CALIFORNIA'S CAR TAX MAY BE ON THE ROAD AGAIN: THE VEHICLE LICENSE FEE THAT GOT GRAY DAVIS RECALLED AND ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER ELECTED LOOKS LIKE A GOOD IDEA… AGAIN.
An LA Times editorial points out that the Car Tax/VLF served California well for 60 years. Undoing it has failed the state for six years. Until last year reimplementing it would have actually balanced (or come close to balancing) the budget. It's not enough anymore, but it's got to be on the table. Along with spitting the rolls on Prop 13 …but one sacred cow/third rail/taboo metaphor at a time.
And as Gordon Gecko said “Greed is Good!” Imagine how good it can be when driven by panic: Two LA Times articles describe how Wells Fargo Bank and Goldman Sachs – subsidized by the Feds - appear to be enriching themselves and their clients at California's expense
GOLDMAN SACHS URGED BETS AGAINST CALIFORNIA BONDS IT HELPED SELL
The Wall Street titan's activities could have harmed taxpayers, officials say
Goldman, Sachs & Co. urged some of its big clients to place investment bets against California bonds this year despite having collected millions of dollars in fees to help the state sell some of those same bonds.
BUSH'S TAX BREAKS FOR BANKS COULD COST CALIFORNIA $2 BILLION
Wells Fargo is state's chief beneficiary of change that allows banks to write off losses when taking over failing institutions.
Even as California's fiscal woes mount, the state is slated to lose an additional $2 billion in coming years as a result of new tax breaks the Bush administration created for a small group of banks including California-based Wells Fargo.
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