The Micawber principle

drtaxsacto.blogspot.com
The National Conference of State Legislatures released a report on state revenues and expenditures for the current fiscal year. Last year revenues surged by 7.7% - that is a pretty healthy rise. With an underlying inflation rate less than one third of that that should mean good things. But there is a cloud in that silver lining. Expenditures rose 8.4%. Next year expenditures are expected to grow by a bit less 7.6%.

In California the surge in revenues came as a result of a system which relies heavily on capital source income taxes - capital gains and options contributed heavily to the surge in revenues this year - including one set of payments from Google employees that amounted to more than $400 million.

Legislators should remember the advice of Micawber in David Copperfield - his principle was a simple one “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

Except in this case, the misery goes to the taxpayer.

The governor vs. Muslims

www.flashreport.com
When he attended a rally in Los Angeles last month in support of Israel, Governor Schwarzenegger was making a moral statement. Israel is a sovereign, democratic nation that is an ally of the United States. ...

The governor has a long history of friendship with Israel, and he was defending his friend as she withstood the kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldiers and an arsenal of stockpiled weapons from Iran, which is an avowed enemy of Israel.

Because no good deed toward the democratic country of Israel ever goes unpunished by terrorist-supporting Islamic dictatorships, the governor now faces a full-court media campaign being waged against him by certain Muslim leaders in California who are irked that he didn’t express sympathies for Hezbollah. ...

“Muslim leaders on Tuesday called Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger disrespectful and insulting for ignoring their request to meet about the war in Lebanon so he could explain his appearance at a rally supporting Israel that was attended by thousands.” (Los Angeles Times, Aug. 16)

I write today to implore Governor Schwarzenegger to stand firm. ... Unless or until the Muslim leadership that currently harangues Governor Schwarzenegger announces publicly their unyielding allegiance to democracy, sovereignty and security (not to mention, freedom of religion), there can be no meeting. For there is no moral equivalence. And there is nothing else that a democratically elected member of public office should hold in higher regard.

Oakland Military Institute

rightontheleftcoast.blogspot.com
Jerry Brown, former Governor Moonbeam and current mayor of Oakland, California, was able to create the Oakland Military Institute on the site of the former Oakland Army Depot. It started as a military-style junior high, each year adding another grade until now it’s a full-fledged secondary school.

And some people don’t like it. See, they don’t celebrate enough “diversity” to “tolerate” one military-style school in a city of hundreds of thousands of people. ...

Here are Oakland Unified’s testing results for this past spring. Here are OMI’s results. ... Neither is stellar, but if OMI isn’t costing any more per student and is getting results at least as good as other schools in the area, what reason other than anti-military bias could there be for wanting to shut it down? ...

It goes without saying that I support this school. I support school choice, I support discipline in schools, I support a military lifestyle for those who choose it. It was suggested that I apply for the Commandant position at that school once, so it's quite clear I’m a big fan.

I hope Mayor Brown – and the students and families that make up the Oakland Military Institute – win this one.

Summer reading in Crawford

www.theleftcoaster.com
According to Dan Froomkin: “White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday that Bush, here on his Texas ranch enjoying a 10-day vacation from Washington, had made quick work of the Algerian-born writer’s 1946 novel – in English.”

The latest hagiography about how Bush enjoyed reading Albert Camus’ The Stranger reminded me of a chapter in one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4. In Adrian’s diary, he is convinced that what makes him special is that he is an intellectual. So one Saturday he goes to the library to check out some books, including Tolstoy’s War and Peace. The next day’s diary entry was: “Finished War and Peace. It was quite good.”

So perhaps we ask Bush to give a review of his intellectual read?

Two years old

johnl.vox.com
I saw a video of Diane Sawyer and her male counterpart Mr. Whatshisname “interviewing” a two-year-old golf phenom. I don’t begrudge the kid his fun, but I have wonder for whom is it more fun? The kid? The parents? Certainly not me. ... Let the kid be a kid, people.

Good, bad and ugly

www.sacramentoexecutive.com
The midtown area, just east of downtown, contains many of the city's best restaurants and quirkiest shops. Good

Downtown, pedestrians-only K Street Mall has a persistent panhandling problem. Bad
An infusion of upscale, popular restaurants, nightclubs, and breweries is nevertheless energizing the downtown scene. Good ...

Genteel Victorian edifices sit side by side with art deco and postmodern skyscrapers. Good

Though cheap-looking apartment buildings abound in midtown, and stuccoed suburbs are obliterating a lot of the greater metro area’s rural charm. Bad

I think that’s pretty fair - K Street Mall is an eyesore, no matter how we pretend it’s not, and there are some monstrosity apartment buildings in midtown.