So, for those of you following along at home, the Speaker's
budget proposal goes something like this: You undo two parts of the triple flip, leaving just
a single flip, raid a bankrupt special fund, replace
those funds with a new Wall St. loan. Pay the loan
back with a new oil tax.
Got all that?
If not, Shane Goldmacher has some more details.
"The Assembly plan centers on raiding the state's recycling
fund for the
next 20 years and going to Wall Street for an $8.7-billion loan. The
state would then levy a nearly 10% oil severance tax to help pay off the
loan.
The scheme would not require Republican support, according
to Pérez's
staff, because it engages a complicated raising of
one tax and
lowering of another that would skirt the state's requirement
of a
two-thirds vote of the Legislature to raise taxes.
Pérez called the approach "unique and creative." McLear
described it as
"legal gymnastics."
Kevin Yamaura reports the Perez plan "would block all social service cuts in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to resolve a $19.1 billion budget deficit, sparing the state's welfare-to-work and subsidized child care programs from any reductions.
The plan also relies on suspending about $2 billion in corporate tax breaks and a $500 million loan from the state disability insurance fund."
Greg Lucas parses the words of Denise Ducheny.
"While Republican senators denounced
the Democrats’ recommendation that $4.9 billion in revenue be used to
help close the budget gap as another illustration of
their
“tax-and-spend” mantra, Ducheny politely explained to anyone within
earshot of Hearing Room 113 what was actually going on.
“There needs to be a concerted
conversation,” Ducheny said of how the budget must be resolved.
Her
“experience in the building,” she said, is that the only way to do that
is to “make everybody really mad.”
"For all the ink and air time
devoted to “Senate Democrats Propose $4.9 billion in Taxes,” it was
clear from Ducheny’s remarks – and past budget history – that the final
budget may or may not include higher taxes and, if
taxes are increased,
it might not be the ones Ducheny’s subcommittee recommended.
Radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou hosted a debate for the three GOP U.S. Senate candidates Tuesday; Tom Campbell's record on taxes and Carly Fiorina's
voting record took center stage.
"Tom Campbell attacked Carly Fiorina for her sparse
voting record and
questioned her party loyalty. Chuck DeVore pounded
Fiorina for
supporting a proposition that would have made it easier
to pass school
bonds. Fiorina chided Campbell for backing tax increases
to help balance
the state's budget.
"That was how it went Tuesday during a freewheeling
debate among the
three Republican candidates vying to replace Sen. Barbara
Boxer. With
sunbathers catching rays at a pool a few steps away,
the trio sparred in
a Costa Mesa hotel meeting room over taxes, immigration
and who would
be Boxer's toughest opponent this fall."
Ken McLaughlin reports polls show Whitman reopening a lead in the race.
"A survey of 600 likely
Republican primary voters on Sunday and Monday showed
Whitman with a
26-point lead — 53 percent to 27 percent. The survey was done by
Whitman's polling firm, McLaughlin & Associates of Virginia.
"A
poll released Monday by SurveyUSA had Whitman with
54 percent and
Poizner with 27 percent. The results were similar to another public
poll, done by Public Policy Polling; it surveyed 417 likely voters, with
Whitman leading 51 percent to 26 percent.
"The SurveyUSA and
Public Policy Polling surveys are "robo polls," which
depend on
automated telephone responses rather than interviews.
Many political
experts see them as less reliable than traditional
polls, said Larry
Gerston, a San Jose State political science professor.
"And I don't
trust internal polls, either," he said."
Grain of salt taken.
With less than two weeks before election day, Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman are staying on message
on the campaign trail.
The LAT's Seema Mehta and Cathleen Decker report, "Two
weeks before their primary election showdown, Meg Whitman
and Steve
Poizner took parallel tracks toward the Republican
nomination for
governor Tuesday, with Poizner hammering on the issue
of illegal
immigration and Whitman emphasizing her business background
and the
state's budget dysfunction."
Steve Lopez turns an eye toward Sacramento and has some harsh words for labor unions.
"Pasadena resident George Fatheree's 8-year-old son, Clayton, has had
epilepsy since he was an infant. For the most part,
medication controls
the condition, but Fatheree and his wife live with
the nagging worry
that their son will one day have a damaging seizure
when no one is
around who is trained to help. That's why Fatheree
is all for Senate
Bill 1051, which acknowledges the statewide shortage of school
nurses
and would allow non-medical campus personnel to administer a life-saving
drug to children who suffer seizures.
"The bill was introduced in February by Bob Huff, a Diamond Bar
Republican. But despite some slow progress its fate
is uncertain, which
is frustrating to Fatheree and other parents of an
estimated 63,000
epileptic children who attend California public schools.
"One day, a Democratic senatorial aide explained the
holdup to Fatheree.
"The exact words were, 'This bill would be a lot easier
for the senator
to support if it had a Democratic author.' "
Translation:
"It doesn't matter how much sense the bill makes. It's
opposed by several
powerful labor unions that grease the palms of Democrats,
including the
California Teachers Assn. and California Nurses Assn.
To mask their
true agenda, which is to protect nursing jobs and avoid
additional
duties for teachers, the unions argue that a seizure
is too serious a
matter to be handled by non-medical staff."
And finally, as if Greece's economic woes were not
enough. Now, apparently, the biblical plagues begin.
AP reports, "Greek officials say a horde of frogs has
forced the closure of a key northern highway for two
hours. Thessaloniki
traffic police chief
Giorgos Thanoglou says "millions" of the amphibians
covered the tarmac
Wednesday near the town of Langadas, some 12 miles east of Thessaloniki.
"There was a carpet of frogs," he said.
"Authorities closed the highway after three car drivers skidded off
the road trying to dodge the frogs. No human injuries were reported."
