BEA 4th Quarter GDP 1st Estimate 0.7% Q&A: Why Did GDPNow...

BEA 4th Quarter GDP 1st Estimate 0.7% Q&A: Why Did GDPNow Rise After Durable Goods? When are Construction Revisions Coming? 'I was at a meeting this morning where someone said, 'Look, we need $150 billion just for infrastructure and transportation.' It's true,' Schwarzenegger told Reuters in an interview in a state office in San Francisco. 'We need $500 billion to rebuild California the way it ought to be,' he added. 'But this is of course too big for people to digest, so you don't talk about that.' Speaking about the total of $42.7 billion in general obligation bonds authorized by voters last year for public works spending, Schwarzenegger said: 'This was only the foot in the door, to whet the appetite.' In the short term, Schwarzenegger acknowledged California could face lower tax revenues than projected in his January budget plan, but said he opposed new taxes. He said he does not expect California to issue less debt if the economy slows. 'I don't think we have to do that,' he said. Let's do the math. $500,000,000,000 / 36,132,147 is $13,838 dollars for every man woman and child in the state. That might not sound so bad but I do not think many 5 year olds have that much cash lying around. Let's try the numbers again with the working age population (18-64). The working age population is 22,546,460 (calculated manually). That translates to a staggering $22,176 liability for every working age person. Married couples would need to pony up a mere $44,352 per couple to do it ' But there are some other figures to look at, such as 13.8% of the California population is below the poverty level, and the median household income clocks in at $48,440. (QuickFacts shows those numbers are as of 2003). This looks like fiscal insanity no matter how many years he wants to stretch this out over. The kicker is that Schwarzenegger thinks this can be paid for without increasing taxes, in the face of falling revenues, even if the economy heads into a recession. Mark my words California, your taxes are going to skyrocket if anything remotely close to this proposal passes. The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, including advertisements, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument, or to participate in any particular trading or investment strategy. The ideas expressed on this site are solely the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions of sponsors or firms affiliated with the author(s). The author may or may not have a position in any company or advertiser referenced above. Any action that you take as a result of information, analysis, or advertisement on this site is ultimately your responsibility. Consult your investment adviser before making any investment decisions.