California To Run Out Of Cash Early March

California is $2.6 billion in debt again (no surprise)

According to the Sacramento Bee:

California will run out of cash by early March if the state does not take swift action to find $3.3 billion through payment delays and borrowing, according to a letter state Controller John Chiang sent to state lawmakers today.

The announcement is surprising since lawmakers previously believed the state had enough cash to last through the fiscal year that ends in June.

But Chiang said additional cash management solutions are needed because state tax revenues are $2.6 billion less than what Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers assumed in their optimistic budget last year. Meanwhile, Chiang said, the state is spending $2.6 billion more than state leaders planned on.

Oops! Where did the money go? Leave it to the state's Democrats (who control the state government) to royally screw things up!

Gov. Moonbeam Wants CA Voters To Raise Taxes

California Governor Jerry Brown is banking (pardon the pun) on the stupidity of the state's electorate to pass an initiative to raise taxes.

According to the Christian Science Monitor:

Facing huge deficits despite $10 billion in budget cuts last year, California needs new tax dollars in order to avoid catastrophic cuts to schools and government services for the elderly, Governor Brown said.

His plan includes a 1 percent income-tax-rate increase for individuals making more than $250,000 per year, and a 2 percent rate increase for those making more than $500,000. It would also increase the state sales tax by half a cent to 7.75 percent.

In total, at least 10 initiatives that propose tax increases are vying to qualify for the 2012 ballot in California – a sign that the state that led the national tax revolt with Proposition 13 in 1978 might now be considering at least a partial reversal of course.

Opponents of tax increases plan to counter Brown's initiate.

From CBS News:

Just a day after California Gov. Jerry Brown released his tax initiative proposal, anti-tax advocates announced Tuesday they have filed their own counter measure seeking to restrain government spending.

The California Taxpayers Association, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and Small Business Action Committee said they filed a proposed ballot measure with the state attorney general's office that would limit spending after the state makes a full recovery from the recession.

"We need a mechanism to make sure that the drunken sailor DNA of our Legislature doesn't kick in, and that we put that money away and we use it for debt reduction," said John Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis group.

The measure is just one of many complications Brown faces as he tries to increase taxes on the rich and raise the statewide sales tax.

With the California state government in control by one party hell-bent on spending and caters to labor unions, it would be like giving an alcoholic unlimited money for more liquor if the initiative passes. They would use the revenue to spend even more, not less.

Until the state government learns how to discipline itself on spending, voters would be best served by voting no to tax increases.

Governor Moonbeam's Veto Allows For Warrantless Cellphone Searches

Well, looks like the further erosion of civil liberties is happening in California.

Wired.com is reporting:

California Gov. Jerry Brown is vetoing legislation requiring police to obtain a court warrant to search the mobile phones of suspects at the time of any arrest.

The Sunday veto means that when police arrest anybody in the Golden State, they may search that person’s mobile phone — which in the digital age likely means the contents of persons’ e-mail, call records, text messages, photos, banking activity, cloud-storage services, and even where the phone has traveled.

Police across the country are given wide latitude to search persons incident to an arrest based on the premise of officer safety. Now the nation’s states are beginning to grapple with the warrantless searches of mobile phones done at the time of an arrest.

Remember, elections have consequences!

To read the full article go here.