California lawmakers pass single-payer…as state heads towards bankruptcy again
I noted the California Senate Appropriations Committee’s plans last week to push a single-payer program through the legislature.
Showing their impeccable timing, the progressives approved the bill in the Senate yesterday at a cost of $200 billion a year…just as the state controller announced that California is set to run out of cash again in April:
State Controller John Chiang issued a stern warning Friday about California’s cash reserves, telling legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger they must act on nearly $9 billion in budget cuts the governor is seeking by March — or the state will run out of cash to pay its bills.
Without making those cuts — which Chiang says will pump $1.3 billion into the state’s checking account — California would be broke by April 1, no fooling.
The state wouldn’t climb back to what’s considered a safe level of cash on hand, $2.5 billion, until later that month, when tax revenues are expected to begin flowing into Sacramento.
“While our current cash condition is marginally better than it was one year ago,” Chiang wrote to leaders, “it is still precarious.”
Even with the budget cuts, the state’s cash reserve would still be far below that cushion in March and April.
To that end, Chiang is calling for an additional $2 billion in cash-flow “solutions.” Looking at previous cash crunches, that could mean some payments, like income tax refunds, would be delayed for a few weeks to keep the cushion intact.
Who do you think is going to end up bailing California out?
The Golden State is racked with 12.3 percent unemployment and a budget shortfall of $20 billion, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) warned Friday of even deeper cuts to programs without $6.9 billion in new federal funds. In unveiling an austere budget proposal, he went a giant step further with the age-old state gripe about unequal distribution of federal dollars — actually writing the federal funds in as a budget stopgap.
Some administration officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill were skeptical that the federal government would provide a bailout to close California’s budget gap, partly because it would set off a cascade of demands from other states.
Been there, doing that…
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Categories: Arnold Schwarzenegger,Health care
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CA is like a bankrupt person who still has some unused credit cards. We’re going bankrupt anyway so why not spend everything before we file?
Can Bankruptcy Judges order new elections?
BTW, the “bipartisan” reach out that Obama is staging today makes a lot of sense except for one thing: our side is being led by John McCain. Suddenly, our side is scarier than theirs.
Unbelieveable.
we should be the model that proves liberal policies don’t work. But tragically, we seem to be the role model for the country.
A 7.0 earthquake is cheaper!
A lot of people rack up the credit cards just prior to declaring bankruptcy.
I see no reason why a sovereign state can’t do the same.
Johnny Cash: “And it burns, burns, burns! That ring of fire! That ring of fire!”
But not San Diego-I have a fishing trip scheduled.
Gee, why bother legalizing pot, if you wont have any money to buy it?
Meanwhile, back at RNC headquarters…….
Michael and the boys remain thoroughly dumbfounded over the refusal of the Tea Party Movement and Conservative Independents to embrace the Republican Party.
STUCK ON STUPID! ! !
If the quake big enough you will have beachfront property and be able to take up surf fishing in your front yard.
yes indeed let’s bring out those earthquake weapons Chavez seems to think we have…once it falls into the sea the reconquistas can have it as their little mystical island of atzland…just sayin…
No matter how you slice it, this isn’t going to go well. My condolences to family and friends still there, but you cannot buck the tide of liberalism mixed with a growing population of 3rd worlders all wanting their piece to be paid for by somebody else.
Hint: Our Federal gubmint is broke. You’ll have to ask somebody else to clean your skinned knee and apply the bandaid.
I’m watching Obama making his proposal on Bloomberg and it struck me that what he is saying makes sense. The problem is that most of the differences he addressing are inter-party sticking points among the Democrats themselves. It seems to me that the Gangs of McCain are again going to be providing cover for the Dem agenda. Whether it’s nuclear power, clean coal, or other “conservative” point, Obama has already stepped beyond what the RINOs were willing to fight for. Obama is actually more right of center than our side at the moment, not on the rhetorical side, but on the “OK, let’s do it now” side. He has boxed the US (conservatives) in because we have failed to resolve our leadership problem.
Listen very carefully to what McCain and his crowd say later today. I fear what is going to come out of this. I just don’t trust “our side”. They are under the same pressure from the same interests to deliver a deal before they are all booted out of office in November. This is essentially a lame duck year for Congress.
PLEASE MICHELLE, stop calling these wretches “progressives,” they’re stinking, rotten, disgusting LIBERALS!
Let’s see… my account is empty, but I’ll keep writing bigger and bigger checks.
How can they be so oblivious? How long are people going to accept Kalifornikation’s IOUs?
The light needs to be shined on this lunacy to bring the house of cards down as soon as possible, so the damage can stop spreading!
Pasadena Phil
I’m so disgusted with the “Republocrats” (skip the term RINO, it doesn’t apply to these fools). They make as much fun of the Tea Party movement as they do the term “conservatives” and there isn’t a dimes worth of difference between them and the Dems.
This shows why we need to VOTE DEMOCRATS OUT of all LOCAL, STATE, and FEDERAL offices!
This single payer health bill is being led by CA State Senator Mark Leno.
Mark Leno began his political career on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors….nuf said!
http://dist03.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={7613C7A6-5517-4A69-BCFA-CF29F5F79636}
clark smith
Google is your friend. Type in “progressives” and see just what comes up. It isn’t pretty and has nothing to do with being liberal.
Everyone may hate Ahnold, but his veto pen’s the only thing standing athwart the legislature and CA’s economic Armageddon.
If these people ran a business they way they run their government, they’d be going to jail!
Un-Friggin’-Believable!
clark smith,
I you would watch Glenn Beck on Fox you would see the difference between a lib and a progressive. He will be talking about it on his show tonight. There are progressive members in the r’s and l’s in dc and this bho is one of the worse.
L
Money — where it comes from, how it’s made, how it’s managed — means nothing to liberals in government. That is why the California legislature can pass single-payer socialized healthcare while paying its bills with IOUs. Don’t bother them with “details,” they’re too busy doing The People’s Work.
The money will come later, from the Money Fairy, or the Money Tree, or that bottomless pool of money also known as “The American Taxpayer.”
#23 s/b If not I
L
You know they’re going to put this bailout on the US Taxpayer, ‘To Big To Fail’ and all that. As a precondition for any bailout, ‘WE” should demand resignations from The Governor and ALL State Legislators and Department heads. For their last act they will call for a new election of all offices in a nationwide election. From then on Kalifornia will be a US Possession with the same rights and representation as The US Virgin Islands and Guam.
Quick question.
What happens to all of those on the CA single payer health plan when the state goes bankrupt? Does the patient get billed directly by the doctor/hospital, do they continue to bill the state and hope to settle the debt in court, do they turn non-emergency patients away due to lack of credible coverage, will the state next try to tell doctors that they have to accept the single payer coverage and if so what will keep the doctors from just leaving the state?
If I lived in California I would want to know the answers to these questions.
The Socialist Republic of Mexifornia…breathtaking stupidity!
the ray of sunshine behind these clouds is that california WILL go broke, at which time the state workers are going to be hosed. SOONER OR LATER SOCIALISTS RUN OUT OF OTHER PEOPLES MONEY.
What are they talking about, anyway? We don’t have anything in place that supports an infrastructure for “single-payer’, let alone the money for it.
I think this was a symbolic vote. Nothing more. I’ve got my coverage and nobody is going to take that way from me.
The “single payer” of our state Medi-Cal is already in place.
Our lawmakers in California are Idiots.
California lives by the, “what do you mean I don’t have any money? I still have checks left in the check book”, mantra.
How in the hell do you bankrupt a state that grows more food than any other state, has thousands of miles of beachfront land, basks in perfect weather, produces and refines oil, and is home to Silicon Valley and the biggest movie industry in the world? There are more wealthy people in California than in the rest of the country. They pay tons in taxes, and yet the idiotic liberals managed to bring this state that should be a golden dream to bankrupcy. I would love to live in that state with all of its natural beauty and yet they’ve managed to turn it into a nightmare.
HAHAHAHA. “Progressives” are progressing rapidly towards destruction. These kooks will demonstrate the folly of socialism once and for all. The devolution of a society. Charlie Manson should be pleased. Yowza yowza yowza….
Get your popcorn. This should be fun to watch.
My question also. My guess is when a patient presents his CA insurance card, the doctor/clinic/hospital will require some other assurance of payment. The state can not possibly meet this responsibility.
The difference here is that CA can’t simply borrow or print more cash like Obama & Co. When it’s gone, it’s gone.
My friend runs a cash only clinic and is happy.
Well, most California lawmakers are morally and ethically bankrupt. Might as well shoot for the trifecta.
Actually, this is the way it is supposed to be. It is a state’s right to set up these type programs. It is not the right of the federal government.
If California fails, it fails. If the federal government fails, we all fail.
*My hope is that California will bleed out soon so that the rest of the states will take notice; It has been the crucible for progressive policies, so it is important we slow down and gawk at this train wreck and say, “not us”.
This is representative of the special kind of crazy that is the California psychosis. The state has no money, but the idiots in the Legislature can find even more ways to spend tax revenue they don’t have. I made this comment at a Bay Area news site blog and got blasted. The Libs insist that this bill will save money in the long run. Why? Because a Democrat legislator told them so.
“OPTIMISM, n. The doctrine, or belief, that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly, everything good, especially the bad, and everything right that is wrong. It is held with greatest tenacity by those most accustomed to the mischance of falling into adversity, and is most acceptably expounded with the grin that apes a smile. Being a blind faith, it is inaccessible to the light of disproof –an intellectual disorder, yielding to no treatment but death. It is hereditary, but fortunately not contagious.” Ambrose Bierce
Nothing is surprising here in California anymore.
Many of the California legislature themselves are either ILLEGALS themselves or the kids of illegal parents.
Most of these fools skipped High School Math, and can not add or subtract numbers larger than 100. These parasites are living off public money and having good life sponsored by the lobbyists.
This is a WARNING to the entire Nation:
If Barack, the magic Negro, succeeds in his radical agenda, California model will be instituted across the Nation.
I have a DREAM, that
California runs out of money before April 2010, and
the fools in Sacramento keep piling on every imaginable stupidity, and
the State defaults before November 2010 elections.
That way the Nation gets a loud wake-up call and beat the crap out of all the incumbents.
We need some more tea parties.
Also, if you live in CA, sign the petition to make the legislature a part time one so they have less time to make mischief.
You’re making a mountain out of a molehill, Michelle.
There’s always parking.
Wow – what’s needed here is a graphic artist who can create an ostrich with his head in the sand.
No!
This is a ploy by the socialists in the CA legislature. If Arnold passes it, they’re happy. If he doesn’t, they demagogue the issue and say that Republicans hate “the little guy.” Even if Arnold explains in the State of the State address that this will drive us (Yes, us. I live in the People’s Socialist Quagmire of CA) further into debt.
This is a win-win for socialism.
I’d puke but my stomach is empty; I have very little money for food. Obrainless and the CA socialists have stolen it.
As foolish as I believe single-payer is and as anathema to freedom as it is I have no problem with CA exercising its 10th Amendment rights to enact this type of legislation. If I were a CA resident I would be leaving for a freer state asap.
The Founders intended the states to be, as Louis Brandeis said, “laboratories of democracy” each with the freedom to succeed or fail on its own terms and unable to drag the entire nation down with them. The beautiful thing about Federalism is that the freedom of movement that can be exercised by American citizens usually prevents a state’s legislature from punishing a state’s residents through excess taxation or regulation. If a person decides the state has become too hostile they can leave. If enough producers leave the state will collapse under the weight of the moochers that are left behind.
Unfortunately escape from federal legislation is impossible without leaving the country and how realistic is that option for most of us?
I say let CA fail and the idiot Leftists that populate the once Golden State can suffer under their self-imposed Dystopia.
i would agree with you except for the fact that CA, and other states, keep asking for other states to pay for these programs by begging the Federal government for handouts.
Once again, this is confirmation I made a wise decision in 2003 to leave the no longer Golden State far, far, far in my rearview mirror. Said confirmations are coming with increasing frequency as each year passes.
It started snowing here this afternoon in the mountains of western NC. Hard enough that we were cut loose at work at 3 PM. I spent a couple hours shovelling the driveway so we can navigate over the weekend. No problem. There is absolutely nothing that would ever convince me that California’s weather is worth all the bs you have to put up with to get it.
And that, ladies and gents, is all it has going for it nowadays. The rest has gone to hell in a handbag.
In expectation of the looming exodus…
I want the border fence, (yes, the Oregon-California one), and I want it yesterday.
Idiots.
California voters will get ALL OVER their states’ legislators for this.
As long as we are discussing nonexistent border fences, I think we need one on the Sierra, North South just west of Carson City.
As others have said in many different ways; as CA goes, so goes the nation. I’m finally convinced there is no hope until a major event, like bankruptsy, will change most of the minds there.
I’ve said over the years that there is life outside of CA.. When you leave though, leave your politics, your environmentalism ideas, and your wishlists for social programs and services behind. Promise me you won’t vote for the first year in your new home. I didn’t and trusted my instinct that you cannot vote intelligently until you learn the issues and it’s ramifications on that state and it’s breadwinners, down the road.
Please. The majority of the people here are so unprepared that, of the people that survive, very few will have the resources to survive. And the gangs/Democrats will be looting like it’s 1992.
Question: do I have to take their clothes off after I shoot them/before I bury them in the garden in order for them to properly fertilize my tomatoes?/humor off
I am not sure where PSRK will be getting their funding for the Socialista Medicine Program.
Since my hubby died, that’s one less taxpayer. And then there are the businesses having trouble just staying open. And the falling Tax Revenues. And more people on UE/Welfare/SocSec/Medicare. And hospitals going out of business. Doctors and nurses leaving the state. Doctors refusing Medicare and even some insurance.
They gotta quit passing the weed and crack pipes out to lawmakers.
And Leno’s gotta go. Period. And not to Wash DC. Preferably to, um, someplace hot.
Sweet Dreams, Sweet Prince. I shall be dreaming of that fence between California and America.
Sign I saw in Seattle: Seattle-only 20 minutes from America in any direction.
Interesting number, $200 billion cost for single payer health care for a population of roughly 37 million.
Yet for a population of 350 million, the left tells us it will cost
$800 billion$900 billion$1.2 trillion?Gee, would the left lie to us?
Yes. They’re lawyers…and have no math skills.
Yes, and you will need to cultivate frequently.
Until, of course, billing time.
Joe Friday: What seems to be the problem maam?
Distraught woman: They’re all nuts! They’re going to destroy us! Run for your life!!
Joe Friday: Stay calm. Just the facts maam. Let me see if I’ve got this straight…
1. The state of CA has the seventh largest economy on the planet! And…
2. The State of CA has among the highest corporate and professional tax rates on the planet. Yet…
3. The State of CA is $30 Bil in the red and is only staying afloat by federal assistance and loans. And…
4. The State of CA will be completely out of money in 3 months. So…
5. The State of CA passed a universal healthcare bill that a) has been proven NOT to work and b) will cost $200 Bil/year that they don’t have.
Now is that about it?
Distraught woman: Yes officer.
Joe Friday: You’re right maam, run for your life!!
Joe Friday schools Obama
California adopts Cuban Health Care. You’ll all be able to share the 1 aspirin.
If you are already broke, how does any rational person support this?
Never mind, it’s CA….
CAs salavation may be going broke so it can declare bankruptcy and walk away from the public union pension, pay and benefits fiascos, toss in eliminating an entitlement here and there, let some infrastructure fall into the ocean, then throw in some temporary loans from Uncle Sam and start over again.
Not at all, create a crisis and raise taxes.
Please, Lawyers over bill more than any single industry, but of course they know exactly what they are doing.
Actually, I don’t think it’s a problem with the Democrats. It’s a basic problem with Politicians. Vote all professional politicians out of office.
In the hole 9 billion so they spend 200 billion? An eighth grader makes better decisions than these guys. And remember the old saw. California leads the nation. To hell in a hand basket this time.
We can’t be out of money! I still have CHECKS LEFT!
Wow.
There can’t possibly be enough lifeboats to get everyone off of the sinking ship that is California.
No one’s even trying to stop the flow!
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
I wonder if anyone’s done the calculus of how much California alone would save across the board if illegal aliens were immediately identified and deported and replaced by able-bodied people on public relief/welfare (yes, REQUIRE them to do such!). They (We) need “kamakazi” politicans who’d boldly intitate such right steps to save this country without regard for 2nd terms.
James Greenidge
Queens New York
Unfortunately there are so many parasites living in the formerly Golden State that those of us who vote for common sense are generally swamped by the “gimme gimme” votes. I have wanted out of this hellhole for thirty-five years. To me “environmentalism” is a four-letter word. Our legislators live in an alternate universe apparently populated by Washington DC types who never learned anything about how to put together a budget, and to whom the citizens of the state (at least those of us with a paying job) are one big ATM machine.
The minute they insist that I give up my health plan, I am leaving, whether the house is sold or not. I’m sure there are plenty of illegals who would love to occupy it in our stead. Let the state enroll them. I’m sure they will do it proud.