California facing another budget relapse?

After significant adjustments in a last ditched effort to avoid bankruptcy California's legislature is looking at more red.  How could all those service cuts, tax increases and suspicious accounting fail to stem the bleeding?   Politicians failing at economics?  No, say it ain't so!  As the article suggests, tax receipts from California's richest families fluctuate wildly resulting in unpredictable revenues for the state.  California's population problems are well known as the middle class and other wealthy families seek alternative living accommodations in other parts of the country.  Eventually Sacramento will run out of people to tax, but if one willing to examine the source of the problem then a solution can present itself.

Revenue in the three months ended Sept. 30 was 5.3 percent less than assumed in the $85 billion annual budget, state controller John Chiang reported yesterday. Income tax receipts led the gap, as unemployment reached 12.2 percent in August.

There appears to be two fundamental problems occurring within California and liberal control is a precursor to them both. 

First of all the state government spends in such ways that even Bush is embarrassed.  When politicians toss aside economics and pursue benevolent programs they not only hurt the people they intend to help, but damage taxpayers in the process.  How can you explain a budget of 50 billion in 1999 exceeding over 100 billion in 2008?  50% of that spending goes to education, a mind boggling number and 20% spent on health services with 10% on social services.  California's public education system is perhaps the envy of the country, but it comes at a phenomenal price.  However public education will quickly fall onto the back burner as crippling health costs will bring the budget to it's knees.  In just three years health expenditures jumped almost 20% almost topping my socialized health care state of Massachusetts - an impressive accomplishment.  This spending is not only impossible to sustain especially in a depressed economy, but also serves as a major attraction to illegal aliens.

Second of all, no amount of border patrol or sophisticated fencing will keep out people when you are dispensing 10 billion dollars worth in social services, let alone covering education and health.  California's illegal immigrants cost the state about 10 billion a year a number that should send anyone reeling.  Want to stop illegal immigration?  Turn off the bloody welfare spicket.

My advice to California?  Enough with the social experiments, not only are you failing, but you are dragging the rest of us down with you.  After all, when Obama's stimulus package dispenses billions of dollars to mop up the budget gaps it is the rest of country paying.   Time to change course.  Remove the state income tax entirely, cease dispensing education, health care and social services.  Give Californians the option of choosing with their money and give the private economy a chance - trust me, they will not do a worse job and if after five years the majority demands government services, you can always put them back.  Not only will people stop leaving California, but they will even endure the ridiculous zoning laws and the insane real state prices as a result and hour long traffic jams.  With more money in their pockets local charities will swell and those in real need will get proper assistance. Illegals will stop coming and you can get back to being the 8th largest economy in the world.