>By the way, the reason the state is "budgetfucked" as you eloquently put it is because of low taxes, not high taxes.
This is utter nonsense. California has both a high income tax and a high sales tax, and while property tax rates are low, property prices are high. Where I live you can pay seven figures for a tract home.
Tax receipts in the state are quite healthy - the problem is on the spending side, specifically a large and grossly overpaid bureaucracy.
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>By the way, the reason the state is "budgetfucked" as you eloquently put it is because of low taxes, not high taxes.
This is utter nonsense. California has both a high income tax and a high sales tax, and while property tax rates are low, property prices are high. Where I live you can pay seven figures for a tract home.
Tax receipts in the state are quite healthy - the problem is on the spending side, specifically a large and grossly overpaid bureaucracy.
24 states spend more per capita than does California, so I think your argument fails on the facts.
Where are you getting that? It's hard to believe, given that California has the 4th highest per capita tax burden:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2012/10/...
http://www.nasbo.org/sites/default/files/State%20Expenditure...
See page 7 for the spending amounts. I don't see how tax revenues as a fraction of income (your link) has anything to do with spending per capita.
Where is the ranking in per capita expenditures? I don't see it?