California apparently wants a “bridge loan” from the feds (meaning all the taxpayers in the whole nation, including those who dutifully pay taxes in the other 49 states besides California). Apparently, the Golden State is like some folks who get paid (poetic taxpayer license here), once a year, but spend all the money before the year is up, and borrow to eat in the interim and pay (or at least promise to pay) the friendly lender back when payday arrives. Usually with folks of this ilk, the day they run out of money comes sooner and sooner, and the period over which they need to live on borrowed money gets longer and longer.

Here’s how to avoid a budget crisis if you are a State: make a careful and honest calculation of intended revenue; budget in line with that revenue. It ain’t much simpler than that, is it?

I understand Californians have voted in recent years for some measures which reduced taxes. Well, if that means a decrease in State services, that’s a tradeoff they made, isn’t it? So the nearest firehouse is 10 miles away instead of 2. So prisons have to release felons after half their sentences instead of 2/3. So public schools have classes of 50 instead of 22. You get what you can afford to pay for, and, within your means, decide to pay for. A wish list is not a way to make a budget, is it?

This is no slap at Califonia. We reduced our property taxes in Florida last year (or was it this year). Local governments immediately started whining because of budget “shortfalls.” This means that instead of 7 lazy bums in some useless office, maybe only 5 will work there doing an amount of “work” which should only occupy 1 or 2 workers.

I seem to be waxing long here. All the best to you.

People get so carried away when you write your opinions. I beleive if more people had a real kiwi (Carrie Fisher reference to a real conversation, as in ‘as exotic as a kiwi…’she is not just princess laia, laya?)SO, if people had real conversations versus just reading, at your own leisure, in your underpants (yea, so what? I just woke up..) and had access to google, you could argue with just about anyone/anything.

If it were face to face, you would only have to rely on your wits and current brain power. This internet/kiwi thing makes me sad for how inflatedly intelligent some people think they are because they can ramble on with ‘facts’.

So, long windedly, I like that you say this is a blog. Nice reminder and true. We read you dear Lily, betuz of that. We like YOU. Your ideas. Your writing.

I am glad you have ‘just’ a blog.
xx

Bloglily, I console myself with the knowledge that as long as I don’t sell any of my IRA shares, I will still have the same number of shares, they just aren’t worth as much. And I thank heavens for the financial advisor who steered me towards funds that are old and stable so they aren’t likely to disappear during the crisis. Still, it is unnerving to see the value drop so precipitously! Intellectually I know all I have to do is wait, even the great depression ended eventually, and the people who held on to their shares of stocks wound up well off. I just wish I had about ten grand I could invest right now!

Or would the implosion of democracy be, um, our fault?

I think the only way to handle this is to do away with anonymous ballots. If you vote stupid, there should be consequences.

xo
E.

Oh Marie — I hope this post didn’t put you to sleep. On the other hand, maybe if you read it out loud, very, very slowly, it might have put Vincent to sleep. I am more optimistic than is probably good for me; and there is so much truth to what you have to say.

1. Me, too, re: netflix. Because when we have TV, my husband is a total news junkie, and CNN et al blather away in the back ground incessantly.

2. But I LOVE Mark Shields & hope hope hope he is right. Because I don’t actually give that people that much credit.

3. Because more than we don’t like people telling us what to do, we don’t like admitting we were WRONG.