A closer look at state spending

The State spends thousand and thousands of dollars paying higher prices when contracting for goods and services to small businesses and disabled veterans who are milking the system. And they aren't even checking the validity of the small business. Some business owners have 4 or 5 small business companies that contract with the State exclusively and are making millions of dollars while taking the taxpayers money. Someone should look into the Small Business and DVBE contracting practices and see how much more we pay for EVERYTHING when these companies are not even audited and are working the system to get rich!

Susan Lee @ 6:08 PM PDT, Jul 29, 2008

Second- drugs. I can not tell you how many so called "disabled' people are doing grugs on tax payers money. We need to test, if your on drugs, no SSI, you LOOSE your section 8. FOLKS, mental illness is not an excuss for bad behavior!!! Most of my Schizophrenics, 85% are not on drugs or behave badly! They just can not function with others. The rest are on the streets and need FORCED medications. It is cruel to let people who are paranoid of the dugs that stabalize them to live on the streets. It is immoral! But, oh how we hate the word FORCE, even for someone who needs it. No one wants to solve, just kavetch! Liberals are the WORST!!!

Bill Herd @ 2:35 PM PDT, Jul 29, 2008

As to social services, far to many people who get disability through manipulation, and others who are delusional get monthly disability and section 8 by coming to ca. We need to make no one eligible unless they have lived in Ca. for five years or better ten. Many people are happy to have homeless service untill we give them housing. Listen, build one million low income homes and they wil be full in one day. EVERYONE, especially illegals are wanting cheap housing and SSI. Its' a racket, and working low income people should have mental health services. WORKING! 90% of my mentally disabled can work at least PT. We enable people to be useless.

Bill Herd @ 2:29 PM PDT, Jul 29, 2008

Too bad the spending on Education is constrained by the wasteful and squandering practices of the Teacher's Union. And, look at the prisons! Legalize drugs, cut the jail population and get a double benefit. Less people in jail and more people hopefully working. And, lest we forget the positive rather than the putative benefit of people working as prison guards. Why can't education learn to be more productive - same 'ol, same 'ol is out in everything but education. Look at the graduation rate in LA from high school!

Bruce Birkett @ 11:08 AM PDT, Jul 29, 2008

Why do residents spend $30 billion each year on programs that support poor and disabled residents? Could it be because Medi-Cal fraud can run into billions each year? Or maybe because millions of un-documented non-family members think of it as their 'primary' coverage? Could it be because thousands of women, both legal and illegal, think it's beneficial to have babies that they can't afford? I don't know, maybe it's because we don't have a choice. When the governor and state legislators said 'everything was on the table', I thought it would include costs incurred by citizens to support un-documented aliens. So far, no word.

WAF @ 11:03 AM PDT, Jul 29, 2008

It is nice to see some dollars explained. However, this article misrepresents many aspects of the spending. While ranking in the bottom 10% in educational results, where does the present per student spending rank? The last census showed that per student spending in LA County was @ $8,500. That ranks well into the top 10 nationally. Admin. spending per student was @$3,500, also near the top. The citizens are willing, but they are demanding results. Given the cornucopia of tax and bond issues to be faced in the Nov. elections, our trusted servants in Sacramento better wake up, or make different career plans for the future.

Gary @ 10:59 AM PDT, Jul 29, 2008

The reasons I am reluctant to keep raising taxes for welfare are not that I can't afford it, or would rather spend it on some silly consumer items.I. It seems for every dollar towards a social goal, one goes to an ineffective bureaucracy and administration or political ally. I am not convinced that the tax money is spent wisely, and that there is sufficient accountabliity from those who seek and spend the money, and 2., at some point we will have to talk about the parents' responsiblility to have children only when they can afford to raise them, and once they have them to raise them responsibly to be productive members of society. t.

roy krausen @ 8:41 AM PDT, Jul 29, 2008

Mr. Levy, how can you say these things with a straight face? Spending "adjusted for inflation" is NOT roughly the same as in 2000. With a 40% increase, it is running at nearly double the rate of inflation assuming 2.5% inflation. And what do we have to show for it? A crumbling infrastructure, poorly performing schools, highly overpaid, over-benefited and coddled state management and administratration, political gridlock that requires the cudgeon of the initiative process to get anything done.... Can you even begin to undertand why the taxpayer says "not one penny more?"

Doug @ 7:08 AM PDT, Jul 29, 2008