Capitol Hill Blue Forums Hot Topics & Breaking News News Schwarzenegger Orders Min Wage For State Workers

But should we interpret this move as punishment to the state workers or should we interpret it as the Governor's last ditch attempt to break the decades old gridlock that is a fixture in California state politics?

Prop 13 has locked property taxes to ONE PERCENT of the cash value of real property and locked annual increases in the rate to two percent and bars reassessment except upon sale or new construction.

But the PEOPLE of the state of California continue to expect Pre-Jarvis services, and this conflict, which looks for all the world like kids who don't want to go to the dentist, locks ANY governor or legislator into a very narrow box from which to run the joint.

Governor Schwarzeneggar might simply be saying that "vee haff come to a point vere it ees necessary to set zee value of state jobs at a level vich can be suppoarddit by only zee incomink revenue und it ees time zat vee settle in to a taste of reality rather zan continually borrowink, vich vee can no longer do."

There's a very good chance that the state workers might descend upon Sacra-Tomato and demand that changes be made to Prop 13, which has been an electrified third rail for the last thirty-two years.
And either change will come, or there will be massive strikes, labor slowdowns, stoppages and SABOTAGE.

I can guarantee you one thing, I don't want to be in LA when the next big quake strikes, not only because of the danger, but also because a state that runs on minimum wage in the face of a disaster of that proportion will turn into a very violent place no matter where you live, no matter if your neighborhood was affected directly or not.

NOTHING will be repaired. California will have to get used to near zero infrastructure, near zero services, near zero everything, AND a whole lotta rubble.

I lived through the 94 Northridge Quake, when the state was still sporting a good credit rating.
I lost EVERYTHING, insurance found a loophole big enough to drive a truck through and inspectors got paid off to re-certify an apartment building which had every reason to be torn down.
The repairs which were made were and still are a ticking time bomb.
I can't begin to imagine what it would be like with a junk credit rating and worse yet, my family still owns property there.
It will be worthless, even though it's in Brentwood.

Prop 13 was a bold move to limit state taking, but perhaps it was TOO BOLD and TOO MUCH.

Either we live in austerity or we raise taxes to support what we expect from the system. You can't have it both ways.

Another shitty day in Paradise.