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Politics : Arnold for Governor! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (147)	8/13/2003 9:07:48 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Respond to of 773

Since most long term unemployed don't file the actual number of jobless is much greater. Hey, they left the workforce and are happily sitting at home watching cable. Didn't anyone tell you that. :-) In the '80s we were going to be overrun by the Japanese. The crashed at the end of the decade and haven't been heard from since. Their sclerotic governmental system can't adapt. Maybe some of the new guys will be able to. Lots of them either are socialistic or have string socialistic tendencies and will become "Workers' Paradises" given the wealth to do it. Then THEY will crash. The US has managed to maintain capitalistic adaptability through all this. If we can keep that, we will be OK. And the bad news is that CA may not be included in the recovery. It's already too socialistic and regulated.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (147)	8/13/2003 9:59:11 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 773

Warren Buffett Adds Muscle to Schwarzenegger's Campaign Reuters Wednesday, August 13, 2003; 9:20 PM By Adam Tanner SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Seeking to add muscle to his team, Arnold Schwarzenegger named financial heavyweight Warren Buffett his senior economic adviser on Wednesday as the actor prepared a high-profile run for California governor. Late in the day, state election officials certified a final list of 135 candidates after rejecting more than 100 applications as incomplete. In its final form, the roster becomes the longest list of candidates to run for governor in state history. Schwarzenegger was assured a place in the crowded field that ranged from serious politicians to pornographers. Schwarzenegger received a boost with Buffett on board, pairing a movie star completely untested in politics with a Wall Street sage who is the world's second richest man. "Warren is helping me bring together a world-class team to assist me in addressing the problems and challenges facing businesses, investors and job creators in California," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Warren has a common sense approach to business issues and an integrity that is unmatched. That's the same way I want to approach governing." Democrat Gray Davis, unpopular because of the state's fiscal crisis, on Oct 7. faces the first recall vote against a California governor in the state's history. Should voters recall Davis, Schwarzenegger, who is ahead in polls among alternate candidates, could take over the richest U.S. state. After a blast of publicity since first joining the race a week ago, the former bodybuilder and top box office draw, Schwarzenegger has in recent days concentrated on putting together his campaign team. Naming Berkshire Hathaway chairman Buffett, whose father served in Congress, could add gravitas to a campaign that has shown more Hollywood glitter than policy heft so far. "I have known Arnold for years and know he'll be a great governor," said Buffett, one of America's best-known and most respected investors. "It is critical to the rest of the nation that California's economic crisis be solved, and I think Arnold will get that job done." SOLO STAR BUILDS TEAM Davis' spokesman appeared surprised by the news. "I don't think people are voting on advisers," Peter Ragone said. Schwarzenegger started his career in the most solitary of sports, body building, and then received star billing in Hollywood as an action hero who could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in movie ticket sales. But he must now build a team to help him capture the statehouse, and then perform job of governor if he wins. The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday that Schwarzenegger had "shaken up" his campaign staff, but his spokesman Sean Walsh denied that characterization. "There is no staff shake up, there is just the addition of people to make sure this campaign is world class," he said. Among the candidates on the final list were Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and a porn actress who is pledging to wire every room of the governor's mansion with live Web cams. Disqualified was Don Novello, aka Father Guido Sarducci on Saturday Night Live, for not submitting enough valid signatures. "I really did not want to live in Sacramento anyway," he told Reuters. Longtime Sacramento resident Davis has adopted a "rose garden" strategy, trying to stay above the wacky political fray. "There's a lot of people who want to be governor, but I am the governor and I am going to continue to do the work of the people of this state," Davis said in San Francisco. An aide said Davis has also frequently sought advice in recent days from Bill Clinton, one of only two U.S. presidents impeached by the House of Representatives. Clinton was later acquitted by the Senate over the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. washingtonpost.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (147)	8/14/2003 2:43:08 AM
From: richardred	Respond to of 773

The company I work for (basic industrial)called back some workers last week. Not that's any indication of a general trend. IMO-The basics will recover before the high tech. They are the ones who will cap. spend on high tech.for efficiency. Does anybody know how estimates are given for the people, who have given up looking for work? Are these viable in taking to account?- The jobless who are working under the table. The jobless collecting unemployment, working under the table. RR

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (147)	8/14/2003 5:19:59 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 773

markfiore.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (147)	8/21/2003 7:31:52 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 773

A higher tax on all your houses ___________________________________ Property taxes in California are ridiculously low, but only Warren Buffett has the courage to admit it. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Robert Scheer syndicated Columnist Aug. 20, 2003 salon.com An amazing thing happened on the way to the California recall: Someone spoke the truth about the state's financial predicament. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, ballyhooed as a top economic advisor to Arnold Schwarzenegger, told the Wall Street Journal that property taxes in California are ridiculously low. He's right. Thanks to Proposition 13 in 1978 -- an initiative no less stupid than the current recall and also put on the ballot by Republican conservatives -- the state lost its most reliable tax base. Voters capped annual property assessment increases at no more than 2 percent. The property is reassessed at market value when it is sold. This gutted the core funding source upon which every other state relies to provide public services. To make his point, Buffett compared the taxes he pays on his Omaha, Neb., residence with those on his home in the ritzy California coast city of Laguna Beach. The tax on his $500,000 Omaha home rose $1,920 this year, compared with a mere $23 on his $4 million California residence. Schwarzenegger, who is assiduously avoiding talking about any issues lest it upset his anointment as a celebrity governor, let his campaign belatedly announce that he had rejected Buffett's advice and affirmed his support for Proposition 13. Of course he did, because for Republicans and many other Californians, Proposition 13 has become sacred text. His rivals to the center and left were even quicker to rebuff Buffett's common-sense talk: Gov. Gray Davis issued a firm endorsement of the crippling law, and independent recall candidate Arianna Huffington promised "to reverse the trend that has seen an increase in the property tax burden placed on homeowners." Huh? What increased burden? California homeowners have again experienced a housing price boom. This has allowed them to take out the untaxed increased equity in their homes through low-interest refinancing and second-mortgage loans that have fueled most of the robust consumer spending that has kept the state from falling back into a recession. The mortgage tax deduction and the $500,000-per-couple gift in tax-free capital gains when the house is sold remain tax boondoggles, resulting in a sharp class division between renters and property owners. Proposition 13 must be changed because it mainly benefits the rich -- most of whom are now running for governor, it would seem. The proposition was sold as salvation for poor widows, but the law makes no distinction between commercial and residential properties, thereby artificially lowering the tax on profitable enterprises. Leave the tax break for homeowners with low and fixed incomes, but Buffett is right -- guys like him should pay more taxes than they do. Hard-line ideological Republicans have tried for three decades to strangle the money supplies of states and municipalities to force cuts in services: public schools open to every child, even the disabled; public transit and roads; clean air and water; public safety and health; emergency preparedness; a functioning judicial system; recreation areas and parks. Buffett is apparently smart enough to know he is only able to enjoy life in Laguna Beach because massive government expenditures over the last century brought water, electricity and freeways to the parched semidesert of Orange County. Last week's blackout in the Northeast and Canada showed us what happens when we cheat on public expenditures. From the brownouts endured by California at the hands of manipulative corporations like Enron to the Third World state of the nation's power grids, we are witnessing a meltdown of our underfunded and deregulated infrastructure. The White House continues to throw billions into fixing Iraq's power and water infrastructure but ignores the U.S.'s own massive problems. Perhaps the U.S. should consider invading itself. At home, the GOP mantra has long been that if you can get government out of the energy business, everything will be hunky-dory. That is a false view that dominates Bush's ideology. We don't need to recall Davis, who is not the problem. We do need to re-create a political culture where the role of government is respected and properly funded. salon.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (147)	8/24/2003 3:18:07 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 773

Bustamante leads; Simon drops out By MARK Z. BARABAK Los Angeles Times ajc.com California Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante holds a wide lead over Arnold Schwarzenegger in the race to succeed Gov. Gray Davis, according to a new Los Angeles Times Poll. As the sole major Democrat running to replace Davis -- should the incumbent be ousted on Oct. 7 -- Bustamante enjoys the support of 35 percent of likely voters. Schwarzenegger received 22 percent support, followed by three fellow Republicans: state Sen. Tom McClintock with 12 percent, businessman Peter Ueberroth with 7 percent and Bill Simon -- the GOP's 2002 gubernatorial nominee -- with 6 percent. Simon abruptly quit the race Saturday, after the poll was completed. He said "there are too many Republicans" running and expressing concern his candidacy would undercut GOP efforts to oust Davis and replace the Democrat with one of their own. Three other gubernatorial contenders who have won prominent mention lag far behind the major-party hopefuls, according to the Times Poll. Independent Arianna Huffington received just 3 percent support from likely voters and the Green Party's Peter Camejo drew 1 percent, tying him with Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt. Under the idiosyncratic rules that govern the recall vote, all 135 candidates from assorted parties are listed on the same ballot. The candidate who gets the most votes will become governor -- if Davis is kicked out of office, which is the first matter to be decided in the Oct. 7 election. The Times Poll, completed Thursday night, found that 50 percent of likely voters favored the recall of Davis and 45 percent were opposed, with 5 percent undecided. Likely voters do not appear happy about their options. Of the leading contenders to replace Davis, only Bustamante and Ueberroth are seen in a largely positive light, though only half of likely voters indicated they knew enough about Ueberroth to make a decision. Others are even lesser known or, in the case of Flynt, Huffington and Simon, are seen in mostly negative terms. Schwarzenegger has a mixed image among likely voters, with 46 percent saying they have a favorable impression of the movie star and 44 percent saying they have a negative impression.