Experts Expound

“Yet more budget misery: The December numbers are in and the state fell short of revenue projections by $2.5 billion for the first half of the fiscal year. Total hole (maybe): $9.2 billion. So what do we do now?”

Government should run like an efficient corporation. It should cook its books.

Move to Texas.

What do we do now?  Lower taxes instead of raising them, forget the damn train, raise the age at which government employees can receive retirement benefits to mirror that of Social Security, including the decreases in benefits if they continue to work past that age. Change the retirement system for all (new) government employees to a 401k, with no match unless the state has the dough, cut welfare, apply for an exemption from Obamacare, stop allowing unions to include political contributions in dues, stop all aid to cities which declare themselves sanctuaries, call a special session of the Legislature to repeal laws instead of create them, declare a fiscal emergency and order every manager in state service to eliminate at least 10 percent of the jobs under him, and choose who goes based on productivity not seniority. Publish the state’s balance sheet and financials based on a cash basis, and stop lying to the people and the rating agencies about debt.  That would be a start.

I think we’re down to bake sales. Ann Gust Brown can cook up some brownies.

We all yawn, the Dems make some cuts; the Reps say cut more; they pass a budget with trigger cuts if the voters don’t approve the governor’s plan; and before you know it is 2013 and we see what revenues look like then. Yawn.  

 
Stop spending!!!

Spend more, then borrow.

Close the tax loopholes that allow business owners to ride on the backs of the public, enjoying a free ride at the same time they praise private enterprise. If we did that, we’d raise enough to close the gap, and then some.

Go to the voters. In the end, they decide anyway.

The whole point of going “down the road” is to get the can there. So kick the darn can.

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