How The Tax System Really Works For Us Californians! By Carl Hampton At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Believe it or not, we're being pick-pocketed by the government! Should that really come as such a shock! For every dollar that we (the tax paying public) spent in 2004, 79 cents went back to the state in spending. In other words, there was a $51 billion shortfall, which according to the California Institute of Policy Research, is the largest in the nation.

Here is how we are being pickpocketed. States like Alabama, Virginia, and Maryland actually get more back than they put in. And how does that work? The government takes money from California taxes and reroutes it to other states, which also accounts for federal salaries and highways.

The November ballot for this year proposes a $37 billion state bond that would go towards highways, parks, schools, as well as a number of other things. It seems like a fair deal so long as our wise and wonderful leaders in Washington D.C. distributes the money fairly. There are those who think our (California) taxes should be going towards other issues within the state. Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez feels that President Bush is using this great state of ours like an ATM -- we pay it in and he takes it out. Our taxes should actually be redirected to health care, education, and homeland security. All of which are very important issues that need to be dealt with within California. Nuñez believes that if the funds are there, then California should get what it is owed and it would go a long way towards putting California's fiscal situation back on track.

As of now, California has the largest deficit in the U.S. in total dollars. Are there unfair practices in force here? In Washington D.C., when referring to California, the acronym “ABC” is used: “Anywhere But California”. This is where tax politics start to get a little complicated. California was short-changed when funding for the military was trumped by what was spent on the State defense and the aerospace industry. A lot of our funding is based on formulas that don't work in our favor.

Californians are younger than the average age in other states which means California brings in a higher income. California has become a donor state for Social Security but is short on welfare funding. Either way we (Californians) are in a hole. California Democrats Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have a few ideas of their own. They believe that there could be a change in the way California's taxes are being dispersed if Democrats took control of one or both of the houses in the November election. They have also said that they themselves should be able to figure out a way to squeeze a dollar or two out of their colleagues and then get the States Congressional Delegation to support them.

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