D-Day In California?

More bad news from the Golden State.

If, since 1990, state spending increases had been held to the inflation rate plus population growth, the state would have a $15 billion surplus instead of a $42 billion budget deficit, which is larger than the budgets of all but 10 states. Since 1990, the number of state employees has increased by more than a third. In Schwarzenegger's less than six years as governor, per capita government spending, adjusted for inflation, has increased nearly 20 percent.

Liberal orthodoxy has made the state dependent on a volatile source of revenue — high income tax rates on the wealthy. In 2006, the top 1 percent of earners paid 48 percent of the income taxes. California's income and sales taxes are among the nation's highest, its business conditions among the worst. Unemployment, the nation's fourth highest, is 11.2 percent.

Required by law to balance the budget, the Legislature has "solved" the problem by, among other things, increasing the income, sales, gas and vehicle taxes.

Again, with California, as with other welfare states, it is the public sector strangling the private sector. California teachers are paid well above the national average and retire with lucrative pensions and benefits. And, like New York State, the public sector in California gets larger all while population is shrinking.

Imagine this, you own an operation where business is down, sales are off and profit margins are non-existent. Your solution might be to cut costs or shrink the payroll, but you certainly wouldn't be hiring more people or spending more money. Don't tell this to the asshat triumvirate in New York or California's legislative leaders. Their reaction to the situation is to return to the beleaguered taxpayers with their hands out.

Term limits, please?