The following are snippets from an article entitled "Inside the Dire Financial State of the States" which was posted last week on the Time Magazine web site.

"In New Jersey, taxes are high, the budget's a mess, government is inefficiently organized, and the public pension fund is blown to kingdom come. Which makes New Jersey a lot like most other states in 2010. What makes the state unusual is its rookie governor, a human bulldozer named Chris Christie, who vowed to lead like a one-termer and is keeping his promise with brio. He has proposed chopping $11 billion from the state's budget — more than a quarter of the total — for fiscal year 2011 (which starts July 1)."

"The tone of the New Jersey budget battle may be distinctive, but many of the same notes can be heard in state capitals across the country. From Hartford to Honolulu, once sturdy state governments are approaching the brink of fiscal calamity, as the crash of 2008 and its persistent aftermath have led to the reckoning of 2010. Squeezed by the end of federal stimulus money on one hand and desperate local governments on the other, states are facing the third straight year of staggering budget deficits, and the necessary cuts will cost jobs, limit services and touch the lives of millions of Americans. Government workers have been laid off in half the states plus Puerto Rico. Twenty-two states have instituted unpaid furloughs. At least 28 states have ordered across-the-board budget cuts, with many of them adding deeper cuts in targeted agencies. And massive shortfalls in public pension plans loom as well."

"Almost no one — and no place — is exempt. Nearly everywhere, tax revenue plummeted as property values tanked, incomes dwindled and consumers stopped shopping. Falling prices for stocks and real estate have made mincemeat of often underfunded public pension plans. Unemployed workers have swelled the demand for welfare and Medicaid services. Governments that were frugal in the past are just squeaking by. Governments that were lavish in the good times, building their budgets on optimism and best-case scenarios, now risk being wrecked like a shantytown in an earthquake"

"Many taxpayers might say that it's about time spending dropped. But then they start hearing the specifics. Government budgets contain a lot of fixed costs and herds of sacred cows. K-12 education absorbs nearly a third of all spending from state general funds. Add medical expenses, primarily Medicaid, and it's over half. Prisons must be maintained, colleges and universities kept open, interest on bonds and other loans paid. Real cuts provoke loud howls, and you can hear them rising in every corner of the country. College students have marched in California, firefighters have protested in Florida, and on June 10, Minnesota saw the largest one-day strike of nurses — some 12,000 — in U.S. history.

And don't count on the shaky economic recovery for relief. After plunging in 2009, tax receipts are stabilizing in many places — but the next big shoe is fixing to drop. Having poured billions of dollars into state coffers through the stimulus act of 2009, the federal government is poised to close the tap. President Obama made an unusual Saturday night request to Congress last week for $50 billion in emergency aid to the states to stave off layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police. But it's an election year, and there is scant appetite among vulnerable Democrats in Washington for more zeros at the end of the federal deficit. (Only the federal government is allowed to run deficits; states and cities must balance their budgets or face default.) Already, 11 states are projecting major budget gaps — greater than 10% of general-fund spending — well into 2013. Such persistent budget woes are unprecedented in the era of modern American government. You'd have to go back to the 1930s to find a parallel "

This is more of this article at the following link:

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1997284,00.html

i love when people have nothing original to say and think they are cool by pressing copy and paste...i come here to say my odd opinion but more over to read about OUR community...not about the dire state of the US

Precisely wavoes!!!

The USA continues to be the elephant we share a bed with so it is good for us to be aware of that, after all, that is the major reason we find ourselves in the bit of a pickle we are in.

However, articles like that do nothing to inspire us of how to solve our own problems. In fact, most do nothing to solve anyone's problem.

We need to focus on our community and how it fits in with the rest of the province and Canada in the first instance. Let others take care of the international relationships.

Unless, of course, there are some who want to go on junkets to foreign countries in the hopes of finding green pastures we might have access to. :-)

http://www.pocwatches.com/

Not only does the HST kick in on July 1 but there is an increase at the pumps as well...another of Campbell's carbon taxes...I notice that one has been kept pretty quiet...
otherwise all have a good friday and enjoy the weekend

Where's Gordo?
Our leaders are very quiet,maybe too quiet.
They must be up to something.
I am expecting some life altering,profound announcement that will fix everything amd make us show them the love...

Nice to see some major city streets getting paved rather than just patched. Good job guys.

With all the security horror stories I have just been reading from back east,makes you wonder if were still living in Canada!

Besides with today's technology, couldn't they video conference these g20 summits...would be hell of a lot cheaper than a billion frickin' dollars!

The cost will be one billion two hundred million, if not higher - for a 72 hour private party since the public is kept out by a three meter high barrier, tens of thousands of military and police, assisted by helicopter, airplanes and boats.

The whole private party could have been held at a Canadian military base (they have runways for airplanes) for 1% of the cost.

They could have met on an American airplane carrier (protected by a submarine and a missile cruiser)anchored off the coast - voila, $ 1.18 billion dollars saved (not added to our federal debt)!

Or, via a simple video conference!

So..... natives in BC want to "harvest" a few eagles for "ceremonial" purposes....

How do I adequately express my outrage at this incredible bullshit ????

I do not care if it is natives or non-natives.... this mindset is unbelieveable.

It is not bad enough to condone the waste of gut-gaffed fish at Moricetown who are shook off because they are too small...or large fish who are kept but sold for "ceremonial" purposes.

This is the end of my support and acceptance for native "rights" !!!

Bullshit !!


V.

I know PrinceGeorge its just rampant spending with these Governments isn't it!

I wonder if Bell's claim to fame after his recall will be a legion of BC Campfire Cops?

Remember, we "harvest" ducks. Oh, and moose .... and bears ... and deer ..... and muskrat ..... and .... and ....

Humans were born to harvest the riches of the earth .... oil .... gold .... uranimum ... gravel ..... wood .....

The earth has unlimited resources that are there for our taking ....

And we are worried about 17 eagles??

If they "harvest" those, the entire system will come crashing down.

Campfire size. 20" x 20". Square campfire with no limit to height? Round campfire 20" diameter x 20" high. Seems a campfire is 3 dimensional. What is the missing dimension?

We're rightfully indignant at the cost of the G8/G20 perennial yap, but in reality we're just witnessing the futility of trying to measure reality with flawed figures.

Maybe we should start to view it like our so-called 'leaders' do. It's only 'money'.

If they DIDN'T have their high-priced face-to-face conflab how much would we 'save'?

In the sense that certain 'costs' are specifically assigned to the Summit as an accounting exercise, probably quite a bit. But would most of those 'costs' disappear if they weren't allocated towards the Summit? Not likely. They'd simply be allocated elsewhere ~ perhaps more productively, perhaps not ~ but the 'money' would still be spent.

It could well be that these Summits, and such like, serve a far more sinister purpose than anything most of us will ever imagine. They're a 'diversion'. A way of getting us to howl collectively about their cost, and the obvious waste (of creating a "lake", et al), and reinforce in our minds that government finances are just like our own private finances. Only they're NOT.

Now maybe we should start to ask ourselves just TO WHOSE BENEFIT fostering the idea that any sovereign community, organised as a Nation, which is clearly self-financing (since it actually has the power to create legal tender 'money'), HAS to be financed the same way you and I and everyone else is?

By getting 'money' from someone else, who, if the "$" trail is traced back far enough, got it from a private Bank that created it, (as is the proper purpose of any Bank), but IMPROPERLY CLAIMS "OWNERSHIP" of it, and through that has a lien on EVERYTHING it can BUY.

some numbers for you (all are from credible sources and are available in the references provided below)

Last year we spent $409 million on fire fighting burning 242,142 Ha, this equates to $1,689.09/Ha of firefighting costs. The provincial 10 year average is $109 million.

This year we budgeted $51.7 million for fire suppression. The total area burned so far this year is 12,135Ha, which equates to 12,135Ha*$1,689.09Ha = $21.3 million spend so far this year (assuming the cost per hectare is equivalent to last year).

As it is only June 25th, at this rate, it seems we will be exceeding our budget this year. It is not foreseeable that during a dry year, with low snowpack (at lower elevations), that we would spend at least the ten year average on wildfire suppression?

References
http://bcwildfire.ca/History/ReportsAndReviews/2009/Report%20Fire%20Season%202009-final.pdf

http://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2010/sp/pdf/ministry/for.pdf

http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/Statistics.asp

One year ago Michael Jackson died. I will miss him. All that talent in one man. Just amazing.

See the man caused globull warming crowd had a little get together up the hill to see how they can scam more money to perpetuate their scam.

To those that think this site should only be devoted to PG issues, well the world does come to PG whether you like it or not. We cannot hide our eyes and think the boogy men will go away. I like cut and paste myself, read a lot of interesting things here that way. Maybe we should just send letters to each other.

Everyone is going to have a doctor in 5 years...boy are the Liberals running scared...
I hope both happens...lol

I too believe that we need to pay at least a little attention to what is happening elsewhere in the world. To the naysayers: is there something wrong with learning from someone elses mistakes? I think not. Of course, learning what not to do and actually having the ability to do something in order to prevent it are two very different things. None of us could have prevented crooked investment gurus from stealing or failing in their schemes, but I bet a lot of us will think twice next time we have a sum of money to invest.
Further to what Seamutt said about the glo-bull warming crowd, that volcano in Iceland has pretty much erased the environmentalists efforts to date in one swell foop. Heres a tip: Mother Nature will always win. Always.
metalman.

I love Prince George..so there!!!!

I love PG too. As an aside though, I am to understand that the First Nations people in Ontariario are going to be exempt from paying HST. Now our provincial First Nations folk are jumping on the same band wagon as those easterners. Geez! Taxation based on race? Gadzooks! I predict the furor over implementing the HST will pale with the uproar over our new RST. That's right, folks. Rascist Sales Tax. Dress it up as you like. Spin it around. It still doesn't look or feel right. Hypothetically then, if yer mom is FN and yer dad is white, does it not follow then you only have to pay half this tax? Work with me on this. In closing , methinks the FN folk from the provinces now with HST will seek the same exemption and maybe those taxes they paid, they will want them back. Divided we stand? Maybe we should work that phrase into our national anthem. Would be fitting. More to come about this , folks. Hang on.

Apparently Greenpeace accepted a cheque fer ten million bucks from BP a while back. That's why they are keeping their lips zipped about this spill in the Gulf. Lest people believe they are hypocrits. Good move, BP. Good and smart thinking. Destroy yer enemy with kindness. Yes!!! Every one has a price! I knew it!!

I hate th HST, exactly why I created Recall BC Libs on Facebook......IF they see enough people willing to recall thier MLA, Which I am ready, They might, just might back down......Time for the one legged beast to fall!

Harbinger Sierra club and World Wildlife Foundation have also received big money from BP. Notice how quiet they are also.

Also BP has got into alternate energy, windfarms and such. The reason being the big government subsidies re. taxpayers money to be collected.

While the HST sucks, and was denied prior to the election, it will happen one way or another. If they scrap it they will find another way to tax us. Great for big business, hosing for the average guy. Make no mistake, they need these funds.
BC needs a centrist party without the far right loons posing as "liberals".

They only "need these funds" (from the HST) to keep the Banks happy. But where would the Banks be if there were no borrowers in government to cover their butts on loans made to the private sector that couldn't otherwise be fully amortised?

What we have now is a financial system that really has no ethics. But even if it were ethical, it cannot be made to work.

If the government took 100% of our incomes in taxation, and in return promised to provide us with 100% of the goods and services both it and the private sector provide us now, they'd still have to go into debt to do it.

Only then there'd be NO ONE to pay the debt ~ for the government would've taken 100% of our incomes in taxation, and we'd have no 'money' left.

What the heck's with that paving job on the Hart? They paved three little sections? That's it? I was getting all geared up to ride on some decent blacktop for a change.

Oh yeah, I lost a hubcap on third yesterday. If anyone finds it please let me know. Thanks! :)

"Humans were born to harvest the riches of the earth .... oil .... gold .... uranimum ... gravel ..... wood .....
The earth has unlimited resources that are there for our taking ...."gus

Its thinking like this that is killing our earth.
if we kill all the birds...they are dead.
If we contaminate all our food sources we are dead.
even a dog wont shit where it eats..which is one lesson humans are haveing problems with

I remember a native costal band about 10 years ago wanted to kill a whale for harvest and ceremonial purposes. Well they did, and after removing about 300lbs of meat the rest rotted on shore. They are quick to jump on the wagon or circle it to protect their own. When we all are supposed to be caretakers of the planet.

So what M.J. gone forever!! he was a child molester..
Lets focus on recalling bond and Bell..C U by..

How many people here maybe going east instead of south for shopping and entertainment considering HST and carbon tax?

Entertainment? Unless I go to Toronto, Vancouver has the best selection of entertainment. Edmonton and Calgary are just not in the same league.

Shopping? I have never gone away from PG to make major purchases. The only reason I have ever purchased anything outside of PG is because we did not have it.

On top of that, my business takes me to Vancouver not Alberta or points east. That allows me to typically couple business with pleasure at a very low cost to the pleasure part.

As far as I can remember, tax differential has never caused me to consider one action versus an alternate action.

Boudicca ... sorry for my tongue in cheeck post ...

Just trying to point out that someone forgot in their post about the eagles that such "harvesting" is miniscule comapred to what the masses are doing.

In my opinion, singling out the eagles "harvesting" to post on here is entirely racially based!!

doneright ..... they actually removed 300 pounds of meat?? Good!!

How often do you protest when other "harvesting" goes on?

How many people hunt for the sake of hunting not because they need the meat because they would otherwise not be able to afford it?

How many of those hunters "cherry-pick" the carcass and leave the rest behind for nature to take care of it?

BTW, most hunting that people do in Canada falls under the defintion of "traditional" and maybe even "ceremonial".

Traditional - "my father used to hunt. I am carrying on a family tradition"

Ceremonial - "well son, this is a big day for you when dad takes you out on your first hunt"

"Humans were born to harvest the riches of the earth ...."

The definition of harvesting assumes that a harvest is a reward for planting and tending, taking care of a crop, for instance.

Since humans did not create the earth they are helping themselves to something that belongs to the earth and all living organisms on it equally.

The taking of the riches is often nothing but reckless plunder and destructive exploitation.

This includes the extermination of other species - something that is happening every day and at an accelerating pace.

Nobody knows what humans are born for. It's a wild guess that they were born to harvest something that they did not even plant. What makes them think that they have any special entitlement?

Your right Prince George. Humans are not much more that scavengers. The eat everything they come in contact with, from Rats, to Fish Eyes, to Cows Tongues, to Sheep Brains, and Bulls's Balls. Just to name a few.

They destroy most of what they run into, and then build huge skyscrapers of steel and concrete and call it beautiful. They are the bane of the Earth. They are worse than locusts and harder to kill. They continue to breed on a massive scale and never think about whether they can or cannot feed their offspring.

In a perfect world humans would be absent.

What is their claim to fame?? I dont think they have one.

Charles did you know that the city of PG has more people employed making over a $100,000 per year than the entire state government of New Jersey... I found that a very interesting little statistic.

I don't think so Eagleone. Check out the following link. Put a checkmark in the $100,000 + box.

http://php.app.com/njstate_employees/search.php

Good World Cup Soccer information link:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/world-cup-2010/writers/jen_chang/06/25/preview.roundof16/index.html?hpt=C1