Nearly three-quarters of California voters oppose the automatic, midyear spending reductions that would balance the state budget if a November ballot initiative to raise taxes fails, according to a new Field Poll.
Seventy-two percent of registered voters, including wide majorities of Democrats and Republicans, oppose the measure, a central part of California's recently enacted budget, according to the poll.
The budget relies on $8.5 billion in revenue from Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners, and it threatens to cut education spending if the initiative fails.
Opposition to the so-called "trigger cuts" is greatest among Democrats – 79 percent – but 68 percent of independent voters and 65 percent of Republicans also oppose it, according to the poll.
"First, it's mainly because they're going to target K-12 schools, and that's the most popular area of spending," poll director Mark DiCamillo said. "Also, it relates to the idea that you're putting a gun to voters' heads, that 'Look, you either do this or we shoot the dog.' This is not the way voters want the state to be conducting its affairs."
Overall, Californians are divided about the budget. Thirty-seven percent of voters say the latest round of state spending cuts went too far, while 28 percent say they didn't go far enough and 24 percent say they were about right, according to the poll.
The proportion of voters who say cuts went too far is larger than the 27 percent who said so following the adoption of last year's budget.
"More people are now critical of this year's budget cuts than last," DiCamillo said. "That makes some sense given that these are on top of the last cuts."
Brown's public approval rating remains mediocre, at 44 percent, according to the poll. Forty-two percent of registered voters disapprove of the job the Democratic governor is doing, and 14 percent have no opinion.
The Legislature's job approval rating ticked up four percentage points from May, but it remains far lower than Brown's at 23 percent, according to the poll.
Californians also remain pessimistic about the overall direction in which the state is heading. Just 26 percent of registered voters say the state is heading in the right direction. Nearly two-thirds of registered voters – 64 percent – say the state is on the wrong track.
Among those worried for the state is Mary Hildebrand, a retired elementary school teacher from Manteca. The 80-year-old Republican opposes raising taxes, but she also opposes the use of trigger cuts. "I don't see what can be cut, either," she said. "We hired people to figure those things out. They should be working on it."
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
Call David Siders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1215. Follow him on Twitter @davidsiders.
• Read more articles by David Siders
Source: www.sacbee.com
Bella figura: the Ferrari California - GQ Magazine UK
Source: www.gq-magazine.co.uk
California councilman arrested for sexually assaulting seven women co-workers - in.news.yahoo.com
Washington, July 4 (ANI): A California councilman has been arrested for allegedly cornering female co-workers in his office and sexually assaulting them.
According to New York Daily News, Carlos Bustamante is accused of sexually harassing seven female subordinates on several occasions, and exposing himself and making them watch him masturbate, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said.
"[Bustamante] rubbed his face against theirs, grabbed their breasts, touched their bare thighs," Rackauckus described, adding: "When they attempted to escape from the office, he cornered them to prevent them from leaving."
The district attorney claims the married Santa Ana councilman targeted 'emotionally vulnerable' employees and often lured them into his office under the pretext of work-related matters.
The victims were allegedly hesitant to file a case against Bustamante because of his close ties to several influential members of the California Republican Party, including former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Bustamante, who has been on the Santa Ana City Council since 2004, was arrested on the way to a council meeting on Monday.
The father of three faces felony counts of false imprisonment, assault with intent to commit a sexual offense, stalking and attempted sexual battery by restraint.
The arrest comes nine months after Bustamante resigned as director of administrative services at Santa Ana's Public Works.
Bustamante had resigned after anonymous letters were sent to a local newspaper making allegations of sexual harassment against him. (ANI)
Source: in.news.yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment