JERRY BROWN’S PROMISED LAND

16 comments

Posted on 28th November 2012 by Administrator in Economy |Politics |Social Issues

Michael Ramirez Cartoon

 

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN

60 comments

Posted on 5th October 2012 by Administrator in Economy |Politics |Social Issues

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Colma should be happy. Another reason people will be staying away from California. So let me get this straight. Tax revenues are plunging because rich people are leaving the state and no one can afford to shop anymore. Cities are declaring bankruptcy left and right because they promised government workers gold plated health and pension benefits. Gas prices are 17% higher than the rest of the country because they haven’t allowed a refinery to be built in three decades. They have an unemployment rate over 11%. And Moonbeam Jerry Brown is urging them to vote themselves a tax increase in November so he can keep the lights on in Sacramento. At least they have nice weather.

Calif. gas prices jump by up to 20 cents overnight

SAN FRANCISCO — Californians woke up to a shock Friday as overnight gasoline prices jumped by as much as 20 cents a gallon in some areas, ending a week of soaring costs that saw some stations close and others charge record prices.

The average price of regular gas across the state was nearly $4.49 a gallon, the highest in the nation, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge report.

In Southern California, the price jumped 20 cents a gallon overnight to $4.53 in Ventura. And in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area prices went up 19 cents to nearly $4.54. And it wasn’t any better to the north, as a gallon of regular gas in San Francisco averaged nearly $4.60.

In many areas, prices have jumped 40 cents in a week as refinery problems have created shortages and helped send wholesale prices soaring. Some stations ran out of gas and shut down Thursday rather than pay those costs.

Even Costco, the giant discount store chain that sells large volumes of gas, decided to close some stations, the Los Angeles Times (lat.ms/OGwEV2) reported.

“We do not know when we will be resupplied,” read a sign at one Southern California Costco, according to the Times.

Other gas stations charged more than $5 a gallon. The Low-P station in Calabasas charged $5.69 Thursday. The pumps bore hand-written signs reading: “We are sorry, it is not our fault,” the Times said.

While gas prices have spiked around the nation, refinery outages and pipeline problems have added to woes in California.

Among the recent disruptions, an Aug. 6 fire at a Chevron Corp. refinery in Richmond left one of the region’s largest refineries producing at a reduced capacity. A power failure in Southern California has affected an Exxon Mobil Corp. refinery, and a Chevron pipeline that moves crude to Northern California also was shut down.

The national average for gas is about $3.79 a gallon, the highest ever for this time of year. However, gas prices in many states have started decreasing, which is typical for October.

But in California, gasoline inventories are the lowest in more than 10 years — a situation made worse by the state’s strict pollution limits that require a special blend of cleaner-burning gasoline during hot summer months.

Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, said he is seeing the highest prices in the state around Los Angeles, where on Thursday at least five stations have crossed the $5 a gallon mark, including $5.29 in Burbank and $5.11 in Norwalk.

Prices will keep rising, he says, because in the past week wholesale gasoline prices have jumped $1 a gallon, but average retail prices have increased only 30 cents.

“This is one of the easiest forecasts: Retail prices are going to skyrocket,” DeHaan said.

The jump in wholesale prices can be particularly tough on independent gas stations that often pay more for their gas because they are not part of a larger chain.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, said he’s heard of a few California station owners shutting their pumps rather than charging the $4.90 a gallon or more necessary to break even.

“Wholesale price increases lead to retail price increases,” Kloza said. “But there is some restraint among companies who do not want to exercise their current pricing power and irritate their customers.”

Some analysts think prices nationally will begin to decline soon but say California could see a longer spike given its unique fuel requirements.

“Nationally, I believe most prices will wobble to and fro for the next week or so, with an eventual slow but steady attrition in retail gas prices, particularly in the Midwest and Southeast,” Kloza said. “California is a wild card.”

CALIFORNIA DREAMING – FILLER UP!!!

6 comments

Posted on 7th August 2012 by Administrator in Economy |Politics |Social Issues

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If you live in California you’ve got some short-term and some long-term problemos. Short-term, you just got a 10% increase in your commuting costs. They better build that bullet train quicker. When you consider that California accounts for 15% of U.S. GDP, I’m sure this little refinery fire won’t cause  any headaches for the U.S. economy. Why would the stock market be flying, if we had any problems?

It seems Aaarnold the Republican bastion of fiscal responsibility did nothing but pile up debt while he was in office. California is now buried under $30 billion of debt that Moonbeam Brown promised to pay down with his new taxes. Well it seems our politicians never seem to actually follow through on their promises and the new taxes will be used for other purposes – more spending. Do you get the feeling that Oakland, LA and about a hundred other cities in California will be declaring bankruptcy in the next few years? If you are a government worker in California, I’d highly recommend that you start saving on your own for your retirement, because that gold plated pension is not going to be there for you.

So it goes.

Gasoline Futures, Spot Prices Rally on Chevron Fire

NYMEX September RBOB futures are up over 1 percent — topping $2.95 a gallon, close to a three-month high — in the aftermath of a fire at California’s third largest refinery that blazed for hours Monday night.

KNTV/NBC Bay Area
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile the local gasoline market has seen a swift, steep price surge that continues to gain momentum. California spot gasoline prices have soared, rising 30 cents to $3.23 a gallon, skyrocketing 10 percent since Monday’s close. Prices could climb at least 40 cents in the wake of this incident, says OPIS analyst Tom Kloza.

California spot prices help determine retail prices, currently at $3.86 a gallon for the state-wide average and already higher than this time last year, according to AAA. Due in part to the specific blend, California gasoline prices are always among the most expensive in the country, now 23 cents above the national average of $3.63 a gallon. (Track commodities here)

The 240,000 barrel per day Chevron refinery in Richmond, where the fire occurred, produces about 15 percent of the gasoline used by California drivers, says energy analyst Andy Lipow. Though the fire is now out, operations at Chevron’s Richmond, CA refinery are expected to be hampered for some time. Analysts say it could take months to repair the crude distillation unit where the fire broke out.

Strong global oil prices are also aiding the rally in the gasoline market. London-based Brent crude futures hit a nearly three-month high of $111 a barrel Tuesday morning, due to supply concerns due to tensions with Iran, violence in Syria, and disruptions in production due to maintenance at North Sea refineries.

 

California’s ‘wall of debt’ has risen even higher

dwalters@sacbee.com

Published Friday, Aug. 03, 2012


Jerry Brown devoted the first months of his second governorship last year to dickering with Republicans on placing a multibillion-dollar tax increase before voters.

The negotiations failed, and eventually Brown turned to an initiative. His tax hike measure, Proposition 30, will be on the November ballot.

During his drive for Republican votes, Brown cited repaying “a wall of debt” as a major justification for a tax increase.

During the final years of predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s governorship, as recession deepened and tax revenue plummeted, Schwarzenegger and the Legislature propped up the budget by borrowing heavily, both formally and informally.

They added more debt to the misnamed “economic recovery bonds” that he had floated in 2004 to save the state from defaulting on some short-term notes.

By the time Brown took office in January 2011, budget debts – including the remnants of the 2004 bond issue – had climbed to well over $30 billion, including deferred payments to schools and local governments, raids on local government, diversion of money from transportation and other special funds, and deferred payroll and pension fund outlays.

Brown declared that reducing the “wall of debt” would be his “top priority” if taxes were increased. “The wall of debt has to be brought down,” he told reporters.

So now that Brown is asking voters for new taxes, is it still his “top priority?”

Well, yes and no.

Brown has since shifted rhetorical gears, arguing that taxes are needed to save schools from deep cuts and prop up “public safety” services. And the two budgets he has signed since then actually added to the debt by borrowing more money, while the debt retirement plan he once proposed has been scaled back.

A newly revised debt retirement plan pegs the “wall of debt” at $34.2 billion, but it would largely repay schools for money owed under Proposition 98, the school finance law, because helping schools is the centerpiece of his pitch to voters for new taxes.

Beyond schools, the plan would mostly meet legal requirements to retire the 2004 bonds that Schwarzenegger sponsored and to repay the money borrowed from local governments.

A previous version that Brown’s Department of Finance released in February had all of the debt erased by the 2015-16 fiscal year. The revision, however, says $8.8 billion would remain unpaid by then.

What happened?

The February version was based on his 2012-13 budget proposal. The July version takes into account the 2012-13 budget that he signed in June, which boosts borrowing from special funds even more and diverts money from debt retirement into spending.

That’s why, one assumes, Brown hasn’t been talking lately about tearing down the “wall of debt.”

CALIFORNICATION

9 comments

Posted on 26th July 2012 by Administrator in Economy |Politics |Social Issues

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Here is a tax revenue comparison for California of June 2012 versus June 2011. It appears that Jerry Brown’s “solutions” to California’s problems don’t seem to be working. A new town files bankruptcy every week. Why would corporate tax revenue decline by 28%? Obama says we’re in a recovery and Wall Street tells me corporate profits are at all-time highs. I guess they are talking about their mega-corporation cronies. The only explanations for corporate tax revenues plunging are: small busnesses are going bankrupt, corporate profits are plunging, or corporations have packed up and left California. Sales tax has plunged by an even greater 33%, indicating that the people of California have stopped buying shit. But somehow median home prices are at two year highs. WTF????

And Jerry’s solution to this disastrous turn of events – ask the citizens of California to vote for higher taxes in November. California is truly the land of nuts and fruitcakes.

 

WHICH ROAD LEADS TO SUCCESS?

46 comments

Posted on 20th May 2012 by Administrator in Economy |Politics |Social Issues

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You always have to consider the source when reading an article about how great one state is doing versus another. The WSJ will always skew their articles in favor of Republicans. That being said, I believe Chris Christie’s method of attacking his state budget deficit was much better than Jerry Brown’s. New Jersey is no Shangri La. The real estate taxes are outrageous. Their public school system sucks. Income taxes are high. Unemployment is high. Their housing market sucks.

But, Christie has gone to war with teacher’s unions, cut government spending across the board, and has generally bullied his opponents into submission. He has balanced the budget with real cuts, not smoke and mirrors like California and Illinois. The government workers and Democratics who think government is the solution despise him. He doesn’t care.

The fact is that liberal idiots like Jon Corzine destroyed the state by promising more than they could ever deliver. Promising government union workers gold plated pension and healthcare benefits doesn’t make the money magically appear. Those promises are worthless. The sooner this country comes to its senses and learns math, the sooner we will make the changes needed to put this country back on a sustainable fiscal path. Too bad it will take a total collapse before the zombies will be forced to accept reality.

With Jerry Brown in charge and delusional Californians still lacking in basic math understanding, Colma should have even less surfers to compete with in the future.

 

McGurn: Jerry Brown vs. Chris Christie

More states are realizing that the road to fiscal hell is paved with progressive intentions.

In his January 2011 inaugural address, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared it a “time to honestly assess our financial condition and make the tough choices.” Plainly the choices weren’t tough enough: Mr. Brown has just announced that he faces a state budget deficit of $16 billion—nearly twice the $9.2 billion he predicted in January. In Sacramento Monday, he coupled a new round of spending cuts with a call for some hefty new tax hikes.

In his own inaugural address back in January 2010, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also spoke of making tough choices for the people of his state. For his first full budget, Mr. Christie faced a deficit of $10.7 billion—one-third of projected revenues. Not only did Mr. Christie close that deficit without raising taxes, he is now plumping for a 10% across-the-board tax cut.

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Editorial page editor Paul Gigot on why soaking the rich isn’t solving California’s chronic deficit problems. Photo: Associated Press

 

It’s not just looks that make Mr. Brown Laurel to Mr. Christie’s Hardy. It’s also their political choices.

When the Obama administration’s Transportation Department called on California to cough up billions for a high-speed bullet train or lose federal dollars, Mr. Brown went along. In sharp contrast, when the feds delivered a similar ultimatum to Mr. Christie over a proposed commuter rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, he nixed the project, saying his state just couldn’t afford it.

On the “millionaire’s” tax, Mr. Brown says that California desperately needs to approve one if the state is to recover. The one on California’s November ballot kicks in at income of $250,000 and would raise the top rate to 13.3% from 10.3% on incomes above $1 million. Again in sharp contrast, when New Jersey Democrats attempted to embarrass Mr. Christie by sending a millionaire’s tax to his desk, he called their bluff and promptly vetoed it.

On public-employee unions, Mr. Brown can talk a good game—at Monday’s press conference, he announced a 5% pay cut for state workers, and he has proposed pension reform. Yet for all his pull with unions (the last time he was governor, he gave California’s public-sector unions collective-bargaining rights), Gov. Brown, a Democrat, has not been able to accomplish what Republican Gov. Christie has: persuade a Democratic legislature to require government workers to kick in more for their health care and pensions.

Now, no one will confuse New Jersey with free-market Hong Kong. Still, because the challenges facing the Golden and Garden States are so similar, the different paths taken by their respective governors are all the more striking. And these two men are by no means alone.

Our states today are conducting a profound and contentious rethink about the right level of taxes, spending and government. Most obvious is the battle for Wisconsin. There Republican Gov. Scott Walker finds himself pitted against public-sector unions that successfully forced a recall election for June 5 after the legislature adopted the governor’s package of labor reforms last spring.

Amid the turmoil—Democratic legislators fled the state to prevent a vote, while union-backed protesters occupied the Capitol—Mr. Walker looked weakened. Now he has taken the lead in polls. More than that, voters have taken the lesson: A recent Marquette University Law School poll showed only 12% of Wisconsin voters listing “restoring collective bargaining rights for public employees” as their priority.

Indeed, the American Midwest today is home to some of the biggest experiments in government. Republicans now hold both the governorships and the legislatures in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, and in Wisconsin they control all but the Senate. In each they are pushing for smaller, more accountable government. The outlier is Illinois, where Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and his Democratic legislature pushed through a tax increase on their heavily indebted state.

mcgurn0515

Getty ImagesCalifornia Gov. Jerry Brown

Now ask yourself this. Can anyone look at Illinois and say to himself: I have seen the future and it works?

Indiana’s Mitch Daniels, a Republican, is probably the only governor who can truly claim to have turned around a failing state. That may change if we get eight years of Mr. Christie in New Jersey. Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, also a Republican, may be another challenger for the title, having just succeeded in pushing through arguably the most far-reaching reform of any state public-school system in America.

Hard economic times bring their own lessons. Though few have been spared the ravages of the last recession and the sluggish recovery, those in states where taxes are light, government lives within its means, and the climate is friendly to investment have learned the value of the arrangement they have. They are not likely to give it up.

Meanwhile, leaders in some struggling states have taken notice. They know the road to fiscal hell is paved with progressive intentions. The question regarding the sensible ones is whether they have the will and wherewithal to impose the reforms they know their states need on the interest groups whose political and economic clout is so closely tied with the public purse.

Mr. Brown’s remarks Monday suggest the answer to this question is no.