Who is up for six California's?

One is too many...

Via San Jose Mercury News

[...] Draper, who has shelled out $4.9 million on his oft-mocked and maligned campaign, announced he’ll submit petition signatures for the measure Tuesday and hold a news conference in Sacramento.
“California needs a reboot,” said a news release issued Monday by his committee. “Six Californias is our opportunity to solve the many problems we face today. … Six states that are more representative and accountable. Six states that embrace innovation and strive to improve the lives of residents.”
The measure would split California into six states, each with its own government; much of the Bay Area, plus Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, would become the state of Silicon Valley. California’s northernmost parts would become Jefferson, as some counties up there have wanted for years; some North Bay counties would become part of North California; Stockton, Fresno and Bakersfield would be among Central California’s largest cities; Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara would wind up in West California; and San Diego would anchor South California.

Heroes: Nine states move to protect gun ownership...

The number should be 50...

Via Fox News:

States across the country are trying to protect gun ownership from the long arm of Washington by proposing bills declaring that firearms made and kept within their borders are not subject to federal restrictions.

Nine states have proposed such legislation since President Obama and fellow Democrats in the Senate began trying to tighten federal gun laws in the wake of several mass shootings that occurred within months of each other.

“There’s a lot of momentum,” Montana activist Gary Marbut told FoxNews.com on Monday.

Marbut was behind the original Firearms Freedom Act, which says the Commerce Clause allowing Congress to regulate inter-state commerce does not apply to the in-state manufacturing, selling and ownership of firearms. Montana passed the bill in 2009.
Since then, a host of other states have tried to pass copycat legislation. Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Washington have proposed such legislation since January — following the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting in which 20 first-graders and six adults were killed inside a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.

Keep on reading…

Payback: Six gun companies now refusing to sell to government agencies in anti-gun states...

When the number reaches 100%, they may get the gun banners attention...

Via Breitbart:

Six gun companies have announced plans to stop selling any of their products to any government agency in states that severely limit the rights of private gun ownership.

Disappointed with New York State lawmakers and other jurisdictions around the country who have passed strict gun control legislation, the companies—composed of firearm manufacturers, gunsmiths, and sporting goods retailers—have announced these policies in the past week.

Their various statements emphasize that such laws create a class of government employees with rights and and a class of citizens without rights. Thus, they refuse to aid the enforcement of such inequality.

Unemployment rose in 9 battleground states in July

President Obama's re-election chances hardest hit...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates rose in 44 U.S. states in July, the most states to show a monthly increase in more than three years and a reflection of weak hiring nationwide.

The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates fell in only two states and were unchanged in four.

Unemployment rates rose in nine states that are considered battlegrounds in the presidential election. That trend, if it continued, could pose a threat to President Barack Obama’s re-election bid in less than three months.

Poll: Romney gaining in battleground states

The Paul Ryan effect?

Via The Hill:

According to Purple, Romney leads Obama 47 percent to 46 in those 12 states. That’s a swing of 3 percentage points from the same poll in July, when Obama led 47 percent to 45.

Romney leads Obama by 48 percent to 47 in Florida, but the same poll showed Obama trailing there by 3 percent last month.

Romney leads 48 percent to 46 in Ohio, after trailing 48 to 45 percent last month, and in Virginia, the poll showed Romney leading 48 percent to 45, after he trailed by 2 percent in July.

Obama widened his lead in Colorado to 49 to 46 percent, after leading by 1 percent last month.

Romney is buoyed in the poll by independents, who favor him by 11 points over Obama. Romney led by 5 points among independents in the same poll from July.

Gallop Swing States: Romney 48%, Obama 47%

This is the only reason any conservative would consider voting for Mitt Romney.

Screen Capture Via Gallop:

Obama vs. Gingrich- Obama 54%, Gingrich 40%
Obama vs. Paul- Obama 50%, Paul 43%
Obama vs. Santorum- Obama 51%, Santorum 44%

Shocker: States are in debt for $4.2 trillion

States are drowning in debt. Much of it is due to unfunded pension liabilities caused by aggressive public employee unions..

(CNBC) — The total of U.S. state debt, including pension liabilities, could surpass $4 trillion, with California owing the most and Vermont owing the least, a new analysis says.

The nonprofit State Budget Solutions combined states’ major debt and future liabilities, primarily for pensions and employee healthcare, unemployment insurance loans, outstanding bonds and projected fiscal 2011 budget gaps. It found that in total, states are in debt for $4.2 trillion.

The group, which follows state fiscal conditions and advocates for limited spending and taxes, said the deficit calculations that states make “do not offer a full picture of the states’ liabilities and can rely on budget gimmicks and accounting games to hide the extent of the deficit.”...

The top debt owing states are 'who's who' list of states that voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

California still owes the most under the alternative computation, but the state's total debt drops significantly, to $307 billion. With the Pew numbers, New Jersey follows with $183 billion of debt and Illinois is next at $150 billion.

According to the analysis, California has also borrowed the most from the federal government to pay for unemployment benefits, $8.6 billion. Michigan was next, taking out $3.1 billion, and then New York, borrowing $2.9 billion.

State Freedom Calculator: New York is Least Free

George Mason University has created a state freedom calculator. You would be correct to guess most of the bottom 10 are controlled by Democrats. Obama's home states of Hawaii and Illinois rank 47 and 41 respectively. No wonder he is the anti-freedom president. My home state of Kentucky came in at a disappointing 32.

You can see your stat's ranking and details here.

Rasmussen: Voters Oppose Bankruptcy for States

Voters are more open-minded if government employees might have their pensions reduced as part of the bankruptcy.

(Rasmussen)- A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 17% of Likely U.S. Voters believe states should be allowed to file for bankruptcy if they are unable to pay their financial obligations. Fifty-four percent (54%) oppose bankruptcy for states, and another 29% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

But voter support nearly doubles to 32% when the question is phrased to include the possibility that government employees might have their pensions reduced if their state filed for bankruptcy. Fifty-one percent (51%) are still opposed to allowing states to declare bankruptcy, but only 17% remain undecided.

States Prepare to Go Belly Up

Week-kneed state level politicians have pandered for public employees votes for years. The legacy of this pandering is crushing debt due partly to bloated pension obligations. The only way out may be bankruptcy. Illinois and California are the leading contenders.

(NYT)- Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.

Unlike cities, the states are barred from seeking protection in federal bankruptcy court. Any effort to change that status would have to clear high constitutional hurdles because the states are considered sovereign.
But proponents say some states are so burdened that the only feasible way out may be bankruptcy, giving Illinois, for example, the opportunity to do what General Motors did with the federal government’s aid.

50% of all states now suing to stop Obamacare

Obamacare has proven very unpopular with states. State governments fear rising costs from expanded Medicaid. Local voters hate mandates, government meddling in their health care and higher taxes. Nobody really believes Obamacare will lower the deficit. The number of states now suing to stop the bill has reached 25.

(The Foundry)- …It is also why the newly elected governors of Ohio, Oklahoma, Maine, and Wisconsin have all decided to sue the Obama administration in hopes of stopping Obamacare. Specifically, Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma has announced that the Sooner State will pursue its own case against the law, while Govs. John Kasich (R) and Scott Walker (R) (of Ohio and Wisconsin respectively) will add their states to Florida’s multi-state suit. And yesterday, newly sworn-in state Attorney General William Schneider announced Maine would also join the the Florida litigation. That brings the number of states on the Florida suit to 23 and the total number of states suing to stop Obamacare (which includes Virginia and Oklahoma) to 25.

The coming collapse in the state budgets (video)

This CBS 60 Minutes segment is well worth watching. Many states are broke and a major crisis is imminent.



State governments need more common sense.

The Road to Recovery May be Coming to a Dead End for Many States

The Stimulus money that was propping up state budgets is coming to an end. Congress has not refunded this public sector employee welfare. The jobs of many public sector employees will soon be coming to an end too.

In 2010, the Obama administration has estimated school districts across the country might lay off as many as 300,000 employees, many of them teachers. That would be five times the number of layoffs in 2009, and 10 times the number of layoffs in 2008....

California Has Borrowed $7 Billion To Keep Unemployment Checks In The Mail

A total of 32 states have run out funds to make unemployment benefit payments and are being bailed out by federal government loans. California is the worst offender at $6.9 billion. Michigan is second at $3.9 billion and New York comes in third at $3.2 billion. The states needing the biggest unemployment benefits bailout all voted for President Obama in 2008.

Here is the list from EconomicPolicyJournal.com:

Alabama 283 million
Arkansas 330 million
California 6.9 billion
Colorado 253 million
Connecticut 498 million
Delaware 12 million
Florida 1.6 billion
Georgia 416 million
Idaho 202 million
Illinois 2.2 billion
Indiana 1.7 billion
Kansas 88 million
Kentucky 795 million
Maryland 133 million
Mass. 387 million
Michigan 3.9 billion Minnesota 477 million
Missouri 722 million
Nevada 397 million
New Jersey 1.7 billion
New York 3.2 billion
N.C. 2.1 billion
Ohio 2.3 billion
Penn. 3.0 billion
R.I. 225 million
S.C. 886 million
S.D. 24 million
Tennessee 21 million
Texas 1.0 billion
Vermont 33 million
Virginia 346 million
Virgin Islands 13 million
Wisconsin 1.4 billion
Total $37.8 billion

Five States in Worst Financial Condition are Blue States

Forbes magazine has analyzed the financial condition of states and found the five in the worst condition and eight of the ten in the worst condition are blue states. Why? The answer is unions and social programs.

The Washington Examiner reported:

Forbes magazine has completed a comprehensive look at "The Global Debt Bomb" and in the course of compiling the results found this very interesting tidbit:

"The five states in the worst financial condition--Illinois, New York, Connecticut, California and New Jersey--are all among the bluest of blue states. The five most fiscally fit states are more of a mix. Three--Utah, Nebraska and Texas--boast Republican majorities and two--New Hampshire and Virginia--skew Democratic."

13 State Attorney Generals Threaten Legal Action Unless Nelson's Bribe is Removed

Thirteen state attorneys general are threatening legal action unless Nelson's bribe is removed from the democrats health reform bill. They claim the "Cornhusker Kickback" isn't constitutional.

The Washington Post reported:

"We believe this provision is constitutionally flawed," South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster and the 12 other attorneys general wrote in the letter to be sent Wednesday night to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"As chief legal officers of our states we are contemplating a legal challenge to this provision and we ask you to take action to render this challenge unnecessary by striking that provision," they wrote.

Ten States May Go 'Belly Up' In 2010

High unemployment, reduced tax revenues and demands from generous social programs are severely straining state budgets. Much of the early stimulus money went to bail out struggling state governments, but most of that money is gone now. The ten states in danger of imminent bankruptcy are California, Arizona, Rhode Island, Michigan, Oregon, Nevada, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and Wisconsin. Nine of the ten states voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Of the group, only Arizona voted for John McCain. Arizona is McCain's home state. The states in peril hold one third of the US population.

WND reported:

Ten states are facing imminent bankruptcy...

The 10 states, accounting for approximately one-third of the U.S. population, face declines in tax revenue as unemployment now officially tops 10 percent and budget gaps that mean higher taxes loom in the future. State government officials have been laid off, key social services including prisons and police are strained and schools have been closed.

Every state is now more conservative than liberal

Yesterday, Gallup reported that a higher percentage of Americans consider themselves conservative over liberal in 47 states. Three where conservatives are ahead are a statistical dead heat. No state is more liberal than conservative. The only place in America with more liberals than conservatives is Washington, DC. Unfortunately, most of these liberals are in Congress.

From Gallop:

Despite the Democratic Party's political strength -- seen in its majority representation in Congress and in state houses across the country -- more Americans consider themselves conservative than liberal. While Gallup polling has found this to be true at the national level over many years, and spanning recent Republican as well as Democratic presidential administrations, the present analysis confirms that the pattern also largely holds at the state level. Conservatives outnumber liberals by statistically significant margins in 47 of the 50 states, with the two groups statistically tied in Hawaii, Vermont, and Massachusetts.