Lately Governor Schwarzenegger has been barking up the budget tree so people have started to take it seriously. So yesterday, after a summer of budget woes and a few special sessions there was a plan.

Governor To Veto Budget Plan by Timm Herdt

Yesterday Governor Schwarzenegger talked. And you know when he talks what happens. So yesterday the big guy goes up in front of everyone and asks for $4.4 billion tax hike. Yikes!

He also said that $4.5 billion in cuts will be necessary across all state programs, including education, social services, health care and prisons.

ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS?

You think we can do this right now especially with new reports that unemployment is up to 6.5-percent. That is probably from the 240,000 jobs that were cut in October. That is a lot of jobs.

So I am going to let you take a guess here how they plan on passing these taxes. Well there's really two options. The first is the Guvenator can sway enough Republicans to vote for the hike. Considering he tried this in the middle of the summer and it didn't work then, it's probably not going to work now. So thats means there's only one option. Have California vote on raising taxes.

ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS?

They want to put a tax hike on the ballot. According to the Demorats in Sacramento thats the only way to get it too pass. How in the world do they expect the people to say yes, to tax themselves when we are going through what we are going through.They say its the only way though.

So I guess we're not raising taxes, or are we? Would you vote for a tax hike? What if it meant better services? What if it didn't? What could they say to make you want to vote for taxes? Would more taxes help? I dont know. What do you think?

And if the tax hikes do pass, lets not do what our not so brilliant Lt. Governor John Garamendi proposes. He says that we don't need the $4.5B in cuts. We can keep that and give more to education. Really? Give more money to education. Is that not what we've been doing the last who knows how many years. And look where that has gotten us.

Attention: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

As a fellow Californian, I urge you to approve the budget. I know you want reform, we all want reform. The truth is though that the budget is almost three months late. We need to put the budget in play already.

You duked it out trying to get somewhere. You started to late though Governor. Next year's budget will be right around the corner. I say you hit both sides hard. This years chances have come and gone. It is time to move on.

Please approve the budget Governor Schwarzenegger, California depends on it.

In all honesty,

Daniel Goldberg 

1. California Prison Guard Union has filed petition to recall Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger because of the failure of the legislature to pass a budget.

2. Today reports came out that President Bush has authorized the military to make raids across the Afghanistan border into Pakistan. It was also reported that the military does not have to receive permission from Pakistan from Pakistan for the raids; they will notify Pakistani officials of them though. 

3. Finally, loud mouth President Hugo Chavez claims to have detained several conspirators who were planning to assassinate him. Chavez made statements that the men were being backed by the U.S. government.

California's fiscal year begins on July 1. Today is September 3. Two months after the beginning of the fiscal year, the state of California still has no budget. What is interesting is that this is nothing new. For the last several years, the legislature has been fighting over the budget, and its problems, without ever really creating a solution, or a budget on time.

This year is no different. With a gap of $15 billion dollars, Republicans and Democrats are fighting over how to shore up the difference. Republicans want to cut programs, roughly $10 billion worth. Democrats want to raise the sales tax. Governor Schwarzenegger is stuck somewhere in the middle, leaning more towards the Democrats.

In the meantime, the Governor has cut the state employees wages to the federal minimum wage level, which is $6.55 an hour. Try living off of that.

Oh and this year has set the record for longest without a budget.

So lets give a big THANK YOU to all our elected state officials!

As you might have heard, the California State budget is about two months overdue. It was originally due on July 1. Here we are August 26 and still nothing but infighting between the Republicans and Democrats in Sacramento.

To add to the mix, Governor "I Will Not Raise Taxes" Schwarzenegger has recently proposed raising taxes temporarily to get over the problems we are having with the budget. The Governor said he would take a tough stance on passing the budget as well by not signing any bills until a budget was finally passed.

Well that was until today when Governor Schwarzenegger announced he would be signing several bills concerning a high speed rail measure and a water bond measure.

So first he said that he'd never raise taxes, then he said he wouldn't sign any bills until the budget got passed. Whats next?

Seriously, its no wonder why the legislature does not take the Governor serious.