California to Suspend Welfare Checks and Tax Refunds

[Leftest]

California controller to suspend tax refunds, welfare checks, student grants

Reporting from Sacramento -- The state will suspend tax refunds, welfare checks, student grants and other payments owed to Californians starting Feb. 1, Controller John Chiang announced Friday.

Chiang said he had no choice but to stop making some $3.7 billion in payments in the absence of action by the governor and lawmakers to close the state's nearly $42-billion budget deficit. More than half of those payments are tax refunds.


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget17-2009jan17%2C0%2C4472460.story

What would happen to you if you informed the state you were going to suspend payments you owed to them because you are having financial difficulties?

One other point: Didn't repubs create the recall against Governor Gray Davis because of his performance with California's budget? Why no voices calling for the ousting of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger much less a recall drive?

[snappyturtle]

1. Is this the beginning of a ripple effect? Not good news. nt

[Donnachaidh]

2. So when are these dumbasses going to DEMAND a recall of the Governator?

Stop acting like SHEEP and get his ass OUT of the office.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Recalling him cost more money that we don't have.

Californians being the way we are, someone will try to put it on the ballot anyway. What we need is a tax increase.

[Donnachaidh]

29. and if Arnold doesn't do he tax increase?

Are you just going to sit there and do NOTHING?

You say you can't afford a recall. Seems to me that is the ONLY thing you can do to save your state. Seems as if the pukes have a stranglehold, and the DEMS need to get off their asses and DO something about it.

Or does it all boil down to the state of California positioning itself for a bailout from other states that cannot afford to back up the ridiculous bullshit that put the state where it is now?

I guess it's *easier* to have others bail out the problems, huh? :sarcasm:

[Gormy Cuss]

34. Recalling Governor Davis was a waste of money and we ended up with Schwarzenegger.

The state treasury was in far better shape then.

A recall is a feel good move but doesn't accomplish the task, which is addressing the state budget issue.

[nini]

23. It's the fucking republicans in the the state legislature

This whole fucking thing is ridiculous and very dangerous. Fucking repukes and their bullshit on not taxing the rich. I'm sick of their shit.

[Skink]

3. Arnold plays hardball.

[roamer65]

5. Someone from CA replied in another thread that CA state checks...

are already bouncing. This is BAD.

[bullimiami]

6. because the repukes manufactured the recall and the bastard arnold was part of it.

it was all about the takeover, they never cared anything about the economy or the state at all.

[bluestateguy]

7. If it gets this bad the feds may have to intervene

You are talking about the biggest state in the country.

And if desperate people aren't getting their minimal income, they may commit crimes to pay the bills, or just to get 3 squares a day in jail.

[madrchsod]

14. if california was a separate country

it would rank ,depending on sources, 10 th,8th,or 7th in the world. 13% of our country`s economy is generated in california

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. It was ranked 7th couple of years ago, when the pop. was about 31 million.

[renate]

8. that sounds incredibly scary

:scared:

Although I hate that this is happening--it's so deeply awful for everyone affected--I hope these extreme measures are at least limited to California, which seems like kind of a special case, with such a huge population and such a huge number of overpriced houses having dropped so much in value. And I really, really hope California finds a fix for this soon. This is so sad, for the people who are most in need to be the worst hurt.

[Leftest]

9. What I would like to see:

Besides a recall of Schwarzenegger is California meeting its obligation to the people before the federal government. Also, since marijuana is the largest cash crop, I'd also like to see California fully re-legalize it so we can tax it and save billions enforcing draconian laws against it and the housing of all those jailed for it.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. California can not legalize

that is up to people like Eric Holder and the rest of the Feds. So forget it.

[Leftest]

17. :-(

I'd like to throw the 9the and 10th amendments at him along with Marbury v. Madison with respect to the "controlled substance ACT"

;)



~~~~



Here's an article I found:

A neglected revenue source for California - marijuana

The marijuana crop is valued at $13.8 billion annually - nearly double the value of our vegetable and grape crops combined. Our state is the nation's top marijuana producer. Indeed, the average annual value of our marijuana crop is more than the combined value of wheat and cotton produced in the entire United States.

According to government surveys, 14.5 million Americans use marijuana at least monthly but both the producers and consumers of this crop escape paying any taxes whatsoever on it. While precise figures are impossible given the illicit nature of the market, it is reasonable to suggest that California could easily collect at least $1.5 billion and maybe as much as $4 billion annually in additional tax revenue, if we took marijuana out of the criminal underground and taxed and regulated it, similar to how handle beer, wine and tobacco.

Marijuana prohibition costs us in other ways as well.

Last year, the state's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) eradicated 2.9 million marijuana plants. CAMP and similar efforts have never made the slightest dent in the availability of marijuana, but they do involve many thousands of person-hours of effort and the use of helicopters and other expensive equipment - all at taxpayers' expense.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/12/EDA4157U1Q.DTL

[jazzjunkysue]

33. A country of stoned voters doesn't sound like a good solution to me.

I think the Government, capital G, would love to anesthetize us. What better way to subvert the representative government concept? Tuen the populace into addicts.

Sorry, but I don't want drugs legalized.

[Canuckistanian]

10. Boy, it was a good thing Gray Davis was recalled

Gee, didn't Gray Davis get recalled because of a $34.6 billion shortfall in the budget?

Now that it's $42 billion, when does Ah-nold get recalled??

[TheDebbieDee]

13. And wasn't that budget shortfall caused by

escalating energy prices precipitated by the nefarious actions of Enron and other rip-off energy companies?

Huh?......Huh? :shrug:

[razors edge]

11. Don't Be Economic Girlie Men!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUzUbtIptqQ&eurl=http://whatreallyhappened.com/node?page=1

Arnold should be forced to watch this over, and over, and over....

It's only 36 seconds long.

[MadMaddie]

15. Another practical question...if someone elderly or disabled

counts on their welfare checks for rent and food....what the hell happens to them? Do they lose their homes? Are they kicked out in the street....The state of Ca better have a plan...

[dixiegrrrrl]

22. Soc. Sec. and disability checks come from Feds.

Medicaid and some state welfare assistance comes from ...state.

The General Assistance checks were already cut way down sometime in 2003.

The real hurt is on the social service agencies that get less and less money to serve more and more poor folks.

There is going to be a mass migration out of Ca. because of the economy

[Hannah Bell]

24. Migration is the part of the game plan. As in New Orleans.

[MadMaddie]

35. Thanks for the explanation!

I would like to see some of the migrating Americans go to towns that are dying and need revitalization.

[Usrename]

16. Ahhhhhnold is stealing money from de peoples.

:spank:

[FirstLight]

18. So.... if I am just going on welfare as of Feb...

then I am screwn?

nice, .....what about food stamps?

fukety fuck fuck...and how are we supposed to LIVE????

no job, no prospects, no safety net for those falling further down the rabbit hole...

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

19. so who pays for reconstruction after Oakland and L.A. are burned to the ground?

What ever happened to Willie Brown's promise to finance a recall campaign for da fuhrer?

[PFunk]

20. IMO all governers should at least play SimCity

to show them on why taxes are important. Apparently Califorina's (along with alot of other states) have forgotten this.

[AZBlue]

25. Better Idea: cut abstinence-only education & funding to churches/non-profits that supported Prop 8

Why aren't they starting with areas like those instead??

[krabigirl]

28. yep

[Raksha]

26. This is truly scary. n/t

[JDPriestly]

27. I hope that the homeless all find their way to the governor's mansions

in L.A. and Sacramento. When you don't have the money to make sure everyone has subsistence income (and in the middle of winter), then it is time to raise some taxes. Schwarzenegger has refused to do that. An additional penny on every bottle of wine sold in California would raise a lot of money. There are other small taxes that could be imposed that would not be felt by those who can afford the products or services in the first place and that could make a big difference.

[Donnachaidh]

30. he's probably got Blackwater lined up for guards

Don't think Ah-nuld is going to leave himself or Skeletor unprotected.

[graywarrior]

31. How long before riots start?

[Javaman]

32. I'm probably very wrong here, but, isn't this taxation without representation? nt