Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/03/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I only reported what I read in the LA Times. My point is that there is no money to spend to provide the current .programs, including salaries. A lot of private sector jobs have had pay cuts.. I went through 2 of them in my career. It sucks. It is a reality of corporate and government income loss. The other choice would be to cut 10-12% of the head count. People ( employees) generally dislike that more. Overspending is the problem, as well as lack of tax income. You need to focus on both issues to get it fixed, however, until income levels return, taxing more does not create significant revenue as the tax base is fixed and lower than plan.... cutting programs (spending) will immediately have an substantial effect on fiscal balance.. There are always 2 (in the extreme) sides to a discussion... in this case, Tax more or Cut spending. If there is no money to pay out, then cutting spending is the only viable solution..... ( short of more bonds/borrowing, which makes the entire problem worse.) When I hear about the California ( where I do live) deficit, I am amazed. Yes, times were good.... tax revenue was seen to be infinite and increasing...spending went out of control. But now, revenue is in the tank, and we are still spending...... California needs to cut spending. Jobs? Pensions? Health plans? Roads? Schools? Building? ALL of the above and more..... I repeat.... in a family economy, if you lose your job, the very first thing you do is to stop spending..... then you go out and look for a new one ( source of revenue). Why should government be different? If there are so many people out of work, is it not logical to believe that there are many people capable and willing to take on the jobs of others? A 10% across the board pay cut ( including the police and firemen) saves 10% of that part of the budget, immediately. If you, as a government employee, do not like that. Quit. There is someone who will take your job in a heartbeat. ( supply and demand in action) We in California have a 9-10% marginal personal income tax rate and a pretty consistent 9-10% sales tax on everything except food. A lot of companies have left the state because of taxes, both corporate and personal income tax. Nevada has no personal income tax, Ditto Texas. Not sure about corporate tax rates in either state. But the drain towards these states is rather substantial. Raising taxes forces companies to move, for competitive cost reasons. Lowering the tax base. Given our situation out here, raising taxes is not justifiable unless you cut spending at the same time......and I don't see that happening.... Wisconsin? Not sure of your situation, but suggestion is that while the precise details are different, the song is the same..... Again, YMMV Frank Filippone Red735i at earthlink.net -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+red735i=earthlink.net at leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+red735i=earthlink.net at leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Keith Wessel Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2011 8:59 PM To: 'Leica Users Group' Subject: Re: [Leica] IMGS: check out Keith Wessel's photographs The only way to balance the budget is to first cut spending, then increase taxes, temporarily. YMMV Frank Filippone Red735i at earthlink.net Frank, There is much more in this bill that you have described. All public employees were given a 10-12% pay cut. There are many teachers and sheriffs deputies who are going to lose their homes. The governor is given the opportunity to give(sell) the state power plants away to his contributors. Currently we have power plants that provide heat and cooling to state buildings. The governor's campaign was financed by oil industry tycoons who want these power plants. The recession ended in July 2009. We have a fragile recovery. Economists were predicting 250,000 new jobs for Wisconsin as we come out of the recession. That would be a source of tax revenue. I predict that the huge cut in spending associated with this bill will spiral through our economy leading to more foreclosures and probably a new recession. Keith