AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

Good grief, parados, how dumb are you? Deducting expenses is part of the business and is necessary to determine profit. Not that it is any of your business, but I do run the books of my business. Net taxable profit has nothing to do with gross profit or gross income of a business. If you have never run a business, I suppose you would not understand that anyway, so I don't know why I am pointing that out to you.

I am talking about wages or net profit for the self employed, same thing, just tax everything over a hundred grand. After all, why does anyone need more than a hundred grand to live? If we have a tax revenue problem in this country, I would bet that might fix it. We could even quibble over the hundred grand and raise it to 125 grand if that would solve the problem. Also part of my plan would be the consideration of any perk given to employees, such as health care insurance or a company car, or tickets to games, that should all be considered as compensation and it should be potentially taxable if it all adds up to over 100 grand or whatever was decided as the right margin amount. Keep in mind here that the principle to follow according to you liberals is "To each according to their need and to each according to their ability."

Are you guys serious about fixing the tax revenue problem or not?

okie, You never learn do you? Your ego is bigger than your brain. Your assumptions about taxing at given rates on net income "you determine" is not only foolish, but unrealistic.

You have no say in this matter. That's a fact.

That's my point okie.. You want your exemptions from taxable income as a small business but you want to not give them to anyone else that earns a wage.

Perhaps so. However it is moving down the list. Moreover the state government is running out of the tricks it has used to cover normal operating expenses with public bonds, and the legislature remains gridlocked and unable to deal effectively with budget issues and its chronic deficits - a bad combination.

My understanding is that Gov Brown may have to ask taxpayers to approve extension of "temporary" tax increases. Is that correct and, if true, what do yall think the chances of success are?
Thank you.

I have not read that report, so I don't know any of the specifics he may have in mind. An increase in taxes would have to come through the state legislature, where there are supermajority rules for such actions - and a majority controlled by the public employees unions with a vocal minority that opposes new taxes in an already very high tax state - with the resulting paralysis. The legislature has become adept at deceptively labelling new or increased taxes as "fees" or "surcharges", so I cant exclude such action.

California has a system of ballot initiatives, with about 25 or so in every election. Last year all the proposals for new taxes were defeated. If that is an indicator of the public mood, Brown will likely have some trouble ahead.

Meanwhile businesses and people continue to leave the state.

That's also true of our federal government, and most state and local governments. They're all running out of bookkeeping tricks that only tries to fool themselves on spending more, and not increasing taxes.

The unions continue to fight the increase in taxes while they continue to demand higher wages and benefits when most pension plans are already underfunded - that taxpayers are required to make up.

Somethings going to give, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the tax payers will revolt on continuing this lopsided pay more for less.

Cleaning off my desk of notes...
John Myers of KQED reported from Sacramento: "...(M)ost political and policy insiders say they now expect Brown will ask voters to weigh in, later this year, on the budget. And all expect him to ask for an extension of temporary tax increases."
I, of course, am 3,000 miles away in Virginia, so what do I know? Well, tricks, I guess. A few years ago, we retailers, who normally remit sales tax revenue collected by the 20th of the following month, had to estimate December sales tax collection and send the state a check by December 20th. So that year had 13 months! Clever.

Brown has a steep uphill battle that gives him small odds to succeed at increasing taxes.

When Obama "bent" to approve the extension of the GW Bush tax cuts, we all know that politics is corny and unpredictable.

Virginia is a model of fiscal probity compared to California. Moreover state services, ranging from schools & universities to road maintenance and other like services are all very good - indeed much better overall than here in California. I lived for a long while in Virginia Beach & have a son who lives in Vienna, near Washington.

No, you are wrong again. If you are self employed and it costs you 50 grand to make 100 grand, your profit is only 50 grand. If you work for someone else, they bear the expense of your employment and the business they run. Your paycheck is essentially all profit for you, because you don't typically spend anything for the business. Do you comprehend? Or perhaps not? If you've never run a business, then its a waste of time to discuss it with you.

I'm not versed on Virginia's politics or economy except for the fact that their per capita income is one of the highest.

Property and income taxes are much lower than in California, and the business climate in state law is far better.

Perhaps the two (taxes and average income) are related. (Even Bechtel moved out of California).

Virginia is does alright, a lot of the total revenue comes in up here in NoVA. The commonwealth lacks some vision IMO. Better investments could be made in public transit and communications services (wireless networks etc).

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California broke the golden egg when they taxed corporations at one of the highest rates. They forget that the workers who get paid salaries and benefits are the foundation for tax revenue - not by taxing corporations outrageous rates for existing.

However, I'm not sure there are any solutions to the high cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area where most IT companies reside - as the well paid workers will automatically inflate real estate prices through natural demand by location.

When a 9th grade student says that she hates books because her mother hates books, you know the girl is a second generation Republican.

Move to Oklahoma? No museums. No music other that country and today's top 40 equivalent. No place to shop buy WalMart. Far too hot. Far too little stimulation.

For several years, we heard Cal-lee-for-knee-a called the sixth leading economy in the world. What happened?

There is nothing you post that I would care to read.

Considering how badly run all too many businesses are, there is nothing unusual about that.