Where's the Money?
Class warfare: Who's winning?
Myth Busters
Trends
The Process
100
The largest portion of the general fund revenue comes from--state income tax or property tax?
What is state income tax? (55.5% of projected 2011-12 general fund revenues)
100
Between 1978 and 2007, the gap between the incomes of top executives and those of the average worker--narrowed or widened?
What is widened. The average CEO's annual pay was 35 times that of the average worker in 1978. In 2007, the average CEO's annual pay was 275 times the average worker's pay.
100
More than half of State spending goes toward prisons and corrections. Busted or confirmed.
What is busted?
100
California's local communities have property taxes that are - above average? average? below average?
what is below average?
100
A May revise of the current budget usually comes out in which month of the year.
What is May?
200
The largest area of general fund spending is--prisons/corrections or k-12 education.
What is k-12 education? (42.8% of proposed 2011-2012 spending...higher ed is 11.6%)
200
In recent years, State and local tax collections have decreased or increased as a share of the state's economy.
What is decreased?
200
State spending keeps going up and up! Busted or confirmed.
What is busted? 2009-2010 spending was $16.9 billion below 2007-08 levels and 2010-11 spending was about $20.1 billion below 2007-08 levels. As a share of the state's economy, state spending is at its lowest levels since the early 1970's.
200
California's schools rank near the bottom, in the middle, or the top in terms of per pupil spending.
What is the bottom? We rank #45 in per pupil spending. In 2010-11, per pupil spending was $1543 less than in 2006-07, after adjusting for inflation.
200
The group of Californians who pay the highest percentage of their income on taxes is: Californians whose incomes were in the top 1% Californians whose incomes were in the middle fifth Californians whose incomes were in the bottom fifth
What is the bottom fifth? Much of low income families’ income is spent on clothing, taxable groceries, gasoline, etc -- a high percentage of their income goes to sales tax.
300
The second largest area of general fund spending is--public employee pensions or health and human services.
What is health and human services? (25% of proposed 2011-2012 spending)
300
Pre-tax incomes for the wealthy skyrocketed between 1992-2007, and the amount of taxes they paid--skyrocketed as well, or plummeted.
What is plummeted? The average inflation-adjusted income of the wealthiest 400 US households more than quintupled between 1992-2007--from $67.7 million to $344.8 million. At the same time, the federal income taxes they paid went from 26.4% in 1992 to 16.6 percent in 2007.
300
The fastest growing area of general fund spending is corrections. Busted or confirmed.
What is confirmed? State spending on corrections rose from $604.2 million in 1980-81 to $9.6 billion in 2010-11, a nearly 1,500 percent increase that significantly outpaced the growth of total state General Fund spending during the same period
300
Corporate tax rate reductions and tax cuts have resulted in the decline of state ________
What is revenue. Over the past three decades, the cost of funding state services has shifted from corporations to personal income tax filers. New, increased, and expanded corporate tax breaks and the 1996 corporate tax rate reduction are responsible for the decline in the share of state revenues provided by the corporate income tax.
300
This person submits a proposal for a balanced budget to the state legislature by January 10th of every year.
Who is the Governor?
400
Corporate tax or sales tax is--the second largest general fund revenue source.
What is sales tax? (26.8% of projected general fund revenues)
400
Nationally, broadly shared prosperity ended in this decade, leading to what is being called a generation of widening inequality.
What is the 1970's?
400
High state taxes are driving businesses and the wealthy out of California. Busted or confirmed
What is busted? Measured as a share of the state's economy, California is a moderate tax state. There is no empirical evidence that businesses are leaving California.
400
The state's population continues to age and grow, placing demands on the budget for these types of services.
What are public health services like Medi-Cal and in home support services? California's spending per Medi-Cal enrollee is among the lowest nationwide.
400
Unless we raise taxes, balancing the budget means that cuts have to be made. Which area is targeted for half of proposed spending reductions--k-12 education, health and human services or higher education?
What is health and human services? (This was cut by approximately in half
500
This proposition was designed to ensure a minimum level of funding for California’s schools and community colleges
What is Proposition 98. Unfortunately, lawmakers have repeatedly cut state spending in recent years in response to the dramatic decline in revenues caused by the most severe economic downturn since the 1930’s. As a result, 2010-2011 estimated GF spending was lower as a share of the state’s economy than in 35 of the prior 40 years.
500
The average inflation-adjusted income of the top 1% of California's taxpayers increased by 50.2% between 1987-2009. from $778,000 to $1.2 million. In contrast, the average income of taxpayers low and middle income taxpayers dropped by 14.8% to approximately $35,000 in 2009-the lowest level since at least 1987. What is a term for this trend of income distribution?
What is income inequality.
500
Welfare spending is growing -- and is a major source of the state's budget problems. Busted or confirmed
What is busted? Welfare spending dropped by $2.5 billion between 1996-97 and 2009-10. The share of Californians with incomes below the poverty level receiving cash assistance has dropped by more than half since 1995--whle the percentage of families living in poverty has increased.
500
Enacted since 1993, these will cost the state more than $13 billion in 2011-2012. The Legislature continued these through the worst of the state's budget crisis.
What are tax cuts?
500
In California, this supermajority fraction of the Legislature must approve all tax increases.
What is 2/3? California Proposition 13, or the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation was on the June 6, 1978 statewide primary ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The two main objectives of Proposition 13 were to freeze the tax-assessed value of properties at the time of purchase, and to require that when legislative bodies in the state (either the state legislature or local governing boards) wanted to raise taxes, a two-thirds majority vote is required.
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