It's like deja vu, all over again

"Hey, fellas... Prop. 1A passed, afterall!"



After reading through the provisions of the budget deal worked out by Sacto’s Big 5, it seemed like they were in very much the same spirit of smoke and mirrors, shell games and robbing Peter to pay Paul provisions contained in Prop. 1A that got nuked by the voters of California just a couple of months back.

We especially like the part where $6 billion will be cut from the school’s (boo!) but will be repaid $11 billion (yaah!) once the economy turns around… which is just around the corner, dontcha know?

This budget deal will raise $4 bil in part, by accelerating personal and corporate income tax withholdings and increasing income tax withholding schedules by 10 percent. We’re not exactly sure what that means but anytime you use “accelerate” and “tax” in the same sentence, it’s a solid bet that it’s not good news for you.

And as far as those guys pictured? Were not reflexively opposed by any means to taking a round turn on the prison system with respect to who really should and shouldn’t be locked up, it just seems that making it part of the 11th-hour wheeling and dealing on closing a budget gap is entirely the wrong forum for any sort of prison reform. Bank on it: someone is going to be released who shouldn’t and someone else is going to pay dearly for it.

Now, don't you feel like your voted counted back in May?