Did I dream it or did I really hear it? Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between my dream fantasies and the ideas put forward by the Progressives (Liberals, Leftists, Socialists, Communists, Democrats) who run the People’s Republik of Kalifornia. Is the Gilded State really offering tax free bonds for sale to the public? Is this the reason that they claim the economy is recovering and are promising the schools they will get more money? I shudder if I was not dreaming.
I think I heard it on the radio. We were invited to invest in our future by buying California tax free bonds. Traditionally municipalities and some utilities have been allowed to sell tax free bonds to generate income. Usually they have low interest because in the past these were very safe and tax free. It benefitted the cities and certain types of investors. They offered security and the trade off was low return. We are now seeing that investment strategy perverted.
California is trying to buy their way out by borrowing more. The financial condition of the state is well known to anyone who is paying attention. Works like “bankruptcy” and “default” have become the dominant verbs in discussing the condition of our finances. If we were a local business we would have been shut down long ago. If I were offering these bonds I would be arrested for fraud. For California’s Progressives it is a Happy Meal. Feel good and don’t worry about the long term nutrition.
The idea is that you eat your seed. Back in the days of small farms you knew that no matter how hungry you got and how bad things were you did not eat your seed grain. If you did you would have nothing to plant next year. You found a way to avoid that disaster. California is courting that same financial tsunami. So you give up tax revenue in the long run to get cash in the short run. This is not a solution to the a bad economy. It only makes things worse.
In political terms we have heard it called kicking the can down the road. Let someone else pick up the trash, I am too busy partying.
homo unius libri
Let's just hope that the liberals line up in droves to buy them and that the conservatives are smart enough NOT to!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of it that way. Kind of a Darwin form of economics. I like it.
DeleteGrace and peace.
They know that there are enough stupid (almost said ignorant but it is stupid in this case) people who will buy them. There are enough stupid people who will re-elect bad politicians just look at Obama and Jerry Brown.
ReplyDeleteBut these people have college degrees. I guess I keep forgetting that that doesn't mean anything any more, does it. I agree, ignorant isn't a strong enough word.
DeleteGrace and peace.