Readers of this blog knew this last week but now the criminals in Sacramento are admitting to the future crime. AP -
Mass Inmate Release Possible in Calif.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering the early release of more than 20,000 low-risk prison inmates from the nation's largest prison system as a way to save money amid a worsening budget crisis, a newspaper reported Thursday.
And just to keep up with the train wreck in progress, the current projected deficit is $14.5 billion up $500 million in the last 5 days. Good thing the governor is holding off declaring a State of Emergency until the middle of January so as not to interfere with the Presidential Primary election cycle. Expansion on that last. It isn't so much the primaries but the other measures on the same ballot that are what is important. There's another $500m per year in Indian gaming revenues that would perversely result in about $700m more added to the deficit. There's also a transportation funding bill that is way too complex in its fiscal consequences to explain. I'll get to that later.
33 comments:
First thing I thought when I saw an article on this was "great fodder for EN".
BTW: Expect a statement from the Corrections Officer Union later today condeming this in the strongest terms...
Got to keep the members employed.
Hmnnn... low risk prisoners who are non-violent and not sex offenders. So we will have 20,000 drunk drivers and drug dealers released. I guess the price of crack is gonna go down.
Are there no more prisones or workhouses?
Good thing the governor is holding off declaring a State of Emergency until the middle of January so as not to interfere with the Presidential Primary election cycle.
I think he is holding off till they get this half ass Socialized Healthcare package passed. If the state was fiscally stable this would break the state (like a similar Socialized Health plan in Massachusetts is doing there), given that we are already underwater it’s an absolutely ludicrous proposal. However since the state will be underwater for several years assuming we ever do recover Socialized Healthcare is going to get kicked at least 10 years into the future. The State congress is frantically trying to get this through before Joe Six Pack discovers how bad the State’s financial situation is and shoots it down. Once it gets past like every other ludicrous State hand out we will be stuck with it and have to pay for it.
What is total B.S. is letting those criminals out early is not going to fill in even 1/10 the hole; It is only going to save a few million ($20 million I heard) we have a 14 BILLION dollar hole to fill. This is merely a way to scare the public into passing higher taxes. If they need to make cuts they can do it to the hundred other handouts like say State College tuition, Guns for Toys (120Million a year), the States Medicare program that covers illegal’s, or our well fair program that is far larger then we are obligated to pay and is not covered by the Fed.
> hundred other handouts like say State
> College tuition
Very expensive long term - an uneducated work force.
> or our well fair program
Normally it is spelled welfare. Especially in CA, where the system is neither “well” nor “fair”.
Tuition. Yes, California has it written into the Constitution that tuition cannot be charged but what does $17,000 in annual fees sound like? The interesting thing is on a macro basis the UC/CS/CC networks are probably net generators of tax revenues. What would Davis look like without UCDavis for instance? The multiplier effects of higher education are enormous. Ask Boston.
Rob, do you have any information on municiple bond issuance that shows a significant increase in the debt cities are carrying? I have no knowledge of this, but was pondering what kind of debt local governments have gotten themselves into on the aggregate. If it is even a problem at all.
During WA's last budget crisis some legislators proposed doing away with state funding for higher education, which was already less generous than the CA sweet deal. There was much talk of "making those freeloading students pay their own way for once". It never went anywhere because cooler heads realized that the real effect would be to destroy the state schools, not to make them pay for themselves. If Central Washington costs the same as a respected private school, nobody's going to go there. That kills the local pool of educated labor two ways:
* Students who leave for school are much less likely to take jobs back home than those who never left.
* People who want to be able to send their kids to school at a reasonable price will stay out of the state.
Bear in mind that it's only a small segment of the population that can afford to pay for the real costs of college themselves. Higher education costs have outpaced inflation for a generation now. The days of working one's way through college without grants or loans are largely past.
Add to that $14.4B per year if the universal healthcare deal is passed.
Hey Cote, what's your estimate of the percentage of smelly Mexicans among the released prisoners? :-D
UniHellCare. Man talk about bad math. The idjits that came up with the $14.4b used static modeling. Covered marginal companies will fall below thresholds, others will join the underground economy, bigs will cheat, the hospitals will not pay anywhere near as much. Heck, I can see a hospital deliberately not paying. California wants to go to court to collect on an unpaid healthcare invoice? Bring it on sucker and bring a checkbook.
Illegals would be about 5-8% based on types of crime and their proportion of the prison population.
If ANYONE wants to get a good degree they can get it with our great system. If you want to screw around during the breaks and live large while in college then you need to have a benefactor. I have watched friends when I was younger and now kids of some friends who went off and wasted their parents money living well and often not even finishing school. The parents just shake their heads and say "we did everything we could how could this have happened." But if you see the worth in having an education and have the guidance of the people around you it is not hard to get a good education. But it is work.
I know because I did it. My mom and I were very poor when I was in high school. We made 13k combined my junior year in 1991. I graduated early and took some classes at the local junior college but only a few to still qualify as a freshman while I applied to 4 year schools. I had taken classes at the JC during HS too to get out early. While working 30-40 hours a week and taking a full honors course load in HS. My year after HS I worked and saved money. Then I went to a state school and worked nights in a grocery store. My junior and senior years as I entered into my major courses I mostly worked during summers and for my professors so I could concentrate on the difficult material. During this period I took out as many school loans as I could qualify for. In the end I had a debt about the size of a car payment for 7(?) years. It was not the MTV life but it was a lot of fun. I would not even call it hard work because I was young and had a ton of energy. I got as much out of the process as I actually got from the degree. My wife's path to her degree put's me to shame. She had to overcome her family as well as the financial problems.
I am sure that university prices are more now then they were 10 years ago. But if you really want a degree and an opportunity to succeed the tools are there for anyone to do so. Those tools are what we must protect through our legislators.
OT:
Akubi,
Check out these "fishnets." ewwww.
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/12_03/royals1BIG2112_468x716.jpg
I need a toddy.
@Dawg,
Yes, those fishnets really don't work with her outfit.
Speaking of inmates, this one is suing the Utah Department of Corrections for denying him Thor's hammer and the sword he requires to practice his religion.
I hate to say I told you so, but, I TOLD YOU SO! Pucker up California, your long lost cousins are coming back home.
Tuition. Yes, California has it written into the Constitution that tuition cannot be charged but what does $17,000 in annual fees sound like?
I had never heard of this until earlier this year when someone posted about it. That's surreal.
Plenty of work in CA that Americans won't do-haven't you guys heard of agflation? Ag exports are the next big thing!
Ho Ho Ho - It's Santa Flipper Clause
Bound to happen, Dawg. Other states will follow CA lead in releasing prisoners early to save dough.
By the way, Merry Christmas everybody. Tell Santa what you want for Christmas.
Santa F. Clause
Santa, I really want a granite counter top. All my friends have them.
Has anyone else read this article over at yahoo?
Tent city in suburbs is cost of home crisis
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071221/lf_nm/usa_housing_social_dc
homelessness, crime and even disease ?
From the article,
Steve, 50, who declined to give his last name, moved to tent city four months ago. He gets social security payments, but cannot work and said rents are too high.
"House prices are going down, but the rentals are sky-high," said Steve. "If it wasn't for here, I wouldn't have a place to go."
If he's getting social security payments he can afford to rent a clean room somewhere. There are plenty of people looking for boarders. My guess is Steve has an addiction to drugs or alcohol and chooses to spend his social security check feeding his vice.
I don't buy Steve's story for a second.
People who rent now find themselves in a tighter, more expensive market as demand rises from families who lost homes, said Jean Beil, senior vice president for programs and services at Catholic Charities USA.
Horseshit. Rents go DOWN as the collapse grows more serious and people leave the area. The supply of vacant housing is growing by the day.
A very strange article. Makes me think they are looking for some sort of government handout :)
Apparently all the empty abandoned houses are being taken over by criminals while the law abiding citizens who can't afford rent are moving into tent cities.
Must be the lenders fault!
$200/month in Riverside for the living room.
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/roo/516199204.html
$415/mo in Riverside for a room in a very nice house that is far, far nicer than anything I lived in during college.
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/roo/509306217.html
"What are Social Security Disability Benefits?
The benefits include cash payment that averages $900 per month."
http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Helpline1&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=4857
While the low-end market tanks, the extraordinarily high-end Cali market avoids property taxes on a 65 million dollar home - kinda like the oil companies not having to pay taxes on W's revised BS energy bill.
This is one sorry excuse of a country.
In happy holiday news, Zillow Book presents Sweet Space Panties with Santa!
I wonder how many dick pills Casey sold today.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
I've been pretty fucking pissed with the overall state of the government for many years, but this local no property tax shit on a 65 million dollar home bullshit highlights it and I'm going to go after that issue like the humpback whales.
@Lou,
Not much - unless he's working the unicycle angle.
Akubi:
What's lowest ratio of 2007 tax to zillow value that you've found? If that 65 MM house is it, what is the street address and is the info actually on Zillow?
I'm going to search Zillow up the SoCal coastline looking for the most egregious example of untaxed wealth property
I think I read something similar to this happening in the US in the 1930's. Things should get interesting. If the US Government was smart they would legalize marijuana, and tax the sales. They will have to after they let all the people out that they put in jail over dopey anti-drug laws and the war on drugs.
How funny that a link to story on this topic on Drudge leads to a dead end.
Maybe it'll be fixed by the time the stores clear this weekend
@Chickenlittle,
What's lowest ratio of 2007 tax to zillow value that you've found? If that 65 MM house is it, what is the street address and is the info actually on Zillow?
I haven't seen anything comparable to this in my area. Often properties like this aren't found in Zillow as you can see with 65 MM 440 Golden Gate Ave, Bevedere, CA. It will be interesting to see if Zillow includes it after it closes.
Post a Comment