March 28, 2007
Senate Democrats unveil fiscally irresponsible budget
Senate Democrats unveiled their proposed budget today, calling it "Security for Washington's future"
Sen. Joe Zarelli, ranking Republican on the Senate budget committee, points out that spending outpaces revenue by $1.3 billion, due to new programs, and that the nearly 15% growth in spending is double the revenue growth.
Rep. Gary Alexander, ranking Republican on the House budget committee, observes that the Senate budget offers slightly less spending than the House budget, but based on prior experience, expects the compromise budget to be larger still.
Security for somebody's future, maybe, but not for the shnooks who get stuck with the check.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at March 28, 2007
09:08 PM | Email This
1. Um, did anyone really expect anything different? I mean, we didn't really expect the Dem's to be fiscally responsible in any way shape or form, did we?
Dino...... Diiiiino....... DIIIIIINNNNNOOOOOOO!
2. The biggest challenge for the R's is put this in a format where the average apathetic schmoe can understand the impact of this on his/her future. Where the apathetic schmoe will become outraged.
Where the apathetic schmoe will actually vote against the D's who propose this.
It's a huge challenge.
Simply stating what Zarelli & Alexander have said does not get the job done.
How about publishing names salaries, benefits & paid time off of all State Employees???
Show each State Employees TOTAL compensation package...
Start with the thousands who make for $100,000 in Salary, Benefits and Paid Time-off.....
Do not forget the value of Vacation & Sick Leave.
Us self-employed schmoes don't get any sick leave or paid time-off.
I guarantee setting up a website with this info and e-mailing around the State will create a maelstrom that will outrage the average schmoe.
Get "R Done!!!
3. Mr. Cynical: You don't understand - those benefits for state employees are NOT compensation, they are QueenGivenRights!
Now, please don't shoot me, but my wife sucks at the public trough, working at a large state run facility. She works 3 days a week, and gets FULL TIME BENEFITS! Medical/Dental/Vision for the ENTIRE FAMILY for less than $100 per month! Now, she is a union member, but wouldn't be if she had the choice.
Do you think for one second that the fools working for the state think that PTO, benefits, etc, are part of their SALARY?
Lastly, since each state employee is a state employee, their wages and salary are public record, so the info's out there.
Cheers.
4. One of my social groups got 100k of pork. I don't know if I should be happy or upset at the rest of the port.
That seems to be the problem with electeds. If I get a little pork, then I feel I want to vote for a flawed budget.
5. Note the usual serving of budget with "jam" in the Senate. A 486-page, $57 billion budget released at noon yesterday, a mockery of a public hearing the same day, scheduled to be voted out of the Ways and Means Committee today, and probably off the floor tomorrow. What a joke.
6. The budget mess at the state level and at the national level is a total joke. We, as a society have lost the ability to distinguish between needs and wants. There are certain basic needs for any functioning civil society, but items of pork at both levels of government are often wants
given to supporters to make them want to elect increasingly inferior candidates. It is hard to call many of them public servants any more because increasingly they serve narrower and narrower interests of self and specific lobbies. For this increasingly larger and larger cost we are treated to a system of education that ill prepares most students and creates an ideology of dependence in the most deprived of society. As an aside, anyone watch Jay Leno's Jaywalking segements? He asks people simple questions like who is Betsy Ross or Nancy Pelosi. The ignorance of the general public is stunning. We need more public servants of the Brian Sonntag variety and I don't care what their party label is. Until then, it is the irresponsibility with dollars like a drunken sailor on shore leave with alcohol until the next downturn in the economy.
7. Gotta spend it all, or ou can't come back for more!
8. The dimwits who vote for the Democrats are getting what they wanted, higher taxes, more feel-good programs, & greater numbers of state employees. They never met a tax they didn't like but they want to pay for it with OPM (Other People's Money).
It is unconscionable to increase the state budget at a far higher rate than the increase in income or population. What is going to happen when the next economic downturn occurs, as it inevitable will? Where is the Rainy Day Fund & how much is in it?
I'd be interested in seeing someone start an initiative to force the Legislature to eliminate a state funded program of equal amount to any increase in the state budget. Eventually the budget might reflect what the state needs instead of what the Legislature thinks it should have.