent the catastrophic disaster that ensued with the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina."

Duval also concluded that statutory liability shields did not protect the Corps from responsibility for sections of the levee system that were maintained as "navigational channels."

"The Corps' negligence resulted in the wasting of millions of dollars in flood protection measures and billions of dollars in Congressional outlays to help this region recover from such a catastrophe," Duval wrote.

"Certainly, Congress would never have meant to protect this kind of nonfeasance on the part of the very agency that is tasked with the protection of life and property."

The 720,000 dollars awarded to three homeowners and a business will set the stage for as many as 100,000 more lawsuits, The Times-Picayune reported.

The government is expected to appeal the ruling.

A spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers declined to comment on the ruling "as the issues involved in the case are still subject to possible further litigation."

Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans on August 29, 2005 as a category three hurricane and smashed through the poorly-built levees surrounding the city, destroying tens of thousands of homes and killing nearly 1,500 people.

The landmark decision was welcomed by the city's mayor as means to achieve justice for those who have spent years trying to get adequate compensation for everything they lost to Katrina's fury.

"Hopefully this ruling will open up the flood gates, if you will, for those people to receive proper compensation," Mayor C. Ray Nagin said, adding that the city intends to file a lawsuit seeking damages from the Corps.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs said the decision was an important step on the road to recovery.

"It has been proven in a court of law that the drowning of New Orleans was not a natural disaster, but a preventable man-made travesty," the MRGO Litigation Group said in a statement.

"The government has always had a moral obligation to rebuild New Orleans. This decision makes that obligation a matter of legal responsibility."

The ruling concerned areas of the city damaged by floodwaters from the 75-mile (120-kilometer) long shipping channel dubbed MR-GO that runs along the eastern side of the Big Easy.

Dwan Roberts, 48, is among the scores of homeowners who plan to file suit against the government in the wake of the decision.

"We actually made it through the storm. It was afterwards, when the levees didn't hold, that we got all the water," she told AFP.

Her one-story home, located in suburban Chalmette, Louisiana between the MR-GO and the Mississippi River, flooded up to the ceiling.

"There was nothing left to salvage," she lamented.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
Course they were doing a bang up job in Iraq at the time ]]> John Drake http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57321-so-who-fault-new-orleans-again.html Territory of California? http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57311-territory-california.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:01:30 GMT Has anyone else heard a rumor floating around that California may have to revert to a federal territory in order to deal with its budget woes? I've been floating around the net and I'm hearing this in some places. ]]> turnitup5000db http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57311-territory-california.html Wow... http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57253-wow.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:44:27 GMT So it seems as though a Canadian real estate company has purchased the Pontiac Silverdome for a mere $583,000.00. It cost over $55,000,000.00 to build:\ Pontiac Silverdome... So it seems as though a Canadian real estate company has purchased the Pontiac Silverdome for a mere $583,000.00. It cost over $55,000,000.00 to build:\

Pontiac Silverdome

On the one hand, the city isn't on the hook for over a million in year in taxes. On the other, though, if the selling price is not quite six hundred grand, the taxes collected on it are going to be far less than that.

I'm not sure if this was a smart move on the part of Pontiac, but it's certainly indicative of how fucked that part of the country is... ]]> Steve http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57253-wow.html This is how the Daley Regime sells the idea of the police state. http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57179-how-daley-regime-sells-idea-police-state.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:43:53 GMT Yeah, this is pathetic. These fucking Chicago liberals are out of fucking line. City using technology to remove snow, avoid blowing budget :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: City Hall... Yeah, this is pathetic.

These fucking Chicago liberals are out of fucking line.

City using technology to remove snow, avoid blowing budget :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: City Hall

Quote:

City using technology to remove snow, avoid blowing budget


November 12, 2009

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

How do you avoid a blizzard of budget-busting overtime and still remove the snow from Chicago streets?

By using technology to measure and improve productivity.

Today, Mayor Daley unveiled plans to put GPS, high-tech sensors and the city's vast network of surveillance cameras to work to get the snow off Chicago streets.

Sensors on the trucks will tell camera-monitoring supervisors how much salt is being spread, how many tons are still in the truck and whether the blade on a plow is up or down on the street clearing snow.

And by using safety cameras, the city will be able to track the movement of snow plows without putting nearly as many supervisors on the street.

"We're gonna knock our supervision down from 30 supervisors on the street down to 10," said Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Tom Byrne.

"Then, we've got a schedule made out for every snowstorm and we'll have our exempt members [who] don't get paid overtime ... working with me on the street assessing and helping foremen on the street do their jobs."

Daley said it's critical to keep close tabs on how much salt is being spread.

"Why do they put more salt on one block than the other block? How much did you put in the intersection? ... If you put it all in one block, you have to go down and pick [up] more salt," he said.

Why the efficiency expert's approach to snow removal?

"Accountability. You need more and more technology. That's where we're all going: Fire, Police, Building Department, Sanitation. Technology is here to stay. You have to use it. ... It's a cost factor," the mayor said.

"You use cameras for all operations of the city. ... It's not used for one purpose for one department. It's used for fire, police, sanitation. Everything possible, you use that camera for. You can't say, 'Those are the Police Department's cameras and no one else's."

Last winter, Daley raised the roof after then- Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Michael Picardi spent $490,000 on snow removal during a relatively minor, first-of-the-season snowstorm.

Picardi wore the jacket -- and was ultimately replaced by Byrne -- even though a City Council rebellion subsequently forced Daley to reverse a cost-cutting policy that saw City Hall plow side streets during normal working hours to reduce overtime and skip side streets altogether after minor snowstorms.

This winter, it'll be a different story even after the city failed in its effort to privatize side street snow removal.

"There will be overtime," Byrne said. "The sooner we can get trucks off the arterials into the side-streets, we'll do that. We can also look at trying to pull some trucks off the mains and getting 'em into side-streets as we're still doing mains, depending on the severity of the snow."

Daley added, "Everybody prays for a mild winter -- not only for snow [removal costs], but for the safety of people."
]]> Swoop187 http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57179-how-daley-regime-sells-idea-police-state.html Graham censued by SC county GOP http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57156-graham-censued-sc-county-gop.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:26:26 GMT for his RINO behaviour regarding Cap-n-tax witht he dems


seems he's finally gotten to that last straw.



Quote:
Republican leaders in a South Carolina county have censured their own U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham for working with Democrats on a climate bill and other legislation.
The Republican has often worked with Democrats in Congress, but Charleston County Chairwoman Lin Bennett says his work on climate legislation is the last straw.

The party resolution passed Monday says Graham has weakened the Republican brand. Bennett expects a similar resolution to be introduced at the state GOP convention next year.

Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop says Graham is looking for a way forward on energy legislation.
]]> daddio http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57156-graham-censued-sc-county-gop.html Report: 10 states face looming budget disasters http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57138-report-10-states-face-looming-budget-disasters.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:56:44 GMT Some news to brighten the day. I live on one so its not really news to me, and not getting any better. I wonder what Obama is gonna do?

He can steer 'stimulus' money their way bit who long will that last, as hes already been doing that in any event and congress with more safety net spending ( which they just passed = more federal debt.) is propping them up too, so if you are from state that has spent wisely, you are in effect subsidizing those that didn’t and don’t.

The cuts are in effect walking back things that should never have been funded anyway, and the caterwauling that’s taking place. That’s what you get for spending beyond pop. growth and in hand tax receipts, god awful bond measure upon bond measure exploding debt. servicing chunks of the state income.


California is in such deep shit, god knows what they will think up next, I got a letter from HR today explaining why more is going to be gone from my paycheck due to their wanton grab at 10% more of my sate tax I already pay, as a 'loan’, no interest of course, it was just a money grab.........what a joke and its on us.






heres the meat of the story..
snip-

California leads the most vulnerable states identified by the report, which describes it as having poor money-management practices. Since February, California has made nearly $60 billion in budget adjustments in the form of cuts to education and social service programs, temporary tax hikes, one-time gimmicks and stimulus spending, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.

Many of those fixes are not expected to last. The state's temporary tax increases will begin to expire at the end of 2010, while federal stimulus spending will begin to run out a year after that.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger estimates California will run a deficit of $12.4 billion to $14.4 billion when he releases his next spending plan in January. The governor warned that the toughest cuts are ahead.



snip-

Arizona lawmakers relied on one-time fixes to balance recent budgets as the state's home foreclosure rate surpassed California's and the nationwide average. Among the many ideas being explored by the state are a plan to mortgage state buildings, then rent the property until the state regains ownership at the end of the contract.

• Michigan, where two of the Detroit Three automakers filed for bankruptcy protection this year, continues to offer tax incentives even as they take a toll on the state's pocketbook, leading to declining tax revenue. According to the Pew study, Michigan offered $6.3 billion more in total tax exemptions, credits and deductions than it actually collected in taxes in 2008.

• Illinois, which has run deficits every year since 2001, is facing an $11.7 billion budget gap for its next fiscal year, beginning in July, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Pew's Government Performance Project ranked Illinois behind only California and Rhode Island for its lack of fiscal management on paying medical bills and pension liabilities.

• With Florida facing a shrinking population for the first time since World War II, Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and the GOP-controlled Legislature balanced a $5.9 billion shortfall with cuts, federal stimulus money and tax hikes, including a $1-a-pack tax increase on cigarettes. But the future remains uncertain.

"Florida continues to face the same challenges as last year, including a very austere budgetary environment," said Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican who chairs both of the Florida House's two appropriations councils.

Report: 10 states face looming budget disasters - Yahoo! News ]]> Imperator http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/57138-report-10-states-face-looming-budget-disasters.html no same sex marriage in Maine http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56991-no-same-sex-marriage-maine.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:22:48 GMT so sayeth the citizenry


I can't understand why thys cant get their arms around the fact that this has nothing to do with fear.


Quote:
"I don't understand what the fear is, why people are so afraid of this change.

"It hurts. It hurts personally," she said. "It's a personal rejection of us and our relationship, and I don't understand what the fear is."

With 87 percent of precincts reporting, gay-marriage foes had 53 percent of the vote in a referendum that asked Maine voters whether they wanted to repeal a law allowing same-sex marriage that had passed the Legislature and was signed by Democratic Gov. John
]]> daddio http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56991-no-same-sex-marriage-maine.html Leftist Illinois lies to make stimulus plan seem more effective. http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56988-leftist-illinois-lies-make-stimulus-plan-seem-more-effective.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:00:37 GMT Illinois data on stimulus-related jobs saved, created don't add up -- chicagotribune.com

Quote:

Illinois data on stimulus-related jobs saved, created don't add up

Districts say job numbers attributed to them inaccurate; totals ignore Chicago


By Bob Secter and Erika Slife Tribune reporters

November 4, 2009

More than $4.7 million in federal stimulus aid so far has been funneled to schools in North Chicago, and state and federal officials say that money has saved the jobs of 473 teachers.

Problem is, the district employs only 290 teachers.

"That other number, I don't know where that came from," said Lauri Hakanen, superintendent of North Chicago Community Unit Schools District 187.

The Obama administration last week released the first round of data designed to underpin the worthiness of its economic stimulus plan, which so far has directed $1.25 billion to Illinois schools. That money has helped save or create 14,330 school jobs in the state, the administration claimed.

But those statistics, compiled initially by the Illinois State Board of Education, appear riddled with anomalies that raise questions about their validity, according to a Tribune analysis of district-by-district stimulus spending and other state data. Many local school officials were perplexed by the stimulus data attributed to their districts.

In the official report, Wilmette Public Schools District 39 was credited with 166 jobs saved by stimulus aid. Superintendent Raymond Lechner said the number should be zero.

At Dolton-Riverdale School District 148, stimulus funds were said to have saved the equivalent of 382 full-time teaching jobs -- 142 more than the district actually has.

A similar discrepancy was found in data for Kankakee School District 111, where the stimulus report logged the equivalent of 665 full-time jobs saved. "That's impossible," a top Kankakee school official said, adding that the entire payroll -- full and part time -- is 600 workers.

But if that suggests the numbers for Illinois may be artificially inflated, then consider the following, which could suggest an undercount:

The totals do not reflect any school jobs saved or created in Chicago, the state's biggest district and the recipient of at least $293 million in stimulus funds. Chicago schools budget chief Christina Herzog said the district easily saved at least 1,200 jobs because of the stimulus, but didn't report them as such because of directives from the state board. State officials dispute that.

The district-specific data, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, also underscore how little of the money has been spent to expand educational opportunities. Statewide, districts reported using most of their stimulus funds to prevent layoffs, with the equivalent of just 222 full-time jobs added to payrolls.

Last week's stimulus report came against the backdrop of a raging debate over the wisdom of President Barack Obama's entire $787 billion stimulus program. Critics on the right contend it has ballooned the deficit while failing to rapidly revive the economy. The administration said the stimulus was designed to build a lasting recovery and has helped avert an even more drastic downturn.

Problems with the Illinois stimulus data illustrate how difficult it is to benchmark the impact of so sprawling an initiative. Many districts were unclear about what they should report. And there also may have been confusion over how the data were collated once the figures arrived at the state level.

It appears the state treasury -- not students or school districts -- was the prime beneficiary of the education stimulus jackpot in Illinois. In great measure, funds simply were used to replace general aid payments already owed to local districts by the state. That gave Gov. Pat Quinn breathing room in his struggle to rein in a whopping two-year budget deficit of more than $10 billion.

Confusion reigns over why the numbers for many districts appear so off. Responsibility for collecting data and sending the figures to Washington fell to Quinn's office, which turned the task over to the state board.

Board spokesman Matt Vanover said the data might be flawed and said the information was only as good as the numbers sent in by local districts. But officials of several districts contacted by the Tribune insisted they never provided the state with the jobs numbers used in the official tabulation.

Herzog said the jobs saved in the city weren't reflected in official paperwork because the state directed that layoff notices had to have at least been served and then rescinded before jobs could be counted as retained.

Vanover said Chicago received the same guidance as every other district in the state, but apparently interpreted it differently.

Chicago's omission from the stimulus data is not without irony. The federal overseer of school stimulus spending is U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who until early this year was the CEO of the Chicago schools.

Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for Duncan, said the discrepancies the Tribune uncovered in Illinois jobs data are "really troubling" and would be investigated and corrected if necessary. Still, she said, similar jobs reports from other states appear more solid.

"At this point, the department feels good about the number overall," she said.

Some local school officials suggested that the jobs data sent to the state appeared to have been overcounted in the official tabulation.

Last spring, Dolton-Riverdale received $3.6 million in stimulus money and reported to the state that the money saved 181 teaching jobs. A follow-up report this fall on another installment of $750,000 brought the total to 201. The official state report states that stimulus money saved 382 jobs.

But Carolyn Keith, the district's comptroller, said the data from the two reports overlap and should not be added together.

The report from the state board listed jobs being retained or created thanks to the stimulus in 348 local districts, but more than half that total was concentrated in just 35 districts.

By contrast, the numbers reported for many districts -- even big ones -- were conservative. Naperville Community Unit School District 203, with 18,000 students, reported just six jobs created with stimulus money.

In Schaumburg-based School District 54, Superintendent Ed Rafferty said the state's estimate of 250 jobs preserved or created was accurate, though more than half belonged to a multidistrict preschool program that includes District 54.

Just a handful of the jobs were new, Rafferty said, and he warned that every position propped up by stimulus money would be in jeopardy when the program expires. "Unless there's a guarantee of continuation of (federal or state) money, the vast majority of these will be eliminated because there won't be local resources to fund them," he said.

Tribune reporter John Keilman contributed. bsecter@tribune.com

eslife@tribune.com
]]> Swoop187 http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56988-leftist-illinois-lies-make-stimulus-plan-seem-more-effective.html Imagine If This Were Reversed http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56939-imagine-if-were-reversed.html Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:33:18 GMT Mary Norwood is set to become the first white mayor of Atlanta in 36 years and well, that's just not sitting well with several so-called black "leaders" in the community.

Quote:
Mr. Long said his endorsement was based on Mrs. Norwood's support of a local police chief and her call to develop blighted areas that remain in the city. But he was also a bit perturbed by a memo written by two Clark Atlanta University professors, which sent shock waves through the city.

The memo, written by political science professors William Boone and Keith Jennings, warned that black Atlantans need to act quickly to thwart a Norwood victory and maintain black political control of the top job in the city.

"With the 'Black Mayor First' approach, there is an unstated assumption that having a black mayor in Atlanta is equal to having a black social, economic and political agenda, or at least someone in office who would be sensitive to that agenda if not a full promoter of that agenda," the memo said.

The ad hoc group, called the Black Leadership Forum, suggested that blacks unite around Mrs. Borders, calling her the most electable black candidate. That didn't sit well with Mr. Long.

"You speak for no one," Mr. Long said in a letter to the group. "There are no masses of black voters waiting with bated breath to hear from you who the anointed candidate will be."

Black candidates in the race - including Mr. Reed and Mrs. Borders - also moved swiftly to distance themselves from the memo.

The Washington Times
]]> SamInTheSouth http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56939-imagine-if-were-reversed.html Using Disclosure to Intimidate http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56931-using-disclosure-intimidate.html Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:40:02 GMT Interesting. So, does a petition singer not only sign up to sppt. the petition but sign up for possible harassment as well? I have to agree with the SC back in the 50’s disclosing these lists to non-officials whom vet the petition for legal signatures is not valid.

Any thoughts on this?


by George Will

SEATTLE -- Conservatives here, a droll minority, say that under this city's quota system, when a conservative enters the city, one already here is required to leave. They also say Washington is actually two states: There is what you can see from atop this city's Space Needle -- meaning, this liberal city -- and there is everything else, extending to the Oregon, Idaho and Canadian borders.

On Tuesday, Washington residents will vote in a referendum that has national significance because of a controversy about disclosing the names and addresses of those who signed petitions to trigger the referendum. Disclosure threatens the right to privacy, which is under assault by a spreading movement -- call it thuggish liberalism -- that uses intimidation to suppress political participation.


The referendum is on a new state law that some say establishes same-sex marriage. This is a matter about which people differ. What is, however, unambiguously wrong is the attempt by some supporters of the law to force disclosure of the names and addresses of the 138,000 people who signed the petition bringing about the referendum. This can have no other purpose than to make it possible to harass those signers.

Those favoring disclosure say it is mandatory under the state's Public Records Act. If so, that act is unconstitutional.

In the 1950s, Alabama tried to compel the NAACP to disclose its membership list. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that disclosure would burden the freedoms of expression and association that the First Amendment protects.

Advocates of compelled disclosure predictably invoke Louis Brandeis' axiom that sunlight is the best disinfectant. But what is the supposed infection?

The Supreme Court has held that disclosure requirements serve three government interests: They provide information about the flow of political money, they deter corruption and avoid the appearance thereof by revealing large contributions, and they facilitate enforcement of contribution limits.

These pertain only to financial information in candidate elections. These cannot justify compelled disclosures regarding referendums because referendums raise no issues of officials' future performance in office -- being corruptly responsive to financial contributors. The only relevant information about referendums is in the text of the propositions.

In 1973, Washington's secretary of state ruled that signing an initiative or referendum petition is "a form of voting" and violating voters' privacy could have adverse "political ramifications" for those signing.

In 2009, some advocates of disclosure plan to put signers' names on the Internet in order to force "uncomfortable" conversations.


more at-

RealClearPolitics - Liberals Using Disclosure to Intimidate ]]> Imperator http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56931-using-disclosure-intimidate.html California decides to help itself to an interest free loan via its citizens http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56929-california-decides-help-itself-interest-free-loan-via-its-citizens.html Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:17:36 GMT You have got to be effing kidding me....if I underestimate my cali tax by more than 5%, that is I add extra exemptions and at the end of the year I owe more than 5% of the estimated tax, I get hit with a fine....BUT they now have decided to take an... You have got to be effing kidding me....if I underestimate my cali tax by more than 5%, that is I add extra exemptions and at the end of the year I owe more than 5% of the estimated tax, I get hit with a fine....BUT they now have decided to take an extra 10% for my state taxes from my check and I will see it back when I file in 2010..... this is highway robbery, I cannot believe this is even legal absent a ratified tax increase.

Talk about regressive, where are the libs in the Cali leg. now? :rolleyes:

California to withhold a bigger chunk of paychecks

Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners — holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.

Technically, it’s not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives. As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers’ annual tax bills won’t change.

Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You’ll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less.

But with rising gas costs, depressed home prices and double-digit unemployment, the state’s added reach into residents’ regular paycheck isn’t sitting well with many.


California to withhold a bigger chunk of paychecks -- latimes.com ]]> Imperator http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56929-california-decides-help-itself-interest-free-loan-via-its-citizens.html Creigh Deeds joins others under the Obama Bus http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56789-creigh-deeds-joins-others-under-obama-bus.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:34:25 GMT White House distancing itself from the VA governor's race

following in the footsteps of the DNC (led by current VA governor Tim Kaine


Quote:
Sensing that victory in the race for Virginia governor is slipping away, Democrats at the national level are laying the groundwork to blame a loss in a key swing state on a weak candidate who ran a poor campaign that failed to fully embrace President Obama until days before the election.

Senior administration officials have expressed frustration with how Democrat R. Creigh Deeds has handled his campaign for governor, refusing early offers of strategic advice and failing to reach out to several key constituencies that helped Obama win Virginia in 2008, they say.

Democratic strategists said that over the summer, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) offered Deeds advice on winning a statewide election. Among other things, Kaine, who is also chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told Deeds that he should lay out more of his own vision and stop attacking Republican Robert F. McDonnell so ferociously. But Deeds did not embrace the advice, according to a national Democratic strategist.

A senior administration official said Deeds badly erred on several fronts, including not doing a better job of coordinating with the White House. "I understood in the beginning why there was some reluctance to run all around the state with Barack Obama," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the race. "You don't do that in Virginia. But when you consider the African American turnout that they need, and then when you consider as well they've got a huge problem with surge voters, younger voters, we were just a natural for them."

A second administration official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "Obama, Kaine and others had drawn a road map to victory in Virginia. Deeds chose another path."


its interesting how they generally avoid WHY Deeds needed to avoid association with the natinal party and Obama and totally avoid WHY he could not spend more time on his "vision".

we have a constitutionally mandated balanced budget here and have no taste for tax increases so his hands are tied on making promises of goodies. with the economy in the shitter with no end in sight, the standard dem line is doomed. I thnk Terry McAuliff saw that and decided it was better to let Deeds have it since there was no way to come away from this with a political future. ]]> daddio http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56789-creigh-deeds-joins-others-under-obama-bus.html Michigan- Michigone.... http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56738-michigan-michigone.html Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:35:54 GMT Ahhhhhh Michigan……tsk tsk, another state ruined by ‘progressive’ tax policy. What a wasteland of a state..….alas, we are in the same boat, if not worse, but at least we have better weather in California, and you can always sleep on the beach. ... Ahhhhhh Michigan……tsk tsk, another state ruined by ‘progressive’ tax policy. What a wasteland of a state..….alas, we are in the same boat, if not worse, but at least we have better weather in California, and you can always sleep on the beach.

The State of Joblessness
The tragedy of Jennifer Granholm's Michigan.

State lawmakers will soon face large budget deficits again, perhaps as much as $100 billion across the U.S. Here's some free budget-balancing advice: Steer clear of the Michigan model. The Wolverine state is once again set to run out of money, and it is once again poised to raise taxes even as jobs and businesses disappear.

In 2007 Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the biggest tax increase in Michigan history, with most of the $1.4 billion coming from business. The personal income tax—which hits nonincorporated small businesses—was raised to 4.2% from 3.95%, and the Michigan business tax levied a surcharge of 22%. The tax money was dedicated to the likes of education, public works, job retraining and corporate subsidies. Ms. Granholm and her union allies called these "investments," and the exercise was widely applauded as a prototype of "progressive" budgeting.

Some prototype. Every state has seen a big jump in joblessness since 2007, but with a 15.2% unemployment rate Michigan's jobs picture is by far the worst. Some 750,000 private-sector payroll jobs have vanished since the start of the decade. For every family that has moved into Michigan since 2007, two have sold their homes and left.

Meanwhile, the new business taxes didn't balance the budget. Instead, thanks to business closures and relocations, tax receipts are running nearly $1 billion below projections and the deficit has climbed back to $2.8 billion. As the Detroit News put it, Michigan businesses are continually asked "to pay more in taxes to erase a budget deficit that, despite their contributions, never goes away." And this is despite the flood of federal stimulus and auto bailout cash over the last year.

Following her 2007 misadventure, Ms. Granholm promised: "I'm not ever going to raise taxes again." That pledge lasted about 18 months. Now she wants $600 million more. Among the ideas under consideration: an income tax increase with a higher top rate, a sales tax on services, a freeze on the personal income tax exemption (which would be a stealth inflation tax on all Michigan families), a 3% surtax on doctors, and fees on bottled water and cigarettes. To their credit, Republicans who control the Michigan Senate are holding out for a repeal of the 22% business tax surcharge.

As for Ms. Granholm, she and House speaker Andy Dillon continue to bow to public-sector unions. There are now 637,000 public employees in Michigan compared to fewer than 500,000 workers left in manufacturing. Government is the largest employer in the state, but the number of taxpayers to support these government workers is shrinking. The budget deadline is November 1, and Ms. Granholm is holding out for tax increases rather than paring back state government.

The decline in auto sales has hurt Michigan more than other states, but the state's economy would have been better equipped to cope without Ms. Granholm's policy mix of higher taxes in order to spend more money on favored political and corporate interests. If any larger good can come of the experience, it is that Michigan is teaching other states how not to govern.
Michigan's Economy Withers Under Tax Burdens - WSJ.com ]]> Imperator http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56738-michigan-michigone.html Texas Governor http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56476-texas-governor.html Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:57:34 GMT The Texas Republican primary will decide who the new governor will be. If Kay Bailey Huchison wins then she is the new governor. If Perry(Governor Hair) wins the primary then Texas will have a Democratic governor. Perry was gifted the last election... The Texas Republican primary will decide who the new governor will be. If Kay Bailey Huchison wins then she is the new governor. If Perry(Governor Hair) wins the primary then Texas will have a Democratic governor. Perry was gifted the last election due to a crowded field, a weak Democratic canidate and the Texas constitution (no runoff). It will not happen again. It's a win/win for Texas Democrats, either we'll get a Democratic governor or we will at the least competent state government.

The Republican primary looks to be a nasty one. Can't wait. I'm no fan of Kay Bailey, but I think she has been underestimated. If McCain picked her the election would've been much closer. ]]> compote_tom http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/state-local-politics/56476-texas-governor.html