by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

The AP has gotten a hold of the governor's May Revise speech and therefore the major budget proposals that are to be unveiled tomorrow. The key elements are described below and over the flip I provide my immediate analysis.

• Arnold will float bonds using the state lottery as security. $15 billion over 3 years will be raised but $10 billion goes into "rainy day fund"
• If that fails, 1% sales tax hike to last no more than 3 years
• Prop 98 suspension abandoned; instead COLA will not be paid
• State parks closures abandoned; instead fees to rise $1 to $2
• $6 billion still left to cut or balance out somehow."

Analysis below...

by Jim Nichols [courtesy of Blog for America]

Actually since there were 105,480,101 households in America in 2000 there are actually--by my calculations--about 97,041,692 reasons (or should I say households) to oppose the Fair Tax; or any sort of consumption tax.

Don't follow what I mean? I know, unfortunately at least a few supporters probably hope you don't.  I'll turn to the tax policy center and their online issue brief: National Retail Sales Tax: Who would bear the burden?

Under a national retail sales tax, the wealthiest households in the country would receive stunningly large tax cuts. Households in the top 1 percent of the income distribution have an average income of about $475,000. Their average tax cut would be $79,000, or more than the incomes of all but about 8 percent of households. Put another way, the roughly 1.1 million taxpayers in this top 1 percent would save a total of $87 billion on their taxes each year. This cut would be financed by tax increases on the bottom 92 percent of households. Households with income between $5,000 and $50,000 would face an average tax increase of over $1,000.

If someone turns to you and asks why you don't want the Fair Tax... "cause like its Fair" and "who would be against that."  Just smile and respectfully say...