California's budget plan: Tax Nevadans?!
The headline from this LA Times column says it all:
Eureka! Why don't we take over Nevada?
The article is at least half-way joking (I think), but it does highlight some good budget lessons that Silver State policymakers could learn from. No, let me correct myself. It is the lack of fiscal knowledge demonstrated by this article that is so instructive. The author takes California's deficit as a given and at no point questions why the state spends so much money and whether all that spending is merited.
Instead, he's just looking for new people to loot. Think I'm exaggerating? These are his words: "Schwarzenegger could immediately seize the brothels and casinos, sending their profits to Sacramento."
It's funny how even high-tax predators recognize that sane people wouldn't stick around to bear the governmental burden, though. The author also notes, "Once those former Nevadans get a whiff of California's higher taxes, they'll flee the land -- leaving more room for the rest of us."
Great, so California is going to run Nevadans out of their homes so Sacramento can collect tax revenue from Nevada's mining and brothel industries? Here's an idea: Eureka! Spending reform!
If you don't know what that means for California, you can always get an idea from our friends at the Reason Foundation.
