Tuesday, April 19, 2011

We suppose this would be one way to close the deficit




We're almost positive the following has neglected to mention some sort of detail that would justify exactly why this is, but generally speaking, we think this is a pretty good leading indicator of the level of seriousness our state elders possess when it comes to getting California's house in order.

On a straight party-line vote California lawmakers gave the green light for welfare recipients to purchase alcohol and tobacco products using taxpayer money. The insanity in the Golden State continues despite the state’s $23 billion deficit and double-digit unemployment.

Recently California changed the way it disperses food stamps. In an effort to take the stigma away from food stamps the state issues welfare beneficiaries with an Electronic Benefits Card which look and work like an ATM card.

The Golden State doles out welfare benefits through the CalWORKS program. In the past welfare recipients were not allowed to buy beer and cigarettes, but compassionate state lawmakers decided it wasn’t fair to stop TAXPAYER money from being used to subsidize non-essential bad habits.

“You would think a simple common sense reform like trying to make sure taxpayer money is not used for the purchase of alcohol and tobacco would find bi-partisan support,” said GOP State Senator Bob Dutton.

Mr. Dutton should know better than to use "common sense" when referencing Sacramento politics.

California shells out $100 million a year to the 600,000 families that are on the dole. But far from lunacy as the primary motivating factor in allowing the poor and/or unemployed to get likker'd-up, we think it may be sheer pragmatism as the Sacramento pols hope to get as much of that money back in the form of revenue from the heavily-taxed tobacco and alcohol products that are sold as a result of this.


Creating a businees-friendly climate? Easing back on excessive regulation? Uh-uh, that's just not the Cali way, man.

Closing the state budget deficit via alcoholism and lung cancer inflicted upon the poor.


Now we're talkin'!

3 comments:

B-Daddy said...

Now there's some lefty compassion, as usual. Notice how lefty policies almost always hurt the poor. Welfare is a trap, racial quotas breed racial resentment to give two examples.

Harrison said...

Dude this state is SO SCREWED UP! I can't believe that.

SarahB said...

People are going balistic over this on FB...add the new 8 week vacations for prison guards and Brown may have actually woken the too-cool-for-school California taxpayers out of their indifference.