Pool-Boy
Lap cheong
   
   
      
   
Since: 1.8.02
From: Huntington Beach, CA
Since last post: 798 days
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|  #1 Posted on 26.3.03 1423.19 | Click here
Republican or Democrat- you have to agree that this guy is a corrupt tool who is overspending California into oblivion, enabled the power crisis, and has basically made a policy our of selling his vote to the highest bidder.
McClintock's take on the budget- pretty telling....
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Andouille
Since: 6.1.02
From: Brooklyn, NY
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| #2 Posted on 26.3.03 1517.20 | Instant Rating: 6.28 | Corrupt? Probably
Tool? Definitely
Overspending into oblivion? Sounds like typical GOP rhetoric. A far greater problem for the fiscal situation in Cali is your idiot property tax referendum.
Enabled the poer crisis? Ridiculous. When will the GOP accept that big corporations don't necessarily play by the neat little perfect free-market rules the GOP always likes to tout? The power crisis was a clear-cut result of price-gouging, collusion, and greed by the power companies.
Made a policy out of selling his vote to the highest bidder? Show me a politician that hasn't.
It seems that I am - in no particular order - Zack Morris, John Adams, a Siren, Janeane Garofalo, Cheer Bear, Aphrodite, a Chihuahua, Data, Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel, Amy-Wynn Pastor, Hydrogen, Bjork, Spider-Man, Boston, and a Chaotic Good Elvin Bard-Mage. | Grimis
Scrapple
Since: 11.7.02
From: MD
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| #3 Posted on 26.3.03 1539.39 | Instant Rating: 7.29 |
Originally posted by MoeGates
will the GOP accept that big corporations don't necessarily play by the neat little perfect free-market rules the GOP always likes to tout? The power crisis was a clear-cut result of price-gouging, collusion, and greed by the power companies.
Maybe, but Grey-out should never have signed contracts that locked the state into buying power way above costs for years at a time, especially ocnsidering that the price they were to pay was basically higher than market could sustain.
There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.
- Theodore Roosevelt, Ocotber 12, 1915 | mountinman44
Sujuk
Since: 8.5.02
From: San Diego, CA
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| | | Y!: |  |
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| #4 Posted on 26.3.03 1541.34 | Not to mention the fact that the citizens of our fine state were stupid enough to re-elect this guy. This last election was the lesser of two evils. It's too bad Davis took out the one man that could beat him, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, in the primary.
"Blessed are they who convert thy neighbor's oxen, for they shall inhibit their girth." -- Brian | Michrome
Head cheese
Since: 2.1.03
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| #5 Posted on 26.3.03 1617.12 | It's an embarrasment that he was elected, frankly. I can't believe that it actually happened. Out here in California, if they put Donald Duck up for office under the Democratic Party, he would win.
It's not just GOP rhetoric that he has overspent, the california government has grown far faster than the population with him in office, he's done nothing for schools, and frankly, nothing for anyone. Now he's going to raise taxes, and probably is going to make things worse. I'll sign the recall, but it ain't happening.
Classic Grey Davis: If you're at an airport, and you see someone drawing, it might be an artist, but it also might be a terrorist. So go tell the police. | Pool-Boy
Lap cheong
Since: 1.8.02
From: Huntington Beach, CA
Since last post: 798 days
Last activity: 7 hours
| #6 Posted on 26.3.03 1640.08 | My opposition of Gov. Davis has nothing to do with my Republican leanings. And while I may grant that the vast majority of politicians have subtle "Scratch my back, and I'll scrath yours" tendancies, I have never SEEN the level or corruption that Joe Davis (Grey is not even his real damned name...) displays so shamelessly. Sadly, the site that documents the outright bribes is on hiatus, but trust me, the list is extensive and wrong.
How can you say he is not overspending into oblivion? Have you SEEN the prison guard contract he authorized? Do you know how far above his allotted administration budget he is, and covers for it by hiding his staffers salaries in other departments?
There are so many other examples of vast overspending it is hardly worth listing them all. But the fact of the matter is very simple to spell out. The economy now is certainly worse than it was 4 years ago. The California government is taking in 28% more funds (read the McClintock statement) than it was 4 years ago. Inflation and population growth only accounts for 21% of that. Yet we are spending 36% more money in that same short amount of time (I heard him speak, and has updated that number to 40%, but since I have no written proof of that, I will keep it at the 36%... it is bad enough). How can you say that is not overspending? Yet Davis's solution to this is not to cut spending (Sure, he is threatening to cut VITAL services to make up for it- but that is a threat) but to raise taxes. "If we don't triple the car tax, children will starve and old people won't get diapers!" I don't remember any of these things happening 4 years ago, so I can't understand why cutting spending back to a proportional level (meaning, 21% more than 4 years ago) would cause that to happen now...
I don't even care if it is a Democrat that replaces Davis. The guy has to go. In fact, 90% of the damned California government needs to be run out of office. This state enjoyed a tremendous boom from the "dotcom" days- yet instead of wisely managing the money and preparing for an eventual and inevitable market downturn (come on, anyone who has taken a high school economic class knows no boom lasts forever), they spend IT ALL. And more. And they don't want to admit they screwed up. And the vast majority of the Republicans, who are admittedly a minority (by far) in this state, were too chicken-sh$t to stand up to it. And no Democrat (party solidarity) did either, either out of ignorance or flat out corruption. I realize I live in a Democrat-controlled state, but come on- there has to be at least one out there who understands the fundimental principles of economics...
Davis has to go. I can't believe this state actually re-elected him (but the margin was not as big as it should have been, against a guy like Simon)... but this state will be much worse off if we let him continue to run it into the ground for the rest of his term...
Still on the Shelf #1 | Grimis
Scrapple
Since: 11.7.02
From: MD
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| #7 Posted on 26.3.03 1830.12 | Instant Rating: 7.29 | And I do believe, if I remember correctly, that if California fired every person on its payroll it would still be severa, billion in the red.
There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.
- Theodore Roosevelt, Ocotber 12, 1915 | MoeGates
Andouille
Since: 6.1.02
From: Brooklyn, NY
Since last post: 2 days
Last activity: 15 hours
| #8 Posted on 27.3.03 1010.07 | Instant Rating: 6.28 | This state enjoyed a tremendous boom from the "dotcom" days- yet instead of wisely managing the money and preparing for an eventual and inevitable market downturn (come on, anyone who has taken a high school economic class knows no boom lasts forever), they spend IT ALL. And more. And they don't want to admit they screwed up. And the vast majority of the Republicans, who are admittedly a minority (by far) in this state, were too chicken-sh$t to stand up to it. And no Democrat (party solidarity) did either, either out of ignorance or flat out corruption. I realize I live in a Democrat-controlled state, but come on- there has to be at least one out there who understands the fundimental principles of economics...
You've just described New York State and, especially, New York City here also (just substitute "Democrats" for "Republicans" in your paragraph and vise-versa).
It is a very VERY rare polititian that will put long-term concerns over short term ones. It's one of the failings of our system. This is more relevant than ever now that one of the only people who did this, Senator Danial Patrick Moynahan, died yesterday. I actually didn't like Moynahan that much, but I always appreciated the fact that he took a long-term view of things, even when not politically popular in the short term.
It seems that I am - in no particular order - Zack Morris, John Adams, a Siren, Janeane Garofalo, Cheer Bear, Aphrodite, a Chihuahua, Data, Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel, Amy-Wynn Pastor, Hydrogen, Bjork, Spider-Man, Boston, and a Chaotic Good Elvin Bard-Mage. | messenoir
Summer sausage
Since: 20.2.02
From: Columbia, MO
Since last post: 28 days
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| #9 Posted on 30.3.03 1228.26 | Re the Energy crisis (which people attempted to blame on the environmentalists, as they always do)
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 10:01:36 -0500 (EST)
This article from NYTimes.com
Delusions of Power
March 28, 2003
By PAUL KRUGMAN
They considered themselves tough-minded realists, and
regarded doubters as fuzzy-minded whiners. They silenced
those who questioned their premises, even though the
skeptics included many of the government's own analysts.
They were supremely confident - and yet with shocking speed
everything they had said was proved awesomely wrong.
No, I'm not talking about the war; I'm talking about the
energy task force that Dick Cheney led back in 2001. Yet
there are some disturbing parallels. Right now, pundits are
wondering how Mr. Cheney - who confidently predicted that
our soldiers would be "greeted as liberators" - could have
been so mistaken. But a devastating new report on the
California energy crisis reminds us that Mr. Cheney has
been equally confident, and equally wrong, about other
issues.
In spring 2001 the lights were going out all over
California. There were blackouts and brownouts, and the
price of electricity was soaring. The Cheney task force was
convened in the midst of that crisis. It concluded, in
brief, that the energy crisis was a long-term problem
caused by meddling bureaucrats and pesky environmentalists,
who weren't letting big companies do what needed to be
done. The solution? Scrap environmental rules, and give the
energy industry multibillion-dollar subsidies.
Along the way, Mr. Cheney sneeringly dismissed energy
conservation as a mere "sign of personal virtue" and
scorned California officials who called for price controls
and said the crisis was being exacerbated by market
manipulation. To be fair, Mr. Cheney's mocking attitude on
that last point was shared by almost everyone in politics
and the media - and yes, I am patting myself on the back
for getting it right.
For we now know that everything Mr. Cheney said was wrong.
In fact, the California energy crisis had nothing to do
with environmental restrictions, and a lot to do with
market manipulation. In 2001 the evidence for manipulation
was basically circumstantial. But now we have a new report
from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which until
now has discounted claims of market manipulation. No more:
the new report concludes that market manipulation was
pervasive, and offers a mountain of direct evidence,
including phone conversations, e-mail and memos. There's no
longer any doubt: California's power shortages were largely
artificial, created by energy companies to drive up prices
and profits.
Oh, and what ended the crisis? Key factors included energy
conservation and price controls. Meanwhile, what happened
to that long-term shortage of capacity, which required
scrapping environmental rules and providing lots of
corporate welfare? Within months after the Cheney report's
release, stock analysts were downgrading energy companies
because of a looming long-term-capacity glut.
In short, Mr. Cheney and his tough-minded realists were
blowing smoke: their report described a fantasy world that
bore no relation to reality. How did they get it so wrong?
One answer is that Mr. Cheney made sure that his task
force included only like-minded men: as far as we can tell,
he didn't consult with anyone except energy executives. So
the task force was subject to what military types call
"incestuous amplification," defined by Jane's Defense
Weekly as "a condition in warfare where one only listens to
those who are already in lock-step agreement, reinforcing
set beliefs and creating a situation ripe for
miscalculation."
Another answer is that Mr. Cheney basically drew his advice
about how to end the energy crisis from the very companies
creating the crisis, for fun and profit. But was he in on
the joke?
We may never know what really went on in the energy task
force since the Bush administration has gone to
extraordinary lengths to keep us from finding out. At first
the nonpartisan General Accounting Office, which is
supposed to act as an internal watchdog, seemed determined
to pursue the matter. But after the midterm election,
according to the newsletter The Hill, Congressional
Republicans approached the agency's head and threatened to
slash his budget unless he backed off.
And therein lies the broader moral. In the last two years
Mr. Cheney and other top officials have gotten it wrong
again and again - on energy, on the economy, on the budget.
But political muscle has insulated them from any adverse
consequences. So they, and the country, don't learn from
their mistakes - and the mistakes keep getting bigger. нн
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/28/opinion/28KRUG.html?ex=1049863696&ei=1
&en=
2b10abb3f3b0a9e2
| Hairy Caray
Bauerwurst
Since: 28.10.02
From: Wrigley Field hot dog stand
Since last post: 3176 days
Last activity: 3173 days
| #10 Posted on 30.3.03 1607.29 | Allow me to creatively edit your post a bit:
Originally posted by MoeGates
Corrupt? Probably
Tool? Definitely
Overspending into oblivion? Sounds like typical GOP rhetoric Democrat policy. A far greater problem for the fiscal situation in Cali is your idiot property tax referendum NIMBY population.
Enabled Contributed to the power crisis? Ridiculous Absolutely. When will the GOP Dems accept that big corporations government agencies don't necessarily ever play by the neat little perfect free-market rules the GOP government always likes to tout bend? The power crisis was a clear-cut result of price-gouging, collusion, and greed monopoly/oligopoly and profit made possible by the power companies government.
Made a policy out of selling his vote to the highest bidder? Show me a politician that hasn't.
What vote? This ain't a democracy, junior!
//edit: NIMBY = "Not in my back yard!"
(edited by Hairy Caray on 30.3.03 1708)
//edit: Compulsively corrected stupid spelling mistake.
(edited by Hairy Caray on 31.3.03 1005)
Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win! | MoeGates
Andouille
Since: 6.1.02
From: Brooklyn, NY
Since last post: 2 days
Last activity: 15 hours
| #11 Posted on 31.3.03 0830.32 | Instant Rating: 6.28 | NIMBI is old news. The new urban planning buzzword acronym is the BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything).
It seems that I am - in no particular order - Zack Morris, John Adams, a Siren, Janeane Garofalo, Cheer Bear, Aphrodite, a Chihuahua, Data, Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel, Amy-Wynn Pastor, Hydrogen, Bjork, Spider-Man, Boston, and a Chaotic Good Elvin Bard-Mage. |
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