Swing The Ax!
Tightening the money belt for all
By Kelvin Wade | | January 09, 2008 23:20
The Other Side column
The Other Side column
For a long while my girlfriend and her daughter would go out for sushi every Friday night and I'd take the kids out to eat. When time came to trim our budget, the Friday dinners were cut to every other Friday. That was just the beginning. Certain home improvements had to be shelved, purchases put off and trips limited because of gas prices. That's what you do with a household budget.
In this week's state of the state address, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told us we're in a big financial hole that is systemic because of mandatory spending increases. But the governor made the job of balancing the budget that much harder when he assumed office by reversing the hefty car tax. It satisfied campaign promises, made us all breathe a sigh of relief but added billions to the budget deficit.
Likewise in Fairfield, newly sworn in City Manager Sean Quinn acknowledges that our failure to pass Measure Q has helped land us in the financial predicament we're in now. What were we thinking? Were we trying to prove some political point by rejecting the diversion of $3.2 million of water fees into the general fund? How did we intend to make up for the loss of that money?
I'd like my victories to be of the practical and not pyrrhic variety.
Like the state spending one-time surplus money on ongoing programs, we spent one-time surplus money on police. That's not to say that we didn't need the additional police. But it did land us in a financial hole.
It was pretty shocking to read in the paper that the creative arts center downtown may have its programs reduced or facilities closed. But it's only shocking because somehow we've started to believe that belt-tightening should be painless. It's not.
When Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes specific cuts, there will be politicians and lobbyists grandstanding about how their program should be immune to cuts. Cutting spending is a bitter pill to swallow and we'd better get used to it.
In 1994, the state slashed library budgets. So Solano County had to make painful cuts in library service. Those of us who used the library had to accept that the libraries were closed on Fridays, had shorter hours during the week and less money to buy new materials.
The point I'm making is not that we need new taxes. But sometimes, we have to be prepared to do without. To sacrifice. We've got to find alternative ways to muddle through until we can restore funding. Sometimes that means struggling and making do.
We'd like to provide stellar services statewide to our citizens. We'd like to fund the arts, community services and public works so Fairfield can reach its full potential right now. And I'd like to be able to put Pergo in my house, get an LCD TV and take the kids out for dinner every week.
Sometimes you just have to listen to your wallet and sacrifice. Peace.
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The California budget has been screwed up for a long time. And it's because we don't have a legislature and governor that are willing to make the hard choices. We got into this financial shape during the boom times by cutting taxes and increasing spending. So it would appear to be obvious to me that you get out of this situation by a mixture of the two. But there's no way this governor or Republicans in the legislature are going to allow those top tax rates to be placed back to where they were.
So we're left with spending cuts. Spending cuts are difficult because we have so much mandatory spending in this state due to numerous propositions. Those measures tie politicians' hands. And so the things left to cut are going to produce a lot of pain. No doubt.
But the truth is the state can't afford to continue in the direction its going. At some point, someone is going to have to make the difficult choices. Cuts are going to hurt. But the longer we put them off, the worse its going to be for future generations.
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HILLARY
It's not that i hate Hillary Clinton. I don't. I just think she's one of the most polarizing figures the Democrats could nominate. Why would the GOP work with her? We know they won't. They fundraise using her name. They will sabotage everything she wasnts to do. If the GOP takes one house of Congress, we're going to see nothing but the usual partisan investigations. And I think Hillary makes the November race unnecessarily close by firing up the Republican base.
Here's what I had to say about her this week on The Other Side blog: CLICK HERE
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McStarbucks
Finally, I Wade In this week to McDonald's news that they will be taking on Starbucks in the coffee business. Hmmm... I don't ever see myself dipping McNuggets into a piping hot cup of coffee. CLICK HERE to check it out.
In this week's state of the state address, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told us we're in a big financial hole that is systemic because of mandatory spending increases. But the governor made the job of balancing the budget that much harder when he assumed office by reversing the hefty car tax. It satisfied campaign promises, made us all breathe a sigh of relief but added billions to the budget deficit.
Likewise in Fairfield, newly sworn in City Manager Sean Quinn acknowledges that our failure to pass Measure Q has helped land us in the financial predicament we're in now. What were we thinking? Were we trying to prove some political point by rejecting the diversion of $3.2 million of water fees into the general fund? How did we intend to make up for the loss of that money?
I'd like my victories to be of the practical and not pyrrhic variety.
Like the state spending one-time surplus money on ongoing programs, we spent one-time surplus money on police. That's not to say that we didn't need the additional police. But it did land us in a financial hole.
It was pretty shocking to read in the paper that the creative arts center downtown may have its programs reduced or facilities closed. But it's only shocking because somehow we've started to believe that belt-tightening should be painless. It's not.
When Gov. Schwarzenegger proposes specific cuts, there will be politicians and lobbyists grandstanding about how their program should be immune to cuts. Cutting spending is a bitter pill to swallow and we'd better get used to it.
In 1994, the state slashed library budgets. So Solano County had to make painful cuts in library service. Those of us who used the library had to accept that the libraries were closed on Fridays, had shorter hours during the week and less money to buy new materials.
The point I'm making is not that we need new taxes. But sometimes, we have to be prepared to do without. To sacrifice. We've got to find alternative ways to muddle through until we can restore funding. Sometimes that means struggling and making do.
We'd like to provide stellar services statewide to our citizens. We'd like to fund the arts, community services and public works so Fairfield can reach its full potential right now. And I'd like to be able to put Pergo in my house, get an LCD TV and take the kids out for dinner every week.
Sometimes you just have to listen to your wallet and sacrifice. Peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The California budget has been screwed up for a long time. And it's because we don't have a legislature and governor that are willing to make the hard choices. We got into this financial shape during the boom times by cutting taxes and increasing spending. So it would appear to be obvious to me that you get out of this situation by a mixture of the two. But there's no way this governor or Republicans in the legislature are going to allow those top tax rates to be placed back to where they were.
So we're left with spending cuts. Spending cuts are difficult because we have so much mandatory spending in this state due to numerous propositions. Those measures tie politicians' hands. And so the things left to cut are going to produce a lot of pain. No doubt.
But the truth is the state can't afford to continue in the direction its going. At some point, someone is going to have to make the difficult choices. Cuts are going to hurt. But the longer we put them off, the worse its going to be for future generations.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
HILLARY
It's not that i hate Hillary Clinton. I don't. I just think she's one of the most polarizing figures the Democrats could nominate. Why would the GOP work with her? We know they won't. They fundraise using her name. They will sabotage everything she wasnts to do. If the GOP takes one house of Congress, we're going to see nothing but the usual partisan investigations. And I think Hillary makes the November race unnecessarily close by firing up the Republican base.
Here's what I had to say about her this week on The Other Side blog: CLICK HERE
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
McStarbucks
Finally, I Wade In this week to McDonald's news that they will be taking on Starbucks in the coffee business. Hmmm... I don't ever see myself dipping McNuggets into a piping hot cup of coffee. CLICK HERE to check it out.
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