Opinion: We’re taxed out

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Pay it forward, Californians, the editorial board wrote Saturday, saying:

Reader Mark Neumann agrees, writing, “The price we pay for a well-maintained and civil society is called taxes.” But his is the minority opinion on our discussion board, which has readers outraged over the idea that they –- well, all of us really -– should pay more taxes.

California is wealthy?

I have yet to find in the article the part proving how ‘California is Wealthy,’ did I miss something?

--TomKingsley

First, we should pay off our debt

Dear Progressive Times Staff:

California is not only broke, but deeply in debt. If I was in debt, I could not ‘invest’ prior to paying off my ‘debt.’ Progressives have a difficult time understanding this simple, common sense fiscal sanity, as other people’s money is easy to spend or debt more of.

“If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute.” - Thomas Paine

“People try to live within their income so they can afford to pay taxes to a government that can’t live within its income.” - Robert Half

“I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.’ - Thomas Jefferson

--tommythek50

After our expenses are paid, invest in sure things only

I’ll give the LA Times credit for at least spreading the blame around. However, it ignores the reality that when a family, a city, or a state is facing financial hardship, the most important task is to cut expenses and not invest in questionable get-rich-quick schemes. Our educational and social services are in bad shape and there aren’t enough state workers to meet demand, so why would the LA Times call for open borders, sanctuary cities, and DREAM Acts to further strain our public services with ‘investments’ in illegal aliens? Why should we ‘invest’ in generous pensions and benefits for unionized public employees? Why should we ‘invest’ in every poor college student with automatic Cal Grants when many choose majors (such as Ethnic Studies) that have no immediate benefit to our economy? Let’s not confuse entitlements with ‘investments’. We must cut expenses first, and then invest only in sure things. In today’s market there is no sure thing.

--penguinista

We’re tired of paying it forward

You would think even a liberal rag like LA Times would finally realize that Californians are growing tired of paying it forward. As you have stated, 30+ years of Dem rule has wasted our money in boom years and demanded we ‘pay it forward’ in bust years to keep their union buddies happy. Enough is enough. The LA Times realizes that public sector union benefits are killing the state, yet believes we should look past that since supposedly have a low ratio of non-federal government workers. Yet these clowns can still steal taxpayer money through corruption and deed while skewing the rules to ensure these cronies can keep their jobs and pensions. Before you ask the taxpayer to ‘pay it forward’ anymore its time to clean up Sacramento. It’s the liberal majority in this state that needs to wake up.

--kshoe10

*For clarity purposes, spelling errors in the above comments have been corrected.

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--Alexandra Le Tellier