Pigs at the Trough
Ever wonder how big your state government is? Well if you live in California, you can find out thanks to Maggie’s Farm listing of California’s state agencies. Also, check out those of MA and WV in the comments. California isn’t the only bloated state in the union. For the accounting freaks, there’s an Excel list here.
California is running a projected budget deficit of $25 billion. Unlike our federal government, California can’t ignore its deficit or inflate it away; it has to deal with it. Tax increases are inevitable but should only occur with drastic cutbacks in the state budget.
According to the list there are 518 agencies in California. What’s the budget for the California Registrar of Charitable Trusts? Why does Cali need such an entity when the IRS exists? Or how about the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service? Could we live without it for a year or two? Would citizens of California miss having to put off being mediated and conciliated until the state could afford such a department? Or take the California Political Reform Division. Given the lack of any meaningful reform in the state since Proposition 13 shouldn’t these people do the honorable thing and commit suicide resign their posts immediately?
Of course the California state legislators. abetted by the state employees, will ignore these programs and threaten to release criminals and furlough firemen and police to scare Californians into swallowing tax increases without cuts to the size of the state government. They will also completely ignore the 9,000 state retirees who receive more than $100,000/year from the state of California and suck up over a billion dollars a year. That’s the equivalent of hitting a $2.2 million lottery and taking the payout as an annuity over 30 years, but the odds are much better by becoming a state employee. There’s even a database that tracks these lucky winners.
cjnorris:
The link to the Excel list appears to be broke.
8 November 2010, 10:14 pmScott Kirwin:
CJ
8 November 2010, 10:47 pmThanks. Fixed it.
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