by Jack
According to a new Berkeley poll only 35% support gasoline tax hike due to go into effect November 1st. This will be in addition to DMV registration fees, sales tax and registration fees that will increase in 2019. The new fees and taxes will make Californians the most taxed in the nation.
However, despite the fact that billions of dollars will be raised, presumably for road improvement, there is no guaranteeing that all the funds will go to their intended purposes.
The registration and fuel tax hike is a regressive tax, in other words it hits the poorest among us the hardest. Mainstream democrats now worry they may have let the far left push too hard and they could suffer a voter backlash by 2020.
Governor Brown currently makes the argument that if Californians want safe road and highways, then the fix is simple, they are going to have to pony up. he thinks the freeloaders have had their way long enough.
However, Governor Brown is not taking into account decades of wasteful spending that has at times forced a raid on highway funds and that led to deferred maintenance and accelerated deterioration of bridges, roads and highways.
Redundant state offices, ineffective state programs and gross mismanagement have taken their toll.
California is easily the State’s largest employee with over 300,000 employees drawing some of the highest wages and best benefit packages in the nation. For example, Theodore Eliopoulos draws $736,000 per year, not counting benefits. He’s the CFO for the Public Employees Retirement System.
Last year Vernon Steiner, head of Workers Comp drew $718,000 in salary. Douglas Peterson received $714,000 for his job as a medical supervisor for the State’s Dept. of Corrections. California employs 6016 software engineers at an average salary of $104,000 per year not counting benefits. Guess you can never have too many software writers?
The U.C. system is rife with overpaid bureaucrats, so much so that our colleges system is forced to hike fees and tuitions again in 2017.
You may wonder how did the wasteful spending and these bloated state salaries get so far out of whack? Let me answer that with some other questions: How come this state has so many sanctuary cities? How come we have an underground network for illegal aliens that teach them how to obtain benefits? Why is the frivolous bullet train still on the drawing board? Why do we have scholarships for illegals, yet we hike tuition on American students? Why does it cost more to keep prisoners in CA than in other states? Why are our legislator salaries the 2nd highest in the nation? Why do we allow the Corrections Union, Teachers Union and other unions so much influence over legislation? One word…. Democrats.
Tax and spend democrats have been recklessly driving this state into bankruptcy, and time after time you have been bailing them out with your tax dollars. It’s like trying to help an alcoholic by giving him more booze. But, until the gas tax hike came along, most people didn’t notice because the rich were paying more than their fair share. Now that source is drying up and businesses along with the rich, are moving to other states. This means the average Californians will be asked more and more to cover the financial shortfalls created by the drunks in Sacramento.
Now, now Mr. Jack…if you’re not for all of these tax increase you must be a deplorable freeloader. That’s what Jerry Brown thinks.
But If you smelled a Demorat in all these tax increases, it wasn’t your imagination…these Demonrats will do everything they can to divert the tax increase money…it was they have done over and over and over again in the past.
That is the reason why in 2002, voters passed Proposition 42 confining the sales tax on gasoline to transportation purposes only. But shortly after, legislators still siphoned off the money to the state budget.
Voters responded in 2006 with Proposition 1A, limiting the Legislature’s ability to suspend Proposition 42. Then the Legislature used accounting gimmicks to pay off bonds instead of build up our highways. Citizens responded again in 2010 with Proposition 22, prohibiting gasoline excise tax funds from being used to pay for debt. Now the Legislature diverts $1 billion a year from trucking weight fees to the state budget’s general fund.
Majority party leaders have promised that the taxes will be used to pay for roads and highways. Yet despite claims otherwise, $80 million will be spent on parks. Another $100 million will be used to fund the Active Transportation Program, likely for bike paths and walkways — not roads.
Read more here http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/05/19/opinion-real-story-behind-largest-gas-tax-increase-in-california-history/
Think back a few years and remember that Gov Gray Davis did the exact same thing – and a recall petition and the election of the Governator was the result.
The Demwits just didn’t learn.
Wouldn’t it be great to remove Moonbeam that way??????????
I don’t mind the gas tax (well until I have to fill up). So long as it goes to fixing roads. The bait and switch that our legislators tend to favor gets me a little upset. Sometimes I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick that football with the promise that it won’t be moved by Lucy.
Mr. Jack, and all of you, we can stop these tax increases. And remember, since they are indexed to inflation these taxes will go up every year. (For instance, if inflation is 2% and gas is $3 a gallon which is about what it is now, the gas tax will go up 6 cents a gallon on gas. Imagine the gas tax going up 6 cents or more every year! And the same applies to diesel.)
https://nocagastax.com/
“Governor Brown currently makes the argument that if Californians want safe road and highways, then the fix is simple, they are going to have to pony up.”
Given the past performance of our elected body and the bureaucracy performing under it there is no reason to take this man seriously. The Citizens of California have “ponied up” again and again to fund infrastructure repairs and improvements only to be saddled with plaything projects like the Bullet Train, ridiculously high salaries and pension benefits, and rising debt. That debt has risen to $848 Billion. It’s recognized as unsustainable, when it’s pointed out, but nothing is done to ameliorate the problem. Governor Brown has said that, “it is critical that the state develop a plan to address these liabilities which will crowd out the state’s ability to take on new ongoing commitments.” But his remarks only demonstrate his fecklessness.
At this point higher taxes should be the fix of last resort. Brown’s opinion is insulting. These taxes won’t harm high salaried government elitists or their Hollywood and Silicon Valley corporate supporters, they will hardly notice the change.
The biggest “freeloaders” are the Dems in Sacramento. Hope I live long enough to see them hit bottom right after taxpayers, who are still living here, wake up and realize they’ve been taken.
Meanwhile back on the Democrat’s farm the chickens are coming home to roost. Schumer, Pelosi, Hillary, (Yes I hear she was out campaigning this weekend.) must be in an even bigger panic after loosing over a thousand seats nationwide.
Sanders Says Democratic Party Is an ‘Absolute Failure,’ Calls for Takeover:
“In a speech at the “People’s Summit” convention in Illinois, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called on his supporters to take over the Democratic Party.
Sanders said the current model and strategy of the Democratic Party is “an absolute failure.”
“The Democratic Party needs fundamental change,” he said.
He called on his supporters to move the party toward “open[ing] its doors to working people and young people… who are prepared to fight for social and economic justice.”
http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/06/11/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-take-over-social-justice-millennials-jobs