Only in California

-Gov. Jerry Brown D-CA, behind closed party doors with unions (no CTPR allowed) came up with a remedy to close the states' hugh deficts, only $3.7B this fiscal year. Strategy is to by-pass the CTPRs by getting 500M signitures on a petition by 2Q12 go directly to the people on election day 2012. Increase taxes on individuals making >$250K/yr by 1 %, 3 % on those earning $300K to 500K, and those >500K 2%. Increase sales tax to collect $7 B, plus close loopholes in state corporate tax code and spend $1.2B on renewable energy*. Here are some additional spending cuts that will go over well with CA taxpayers: shorter school year, cut allowances to state universities by untold millions, cut child care and services to disabled. Not withstanding all the above CA faces a $13B shortfall in the next fiscal year. You get some idea how deep the hole really is.
-*Then you have the EPA and greenpeople out in CA. also petitioning to close the remaining two nuclear reactors mox schnell, because what happened in Japan could happen in CA. The operative word is "could". No feasibility study suggests same. These two units generate 16% of the states electrical energy. If you add up all the electrical energy in CA. generated by solar and wind, one winds up with a net negative amount of energy created. The latter generates 1/4 of the 16% generated by the two nuclear stations. Consideration was given to the fact solar power is only generated when the sun shines and the wind turbines work when the wind blows, but from observation there is a lot of wind in CA. This maneauver, if sucessful, would put an even greater operating burden on CA's corporate and population. Reality check: just more corporate companies will fold up their tents, or move to other states, more likely to foreign lands. More people will be added to the unemployment lines, greater deficits and the wheel goes round and round.