War against the debt ceiling

So the country's debt ceiling has been reached, or to put it in layman's terms "America has maxed out its credit cards." If the federal government can't get another card it will only be able to pay a little less than half its bills. Yeah, less than half.

I wish I could say "so what, the federal government is run by a bunch of ego maniacs, let them go bankrupt" but I can't. If the government can't get another card it would be a pretty big deal. Suddenly Congress would be making decisions like, should we pay US soldiers, grandma's medicare or Joe College's financial aid. On a global scale, not getting another card would cause the US's credit rating to drop and, more than likely, tank the stock market. Bye-bye retirement investments!

However unlike you or I, the federal government can essentially create its own new credit card. All Congress has to do is get together and agree on the terms of the new card. Yes, they would have to agree on something and in the poisonous environment of Washington the chances of that are slim to none.

Both Democrats and Republicans agree that we need the new credit card and that the terms of getting the new card should include a plan to lower the US debt so something like this doesn't happen again. The sticking point is how do they lower the debt. Dems want a two-pronged attack with cuts and new revenue (read: new taxes/ letting the Bush tax cuts expire). Reps want a plan totally made up of cuts, which would require them to take a knife to sacred cows like Medicare and Social Security.

HOLD ON PEOPLE! What I haven't heard from anyone on either side or those on no side is the fact that the country is currently engaged in three wars: Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. THREE WARS! The military is already expensive, having the military in one war even more so, in two even more and in three, holy hell it's a financial smelting plant.

Check this out. Yes, it is legit: www.costofwar.com

Normally when countries enter wars they ask their populace to take part, to sacrifice. During WWII the US populace bought war bonds, planted victory gardens and rationed their purchases of countless items. When the US entered these wars, Washington under the Bush Administration cut taxes. YOU DO NOT CUT TAXES DURING WAR TIME.

We are still at war, and as such the whole country must step up and fight it. It can't be fought only on the backs of the elderly, single mothers and soldiers with cuts to social services. Taxes on all must be part of the plan to lower the debt, as the debt is built on the costs of the wars we are fighting. Yes, it may hurt but it's not just the military at war, it's the whole country.

Screwed

California is totally screwed. Our economy is in the dumps and the state’s credit rating was cut again. While it seems to me that all eyes should be focused on budget fixes the state’s legislature disagrees and dithers about with issues like the legalization of marijuana.

Here at my state department, we’re still pumping money into the economy with a big Executive staff trip to Sonoma for Strategic Planning and a project to plate the outside of our building with faux granite panels. Meanwhile social programs, state park hours, home care provider support, etcetera, etcetera sit precariously on the chopping block.

Sure, we’re not part of the general fund but in a case like this all state coffers should be pried open like sardine tins and the money placed where it’s needed most.

The state employees’ union hasn’t done the state or its members any favors. The governor has instituted furlough days, slashing state worker pay by 14 percent. Yes, this sucks but the union has been reactive instead of proactive. They currently have state courts tied up with lawsuits trying to stop and block furloughs and pay cuts. All this court time has so far cost the state a half million dollars more of its general fund monies. Thanks SEUI, it’s a little too late and…oh, a half million bucks short.

They should have worked with the governor and the legislature to jointly cut state personnel costs. Lend a hand in coming up with solutions, i.e. releasing all student assistants and retired annuitants, instituting a hiring freeze, beginning individual office audits, rethinking the state worker pension formula, canceling some contracts and looking over others.

Speaking of audits, I can’t forget the California Performance Review that CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had done when he first took office. An investigatory panel stuffed four fat books with suggestions on how to save state money and how to better serve the public. To my knowledge, the State Legislature ignored most and the Governor backed down on many things in the report. This was probably a bad idea because according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office:

“LAO’s Bottom Line. The CPR provides the state with a valuable opportunity to comprehensively examine how it does business. It has made a serious effort at rethinking the current organization of state government and how it delivers services to the people of California . We find that many of its individual recommendations would move California toward a more efficient, effective, and accountable government.

At the same time, the rationale for some of its reorganization proposals is not clear, it does not examine whether the state should continue to perform certain functions, and many of its fiscal savings estimates are overstated.

For these reasons, it will be important for the Legislature to evaluate the merits of the proposals individually, looking at their policy trade-offs, their likely effectiveness, and their fiscal implications.

The Legislature also may wish to consider broadening the scope of reforms offered by CPR to include a more comprehensive examination of the state and local tax system, the role of constitutional officers, the state’s system of funding education, and the relationship between state and local government.”

Sad.

Here’s is more sadness, but at least it’s from the French:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/01/11/star-wars-dance-video/

California Dreaming

Well, we have a new president. It’s all pretty exciting, but I’ll spare you the echoes of my jubilation as the event has been covered extensively. I’ll only say, congratulations and good luck President Obama. You have your work cut out for you, but you have the hope and dreams of an entire world behind you.

I am however still going to drop a note on politics, but on those that aren’t happening in the state. Yes, aren’t. The California legislature, the governor, the state controller, the attorney general, pretty much every elected state official currently in office has been unable to pass an emergency budget needed to keep the state fiscally solvent. Still, they’ve been huddled over a mediation table feverishly trying to hammer out an agreement that will save California …or have they.

Of course, they took off for at least a few weeks for the holidays. No big deal right. I mean firefighters would do the same if a raging wildfire fell over Christmas. Oh, and the main players, including the governor and the speaker, recently left for a week to visit DC. They took in the sites, attended the inauguration and hit up a few of the parties. Good for them, when I was in the military and I was confronted with a crisis but someone was throwing a really good party, I’d often hit up the party (especially if I thought the attendees might be people that could further my career).

But I’m going to be careful about blaming just our elected officials. I think they’re totally inept, selfish and lazy but our citizens aren’t that much better. State employees are getting ready to take a 10 percent pay cut, schools are looking at cutting their hours, colleges have sliced enrollment, and on and on. Still, in my department, we really haven’t been asked to find anyway to cut our costs. Instead, managers are angling to keep their perks like the student assistants that answer their phones and file their papers. We just had four brand new flatscreen televisions put up in our office. (We use them for work, but we already had regular televisions.) People on public assistance are marching around the state capital decrying possible cuts to their respective programs and then going home and watching premium cable that costs them $100 bucks a month.

So not only are we doing very little to help ourselves currently, I’m sure will continue to do the same when we, the citizens of California, vote these politicians that have been working so hard on our behalf, back into office.

Clickity: http://www.iousathemovie.com/

I just saw this movie tonight. Maybe one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen!