California to Raise $14 Billion in Taxes?
California lawmakers have agreed on a budget framework that, if approved, would raise taxes to the tune of $14 billon.
In a recession.
Vehicle license fees would nearly double, going from the current rate of 0.65% to 1.15% of the value of a car or truck. The sales tax would increase by 1 cent, raising the rate in Los Angeles County to 9.75%. Gasoline taxes would increase by 12 cents a gallon. And Californians would pay a new surcharge on their personal income taxes, amounting to 2.5% of their total tax bills.
That’s right: they’re planning to tax our taxes.
I heard numerous callers on the radio today saying this is the final straw. They’re selling their houses and moving to Colorado.
Well, you (plural) voted them in.
Obama über alles!!!!! (48dd5e) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:35 pm“..They’re selling their houses and moving to Colorado.”.
[deleted — P]
AD (e8a81c) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:36 pmWho is going to buy those houses? Barney Frank or Maxine Waters?
MikeD (b8e532) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:41 pmThat’s what I was thinking, MikeD. How many people can sell their homes and pay off the remaining 200k after the sale goes through? And with everyone moving out and nobody but illegals moving in, will there even be a buyer?
John Hitchcock (fb941d) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:43 pmOK, I know you’re kidding, AD, but I still can’t tolerate that kind of comment on my blog.
I’m deleting it.
Patterico (cc3b34) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:44 pmThere’s a part of me that’s been considering returning to Cali. It just got squished.
Pablo (99243e) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:49 pmThe sales tax would increase by 1 cent, raising the rate in Los Angeles County to 9.75%.
Actually, because of the recent passage of a proposition for transit that will be raising the county sales tax by 1/2 percent, I believe the figure will be more like 10%.
And since the Golden State is chock full of limousine liberals on one hand and very socialistic folks from the Third World on the other — the type who think Hugo Chavez makes for great leadership — don’t expect much hue and cry over the idiocy emanating from Sacramento.
Mark (411533) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:50 pm[This portion of the comment is deleted — P.]
AD (e8a81c) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:51 pmWell, we elected these assholes, and we deserve everything that they ram up our asses.
Political historian (and satirist) C. Northcote Parkinson pegged the point where overt taxation became so onerous as to cause flight at 10%.
I think a lot of Californians are going to be flying.
EW1(SG) (e27928) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:56 pmAnd when they get to Colorado, they’ll vote for politicans who’ll implement the same policies as those that they fled from in CA.
Then in 10 years, they’ll say “I’m moving to New Mexico or Utah”.
Techie (6b5d8d) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:58 pmI feel bad for my friends that live in Cali. You are more than welcome out here in the Heartland. Except for the Leftists. Stay there and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
JD (c6800b) — 2/11/2009 @ 7:58 pmthe governator’s a republican, remember?
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:00 pmTLove, who runs the legislature?
John Hitchcock (fb941d) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:01 pmDid you know that Californians pay more to the federal gov’t in taxes than they get back in federal spending?
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:01 pmJohn, I’m not here to get drawn into your endless arguments. They are silly. You will never agree with me, and I will never agree with you. There is no point in arguing.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:03 pmDon’t move to Colorado – Californians already here are ruining Colorado
SPQR (26be8b) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:04 pmComment by Mark — 2/11/2009 @ 7:50 pm
The current general sales-tax rate for L.A.Co. is 8.25%. Measure R will raise that by 0.5% effective 01 July 09. With an additional 1% increase by the state, the general rate in the County will be 9.75% –
there are some cities within the County that have existing add-ons which will see rates at, or over, 10%.
If they think that sales are slow now, they haven’t seen anything yet.
This will really stimulate internet/mail-order –
many people would rather pay fees to UPS than a sales tax to the State.
If this passes, I’ll be making an exploratory trip to another state that I’ve been putting off too long now.
AD (e8a81c) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:04 pmWell, then Tlove, shouldn’t CA be angling for some tax cuts?
Techie (6b5d8d) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:06 pmNo techie, reducing everyone’s federal tax burden would not help Californians lessen their portion with respect to the rest of the country’s. The problem is in the distribution.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:08 pmI’m not certain what’s silly about pointing out the branch of government that writes the laws is Democrat when you point to a moderate Republican in the branch of the government that does not write the laws.
John Hitchcock (fb941d) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:10 pmLike I said, I’m not getting into it with you. figure it out.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:13 pmHaving lived in CA among the enlightened I hope they stay put and eat their brown cheerios.
Nothing worse than a liberal fleeing socialism.
Obama über alles!!!!! (48dd5e) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:17 pmOverall outmigration (less birth/deaths) has been happening in Cali, and I fear that this time the numbers will not reverse itself like during previous recessions. Scariest of all are the gross demographic differences between those leaving and those arriving. Quite shocking.
Andrew (8a94e5) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:17 pmIt does not bode well.
OT: Times to come ….. an example from a “Hate America Socialist Paradise”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7883605.stm
Obama über alles!!!!! (48dd5e) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:20 pmI got out 3 years ago…and have never looked back.
SharpRightTurn (2d1a76) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:20 pmOf course, I was not a not a native Californian (so I don’t count :)…but where I live now, most people would not be happy with a influx of stereotypical Californians.
There was a time in our history when our founding fathers wanted a better future for us. They cared more about the future generations than they did about the difficulties they had to face to ensure a future filled with freedom and happiness. What happened to us?
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:21 pmsorry…that should read “an influx”
SharpRightTurn (2d1a76) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:23 pm“There was a time in our history when our founding fathers wanted a better future for us. They cared more about the future generations than they did about the difficulties they had to face to ensure a future filled with freedom and happiness. What happened to us?”
The Baby Boom Generation came to power with a tank full of pomposity, a tank empty of character defining struggles, and lots of free time to ponder nothing of value.
Obama über alles!!!!! (48dd5e) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:23 pmJust noticed this blog and comment thread. Couldn’t also help noticing when a passive/aggressive gets called on his/her bluff, or in this case, his/her pomp. TLove, looks like you like to cite “some” facts, but when the others get in the way of your story, you shout them down. Hitchcock, you know you won when the other guy turns tail. And you did not even have to do much! Congrats.
JB (98cc83) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:24 pmIt gets even better:
The Republicans vowed not to agree to any new taxes, yet today they are willing to support this because the Democrats “compromised”.
Here is the compromise:
– $14 Billion in actual new taxes as reported above, agreed to by Republicans in exchange for this:
– a $15 Billion reduction in requested increases in state spending on existing programs – not an actual reduction in current levels of expenditures.
– if the $8 Billion bailout promised by Obama pans out, the money goes to restore the cuts in the increases in spending, not to tax reduction
– an agreement to put a “soft” spending cap on the ballot sometime in the future. If the spending cap is defeated, then the tax increases will expire in two years; if the spending cap is approved the tax increases will last five years. Yes, you read that right. Tax payers will be penalized for approving a spending cap by suffering 3 additional years of higher taxes while spending supposedly would be capped.
Just like the doofuses in DC that think saving $30 Billion on the stimulus bill of $830 Billion is a win, we have morons in Sacramento that think they cut themselves a pretty good deal with the Democrats. Good lord!
in_awe (bc82df) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:24 pmJB, you’re an idiot.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:25 pmLike I said, I don’t want to get into a pointless argument about how gov’t works, what a veto is, etc. I realize you get some kick out of arguing over the same crap all day long, but I don’t.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:28 pmSo that’s why I was on a 2-hour conference call today regarding shutting down one of our offices in SFO. Apparently corporations don’t want to have their money seized either.
So what’s left in CA for jobs? Government jobs sound great… but who’s gonna pay for them when the private sector is gone. Seriously, have you people thought about that? A snake can’t eat itself, you know.
HatlessHessian (cca288) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:32 pmThey better sell them fast because property values are going to drop.
Personally, I would love to live in Northern California. But have been put off by the taxes and BS.
Joe (17aeff) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:34 pmI Agree about the boomers (in aggregate) #28-
Andrew (8a94e5) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:35 pmand add on top of that a dose of that monstrosity called identity politics…?
All Bad.
CA reminds me of Animal Farm by Orwell.
Once they shake off Da Man life will be SWEET!!!!
Obama über alles!!!!! (48dd5e) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:35 pmAndrew,
Identity politics suck too but I can’t blame baby boomers for that one.
That has been around since “times immemorial”
Point is not to engage in it.
Obama über alles!!!!! (48dd5e) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:38 pmA snake can’t eat itself, you know.
Comment by HatlessHessian — 2/11/2009 @ 8:32 pm
You obviously don’t know CA libs. They’ll give it a strong effort. They hate people anyway so it’s win-win for them.
Chris (b886a5) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:57 pmI don’t hate anyone.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 8:57 pmI’ll take you at your word, TLove. But living in the Bay Area is an eye opener, to say the least. Start at Paul Ehrlich and work forward.
Chris (b886a5) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:01 pmI lived in the Bay Area for a year and a half.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:07 pmThat was not me, Tlove. Not even my style.
JD (c6800b) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:20 pmI know JD. You know me. =)
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:21 pmin_awe, I think you are misunderstanding the point to the tying of the tax increases and the spending cap.
Liberal groups and interest groups which depend on the state (such as the California Teacher’s Association and, presumably, the prison guards’ union) are going to campaign hard against the spending cap.
The point to the tying provision is to stay their hands, or – failing that – to make them pay a price if they succeed: assuming that revenue hasn’t increased due to economic recovery in two years, if the spending cap has failed, the taxes go away, and programs must be cut. That will entice them, the theory is, to be less interested in defeating the spending cap, since they’ll pay a price if it passes.
My read on the dynamics of this is that the Republicans have concluded that a long-term spending cap combined with not being blamed for the state government shutdown which will happen if there is no budget is a worth buying with the tax increases; while the Democrats have concluded that the spending cap will be defeated at the ballot box and think that in two years they will have a 2/3 majority in the legislature and be free to do what they want, so kicking the ball down the court for two years is a good short-term compromise with no cost.
aphrael (9e8ccd) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:24 pmChris, I am a liberal who lives in the bay area; while there are a few individuals I hate, they’re pretty rare. 🙂 Nor do I find that most of my social circle is filled with hatred.
aphrael (9e8ccd) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:25 pmI heard the gas tax was a 25 cent raise. They will finish off the tax paying class. It’s time to reregister my car in Arizona. That’s clear.
Mike K (2cf494) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:27 pmWhat happens when the projected increased tax collections never materialize? This guarantees the collapse of the California tax base.
Perhaps it’s time through the initiative process to abolish the legislature completely and term limit all state-wide offices to one term only. The state-wide office holders would be permanently ineligible from holding any other state-wide office as well. Time to eliminate the “New Class”.
Morowbie Jukes (ca603d) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:28 pmThere are annoying people in every group – annoying obnoxious liberals in SF, annoying right wing religious freaks from Alabama…
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:29 pmAnd more of the productive people will flee California. Unfortunately they tend to come to Colorado and proceed to screw it up just they they screwed up California. We call it “Californication”
Lily (9d9b60) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:34 pmMy favorite Californians are the folks from Shallow Palo Alto who talk about East Palo Alto as if it was a zoo.
Obama über alles!!!!! (48dd5e) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:42 pmEast Palo Alto is kinda scary.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:48 pm#50 TLove,
That about says everything I ever needed to know about you.
Obama über alles!!!!! (48dd5e) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:55 pmI call upon all of my fellow Nevadans to support a new ballot initiative: Prop NO
1) No resident of the State of California shall be allowed to take up residence in the State of Nevada until they answer the following questions correctly:
a) Do you understand why the State of California is so completely screwed up?
b) Do you promise NOT to vote for politicians who want to do the same thing to Nevada?
If the answer isn’t YES and YES, move to Colorado.
JayC (24a512) — 2/11/2009 @ 9:57 pmWaaaaaah. The random guy on the conservative blog doesn’t like me! Waaaaaaah.
TLove (012115) — 2/11/2009 @ 10:00 pmMJ,
Chris (b886a5) — 2/11/2009 @ 10:10 pmGreat idea on the ballot initiatives. Unfortunately, they’d probably be ruled unconstitutional by the SSC. Worth a shot, although I’d shoot for a part time legislature.
That’s nothing new, a year or so ago Iowa added Ten dollars in taxes to a carton of cigarettes, when I bought my first carton after the increase I realised that I was paying SALES TAX on the added $10.
Now THAT is indeed a Tax upon a tax and not just a Tax increase.
Dan Kauffman (3c9c17) — 2/11/2009 @ 10:15 pmSTAY OUT OF COLORADO!Enough of the CA idiots. As others have said above, we don’t want any more of you. You are why we have Dems in power here now. Man the barricades.
LYNNDH (975d26) — 2/11/2009 @ 10:19 pmThe current general sales-tax rate for L.A.Co. is 8.25%. Measure R will raise that by 0.5% effective 01 July 09. With an additional 1% increase by the state, the general rate in the County will be 9.75% –
I haven’t wanted to look too closely at the wreck that is California, so I assumed the worse—which is evident when a sales tax just a tad bit below the double-digit level doesn’t sound quite as draconian.
And blame for the idiocy of the political manuverings in both Sacramento and DC fall squarely on the shoulders of all those voters who believe their own (or other people’s) liberalism deserves a lot of benefit of the doubt.
Mark (411533) — 2/11/2009 @ 10:21 pm#53
JayC – Isn’t Harry “Stimulus” Reid your Senator. I know he didn’t come from California, we have Boxer and Feinstein. :=)
lightcable (1b29c5) — 2/11/2009 @ 10:33 pmWow. You think you have it bad in California. Look at the outrage they are trying to perpetrate in Washington:
”Democratic Rep. Mark Miloscia said an 18 ½ percent sales tax should be levied against Playboy and other adult magazines, as well as pornographic photographs, movies, videos, cable-television services, telephone services, audiotapes, computer programs and paraphernalia. With everyone in the Legislature struggling to find ways to solve the budget crisis, he said, he’s surprised nobody else has made a similar proposal.”
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 2/11/2009 @ 10:46 pmDon’t feed the comments troll. Otherwise we get Yosemite trolls and they have to be destroyed. And to all Americans who don’t care for Californians coming to their state, I suggest a different tact. If you have like-minded Californians coming to your state, you should embrace them as they will bolster your numbers. As a native Californian, I can count the number of so-called Californians who originally hail from red and purple states like Texas, Missouri, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc. We may want to cancel the Rose Parade as it was originally an enticement for all Midwesterners to move out here and enjoy the sun. Perhaps we need to issue you a return visa. So, it may be popular to bash Californians but I don’t care for it as a descendant of Californios who has had family here for over two centuries. That kind of attitude is what I find disgusting from a so-called Californian giving my home state a bad name. Jerks come in all colors including Michigan blue and Nebraska red.
islandman78 (58f0a6) — 2/11/2009 @ 10:56 pmCalifornia needs to pass a 95% windfall profits tax on all entertainment income above $100,000 per year.
Perfect Sense (0922fa) — 2/11/2009 @ 11:26 pmWe may want to cancel the Rose Parade as it was originally an enticement for all Midwesterners to move out here and enjoy the sun.
I recall broadcasters in the LA area quite awhile ago proclaiming — in a rather cocky tone — that Americans, upon seeing the Rose Parade on TV, would be lured from the Midwest and East to California. Those commentators gradually stopped asserting that over the past 20-or-so (or more) years when news reports on a regular basis indicated that most of the people moving to America’s most populous state were immigrants, primarily so-called undocumented and impoverished ones at that.
Mark (411533) — 2/11/2009 @ 11:29 pmNATIVIST!
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 2/12/2009 @ 12:49 amI left California in the summer of 2005. When I got here to Tennessee, I had a lot of folks openly express worry about having me in their midst. They were all courteous, but concerned. My reply was that I had “left California in my rear-view mirror”.
Not all of us Californians are evil. And as it is, the ones who destroyed California are the ones who moved out west in the 1950s and 1960s from places like Massachusetts, Minnesota, Connecticut, New York, and other socialist hell-holes. California was a heck of a fine place to live until about 1972 or 73. Then, in my memory at least, the decline began.
Someone above said they flirted with the idea of returning to California and now has decided not to. Not me. NOTHING could get me to return. I am Californian by birth, but am a Southerner by choice.
the friendly grizzly (77fb0e) — 2/12/2009 @ 1:40 am@ #60 DaleyRocks: that sort of legislation sounds like the sort of thing a Republican would propose. It surprises me a Democrat would propose such a thing.
the friendly grizzly (77fb0e) — 2/12/2009 @ 1:42 amIt will be a little ironic that places like California and New York will drive away the population due to taxes and likely shift some of the electoral calculus to red states.
voiceofreason2 (c4880a) — 2/12/2009 @ 3:03 amI would not want to live in California.
Perfect Sense in #62. You are brilliant. Redistribute those “evil” rich Hollywood types pay like they distribute their crap.
krusher (c82271) — 2/12/2009 @ 4:17 amHow about an eighteen percent tax on food in California. That would get the public’s attention. I am also glad that Cali is giving everyone a lesson in why Republicans are right and democraps are wrong. Once the feds come in and promise money to democraps in state gov, instead of the dems in state gov actually cutting programs and using the fed money to help out the tax payers, the state INCREASES state spending so that they are in the same or worse position.
eaglewingz08 (b49b29) — 2/12/2009 @ 4:56 amThe democraps are locusts and cali should see a massive exodus which will then exacerbate the problems which will then cause dems in congress to give more money which will cause the above scenario to repeat. A pox on Cali and the politicians in both parties.
Pray tell, don’t we hear the same concerns about libtards fleeing taxachusetts and vermont for New Hampshire due to onerous taxation? Of course the same jerkwads then vote for increased taxes.
I pretty much felt the same way about Pa. as people leaving the Golden State and californicating Montana, Idaho, etc. I guess Oregon is plenty moonbat enough already. You’ve got taxes out the dupa in Pa. and I often wondered how much it cost just to have all the various tax people. I mean an occupational privilege tax you pay separately just because you have a job, a per capita tax, city wage tax, high propety taxes, state income tax, car inspections annually (down from two a year some years back). It would hiss me off to save for a car I liked and then get whacked for a registration fee based on its current value (I knew Va. has that too).
aoibhneas (0c6cfc) — 2/12/2009 @ 6:14 amSo here I am now in Fla. with its own sets of problems, but no state income tax or car inspections. And with homestead
law my property taxes are now around $600 a year on a townhouse in Palm Beach county a mile from ocean.
After Obama and his minions turn the US into some combo of Venezuela, Sweden and Zimbabwe, one wonders about the future of freedom. Thanks all you assclowns who enabled his sorry, neophyte socialist ass corrupt Chicago Way politics. And especially the cretins from the media.
And to think, the State of California could raise $1 Billion annually by safely and cleanly producing oil and gas from the Santa Barbara channel alone. And that’s just one area of reserves and just the state’s cut of revenues.
Ya really gotta wonder….
galloway (996c34) — 2/12/2009 @ 6:41 amRefugees from Hurricane Katrina moved to western Iowa and and eastern Nebraska. They have stayed because of better opportunities. Now, people from California and other economically distressed states are trickling in like storm victims.
Our son has a good, well paying information technology job in San Jose, and he is now training for his new promotion. His company gave him an award for improving profitability last year. He and his wife own their own house. Life is good for someone still in his twenties.
Yet he feels trapped and wants to leave. But he can’t. His Korean-American wife doesn’t want to leave the community and her family. Our son doesn’t want to leave a company which appears to be grooming him for a higher slot. For every family who leaves California, I believe several more are waiting to move on if only they could.
After he got his award, he called and said he was half joking, but could we make room for him and his wife on the farm if things turned bad?
You who voted for the Democratic Congress and Obama have made your bed. I resent having to share it.
James (3bb0e7) — 2/12/2009 @ 6:48 amStale legislators = gay tops.
The Dana who was born in Oakland but doesn't live in California anymore (3e4784) — 2/12/2009 @ 7:05 amState taxpayers = gay bottoms.
Dana – That is sooooooo not right.
The JD who used to live in Monterey but doesn't live in CA anymore (3d2fbd) — 2/12/2009 @ 7:12 amDana – That is an Ehrenstein dog whistle. Many thanks!
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 2/12/2009 @ 7:38 amUnfortunately they tend to come to Colorado and proceed to screw it up just they they screwed up California.
Too late – and as mentioned previously, they’ve already screwed up Oregon, Washington and are making moves on Idaho. Montana is already doomed as well – beautiful.
Dmac (49b16c) — 2/12/2009 @ 7:57 amApparently they have taken over Indiana.
JD (3d2fbd) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:12 amAll those Chicago ACORNS prolly voted in Gary.
John Hitchcock (fb941d) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:16 amIt’s definitely time to figure out an escape route I think.
happyfeet (71f55e) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:16 am“All those Chicago ACORNS prolly voted in Gary.”
At least twice.
daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:17 amUnfortunately, John, the numbers in Baracky’s margin of victory can be found in the suburban counties surrounding Indianapolis. There was a big drop off in votes between the Governor’s numbers and the McCain numbers in this specific area. Sad. Baracky would have still won without Indiana, but I would feel less disgusted that we, in any way, contributed to this dirty little socialist being in the White House.
JD (3d2fbd) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:19 amJD, I denounce you for your opinions on dirty.
Racist.
Eric Blair (ec334b) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:31 amUm. I meant “dirt.” Or Christina Aguilara.
Eric Blair (ec334b) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:33 amLike I said, I’m not getting into it with you. figure it out.
Allow me to translate. TLove, in spite if being a “good lawyer” from a “top school”, is utterly incapable of engaging in rational debate. Perhaps that has something to do with his being unemployed.
Subotai (940564) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:34 amOh, I know, Eric. My only reason for disliking him is because of his race. It has nothing to do with the that that he is a dirty little socialist. Nothing to do with the fact that he wants to collect our medical information and have some government hack ration out procedures. Nothing to do with the fact that he put his opposition research pit bull in the White House Counsel’s office. Nothing to do with the fact that the $800,000,000,000 they plan on spending this week will be dwarfed by the $3,000,000,000,000+ they will request next week. Nothing to do with the fact that the taxpayers can expect $13 every 2 weeks in the form of “stimulus”. Nothing to do with the fact that he has run away from more campaign promises than one can count. Nothing to do with the fact that he is overtly politicizing the damn Census. It is just because of his race.
JD (3d2fbd) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:36 amI moved from California 2 decades ago – B-1 Bomber Bob Dornan was my congressman, kicked out by illegal aliens voting in Loretta Sanchez.
I haven’t regretted one day since. I have a much better job, and I don’t have to avoid desperate LAT salesmen trying to give away free papers at Vons.
steve miller (3381bc) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:38 amBeing serious here, JD, that is a problem—when everything a candidate does is viewed through the distorting prism of race. Why, during the election, wasn’t calling Obama “skinny” viewed as somehow racist?
That is why your own “racist!” accusations are funny, in a sad way.
I run into “underrepresented faculty of color” routinely who complain about how “racist” our society is, as they pull down a good salary, are respected as educators, and wear shoes more expensive than any part of my wardrobe, such as it is.
I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist. Of course it does (ask any middle aged Filipino how they feel about someone from Japan). But it has become hybridized with politics is a way that is very troubling.
But then, you know that. Sorry for stating the obvious.
Racist.
Eric Blair (ec334b) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:43 amI am waging my own personal crusade to make that word so overused so as to make it meaningless.
JD (3d2fbd) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:52 amAlright, alright, I denounce myself.
The Dana who is deeply ashamed of his previous comment (3e4784) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:53 amSo, I have to ask: is this California’s way of transferring their share of the Porkulus Plan straight into state coffers?
The Dana who is less than pleased with the Porkulus Bill (3e4784) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:55 amEric,
You can also say that about MANY middle aged Koreans. In fact, when my ex wife’s brothers were marrying Filipino brides, the brides’ families went through pictures of the grooms’ family. They always stopped at my adopted daughter’s picture and said menacingly, “Japanese?”. When they were told, no Korean, the answer was, “Oh, OK!” and quite happily given.
PCD (7fe637) — 2/12/2009 @ 8:57 amJames, I have a good, well-paying IT job in the Bay Area, which is enough to enable me to pay for law school as well as meet daily expenses. My friends are here, as is my husband, as is his family. One couple I know wants to move in the short term; a number of my coworkers have dreams of going back home to India or China some day (which I doubt will pan out). But other than the one couple, none of the people I know who are not immigrants have any plans or desire to move; we like it here, this is our home, and no matter how bad things get, the right thing for us to do is to work on fixing them, not fleeing.
[Besides which, as a married gay man, the number of places where I could go and feel welcomed into the community are limited; better, I think, to work to make California better than it is to go somewhere else.]
aphrael (9e8ccd) — 2/12/2009 @ 9:11 amaphrael – I would love to have you as a neighbor.
JD (3d2fbd) — 2/12/2009 @ 9:19 amPCD, when I was in graduate school (this was in the 80s), we had a Filipino janitor—always smiling, always great to chat with…he used to bring me lumpia that his wife made.
We hired a Japanese-American professor, and the janitor flat out refused to clean his office. Didn’t make a scene. Just refused.
After I found out what happened to the janitor as a boy during WWII, I understood, but it was still that nasty old “R” word. The professor’s family had been in America for three generations.
The good news is that it was worked out with the campus services people, and there was no trouble.
Perhaps we can agree, at least, that racism is not a uniquely American or white institution. I would argue, in fact, that racism and xenophobia are something that most cultures have in common.
Sadly.
Eric Blair (ec334b) — 2/12/2009 @ 9:20 amWrong, Eric. Only white conservative males can be racists. Period. End of story. Something about power, and Teh Patriarchy, and other such nonsense.
JD (3d2fbd) — 2/12/2009 @ 9:22 amWell, consider the history between Korea, the Philippines, and Japan, and it’s understandable.
The advantage America used to have, is we could always answer “No, American.”
LarryD (feb78b) — 2/12/2009 @ 9:27 amSo I am told on campus, JD. There are courses called “Whiteness” these days, you know. It sounds like a joke (and it isn’t taught where I am…yet).
But go check this out, particularly the entry for Ithaca College:
http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/4619
Do you think that there is…um…an agenda in that classroom?
Now, imagine courses with titles from a right-of-center perspective. They may exist, but there are many more of the courses from the link above.
Sigh
Eric Blair (ec334b) — 2/12/2009 @ 9:28 amFor those of you that did not click on Eric’s link, this is the synopsis of the course he referenced. The others in the list are every bit as bad.
7. “Whiteness and Multiculturalism” at Ithaca College.
Typically, this Politics course focuses on the severely underdeveloped “study” of a new academic field called Whiteness. The field dissects what it views as institutionalized racism and inherent privileges of being white. In courses like these, professors insist that if you are white, you are the enemy of minorities seeking an equal playing field. “Whiteness studies” are often racist, make excuses for any problems in minority communities by blaming whites, and demonize anyone who might have the audacity to think that racism isn’t as pervasive as the professor wants you to think.
According to the course syllabus, Professor Chip Gagnon will discuss the “invisibility that the power and privilege inherent in the category of white resides.” The course is meant to brainwash, and Gagnon seems to embrace this: “The course is meant to open up the way in which whites are conditioned to think (or not think) about their race, as well as the ways in which it conditions their relationship to nonwhites and to power and privilege.” That is, the course will make whites feel bad about what the professor feels are inherently racist views, and the course will tell students how they should think about race. Of course, this course is meant to target only white students and how they think, leading one to wonder how quickly it would be called racist if the syllabus suggested African-Americans need to be taught how to think differently.
(A side note: On Gagnon’s course website, he offers several links to whiteness sites he admires. One such site is the Center for the Study of White American Culture. Jeff Hitchcock, the co-founder of the group, attended the Third National Conference on Whiteness at the University of Chicago. While there, he issued a bold call for the erasure of “Whiteness” and the elimination of “White American culture.” Furthermore, required reading for the course includes an essay titled “The Point is not to Interpret Whiteness but to Abolish it” and a chapter titled “Evil White Nationalists I.” Again, imagine if he called for the erasure of “Blackness” and how the radical Left would respond to that!)
JD (3d2fbd) — 2/12/2009 @ 9:32 amJD
One wonders how we “Abolish Whiteness” without exterminating whites.
The Dana who is less than pleased with the Porkulus Bill (3e4784) — 2/12/2009 @ 10:17 amDag nab it, forgotted to change the descroption
The Dana who sometimes hits the "submit" button too soon. (3e4784) — 2/12/2009 @ 10:17 amDag nab it, forgotted to change the descroption
The Dana who sometimes hits the "submit" button too soon. (3e4784) — 2/12/2009 @ 10:17 amDana – Don’t go and ask uncomfortable and inconvenient questions like that.
JD (5ffaf3) — 2/12/2009 @ 10:37 amI am old, tired and hate the cold. But Wyoming is looking better every day.
Ken Hahn (a89f86) — 2/12/2009 @ 10:43 amMy wife and I are almost at the final straw point too. It seems that most people we know here in CA have a someday-to-be-executed-plan on leaving California. Like it’s a prison break. With too many and ever increasing numbers of taxes, crowds and illegals, the tipping point is coming for a lot of Californians.
eddieb (a0ee4c) — 2/12/2009 @ 11:47 amIt seems to me that people tend to get exactly what they deserve, and Californians are about to get what they deserve due to the choices they have taken. I’m not referring (just) to the chioces Californians took to elect Democrats, though that’s a minor part of it.
Rather, I’m pointing out that California has a huge illegal immigrant population, and that illegal immigrant population is there due to the choices Californians took: to not expel them, to not attempt to notify ICE about individuals there illegally when known, and, here’s the big one, to patronize the businesses which employ illegals..
How many of the Californians who read this site have purchased houses that were almost certainly built with at least some illegal immigrant labor? How many of the Califonians who read this have stopped thinking anything about the (probably) illegal immigrants fixing their morning coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, delivering their print edition of The Los Angeles Times, doing their landscaping work, running the service stations where you get gas, or working at the dry cleaners or the home improvement center?
Illegal immigrants come to the United States because we pay them to do so! So now, the very obvious question: as the Golden State is looking at needing an additional $14 billion in tax revenue, how much does California’s state government spend due to the presence of illegal immigrants?
If the munbers work out right, this could probably be resisted as the Illegal Immigration Tax, but that still doesn’t address the issue of people supporting illegal immigration by purchasing the goods and services produced by them.
The Dana who asks uncomfortable and inconvenient questions (3e4784) — 2/12/2009 @ 12:38 pmI suggest re-nicknaming California the Chalcopyrite State.
John Hitchcock (fb941d) — 2/12/2009 @ 12:47 pmAs a Colorado resident, I say NO to immigration from California! We have enough of you jerks here turning our state blue, we don’t need any more! Fix your mess THAT YOU CAUSED in California, then we can talk. Don’t come out here to repeat the pattern. PLEASE.
Andy (c8f54b) — 2/12/2009 @ 1:09 pmNO! Stay in California. IT SNOWS HERE 300 DAYS A YEAR. We have NO Infrastructure, what you saw during the DNC was like the former Soviet Union cleaning up for a Summit.
PLEASE, PLEASE, DON’T BRING CALIFORNIA TO COLORADO. YOU’LL WRECK ANOTHER STATE.
Haven’t you done enough already???
Dude from Denver (4c5fb7) — 2/12/2009 @ 1:34 pmDude, chill out already.
AD (d5182a) — 2/12/2009 @ 1:44 pmBTW, just how many GOP Reps do you have in the Greater-Denver area?
Perhaps Denver already suffers from excessive-Liberalism,
and the Californio’s should look towards more hospitable parts of your state
such as Colorado Springs, or Grand Junction?
Those libs would never enjoy springs. Something about that school of higher learning there. They aim high, you know.
John Hitchcock (fb941d) — 2/12/2009 @ 1:50 pmNO NO NO PLEASE NO. Too many have moved here already and are screwing things up. We don’t want or need any more of them. Guess we’ll have to arm the state borders to keep them out. Shheeeeeesshh
Mark Crawford (c10002) — 2/12/2009 @ 6:17 pmOh My God. the thought I just had, a surfer skiing, looks downhill, says, Duuuuuudde
Mark Crawford (c10002) — 2/12/2009 @ 6:29 pmCracks me up how many of us from Colorado have posted to say “Stay away, you’ve done enough to us already!”
Andy (60870b) — 2/12/2009 @ 7:04 pmAnother $14 billion? SHI’ITE!
There goes my $13/wk bonus from Barry.
Patricia (89cb84) — 2/12/2009 @ 7:15 pm[…] California’s $14 billion tax increase. (Hat TIp: Patterico.) […]
F3 Coalition - [Faith. Family. Freedom.] » Blog Archive » The Man Who Knew Too Little and Did Too Much (f33f51) — 2/13/2009 @ 10:08 pm[…] California’s $14 billion tax increase. (Hat TIp: Patterico.) […]
The Man Who Knew Too Little and Did Too Much - adamsweb’s blog - RedState (796605) — 2/13/2009 @ 10:18 pmI have lived in California my whole life moving only once for about a year to hawaii. I now have been out of california stationed all over the country and world serving in the Army as a medic. Each year I pay taxes to California although I don’t live there and each year I get like 25 bucks back, am I complaining…no…I personally do not care about getting money back. It’s the fact that the money that I DO put in, isn’t going to the schools and libraries like it should, It’s going to the damned prisons. I for one can’t wait to see them cut 40% of the prison pop. I’m 24 with 2 kids and a wife and I WAS planing on moving back to the bay area. Now that may change.
Odell (53564e) — 2/16/2009 @ 10:29 pm“Oh My God. the thought I just had, a surfer skiing, looks downhill, says, Duuuuuudde”
As far as all of you from Colorado keep talking about, first off, I have snowboarded my whole life at Northstar and the like in Tahoe. about 2 to 3 hour drive from my house (in california). I have family that lives in Colorado springs. What i don’t get is why you have such negativity about us moving out there, the ones who DO move out there are usually the smarter ones. ALSO…i do surf because i live out here in Hawaii right now and i love it as a hobby….i never say duuuuuudde. That crap is from southern california and im sure other states have the same kind of people there too.
Odell (53564e) — 2/16/2009 @ 10:34 pmDon’t forget the .63cent per pack on cig’s. I thought votes turned down a tax increase already. Yeah right, apparently our states government does what they please. Next is alchol tax increases. Instead of tightening the fat cat belts up at the states captial, they are going to tax the heck out of the people that are running out of money because, why, they lost their jobs. This whole situation reminds me of medievil times. The kings “politicans” get rich and the people go BROKE. I have one real solution to this. REVOLUTION!!!!!
Deborah Bruce (72100a) — 3/10/2009 @ 11:47 am