Thread: California Hires Eric Holder for Legal Fights Against Trump White House

California state debt in 2014 was $778 billion.

California Federal aid in 2013 was $58 billion

If Holder is anything like Obama which he is, Trump will slice and dice him, LOL

Monday, January 9, 2017 12:34 PM
By: Joe Crowe

Judicial Watch has submitted a request to the California Legislature's Joint Rules Committee to seek the employment records of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The group announced the action on its website.

On Jan. 4, California Democrats announced their hiring of Holder to assist in defending state policies against any legal battles that might ensue with Donald Trump's administration.

Judicial Watch objected, saying the hiring of Holder wastes tax dollars.

In a statement issued Monday, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said his watchdog group's "records request is designed to expose how California state legislators are wasting tax dollars to take care of another corrupt politician — Eric Holder — under the guise of resisting the rule of law on immigration and other matters. His record at the [Hillary] Clinton and [President Barack] Obama Justice Departments demonstrates a willingness to bend the law in order to protect his political patrons."

Holder is the first U.S. attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress. He was one of Obama's "longest-serving and most controversial Cabinet members," according to the Judicial Watch report. He served as U.S. attorney general from 2009-2015.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/eri.../09/id/767527/

Originally Posted by lorrie

California state debt in 2014 was $778 billion.

California Federal aid in 2013 was $58 billion

Intragovernmental holdings stood at $5.4 trillion, giving a combined total gross NATIONAL DEBT of $19.8 TRILLION or about 106% of the previous 12 months of GDP. $6.2 trillion or approximately 45% of the debt held by the public was owned by foreign investors, the largest of which were China and Japan at about $1.25 ...

National debt of the United States - Wikipedia


California’s economy now 6th in world

It hires private lawyers to protect itself from Trump’s federal government


Former Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite,File)

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES - - Sunday, January 8, 2017

The Democratic liberals have treated the Second, Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution with the respect given to discarded Kleenex over the eight years of the Obama presidency. But California, the bluest of the blue states, has just discovered, of all things, states’ rights. The ghost of Strom Thurmond and his States’ Rights Democrats is apparently alive and well in Sacramento.

The State of California has hired Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general, to save itself from Donald Trump and the fearsome policies it expects from the federal government as directed by his administration. The state’s officials and their constituents earlier applauded Barack Obama’s chipping away at the Constitution, declining to join the coalitions of red states in their successful challenge of the president’s end run around the founding document, to impose extreme environmental regulations, expansion of abortion rights, and making public restrooms sanctuaries for the gender-confused and anyone else who wants to wander in for a peek at the privacy-deprived.

Kevin de Leon, the president pro-tem of the state Senate, and Anthony Rendon, the speaker of the state Assembly, announced last week that the state had retained not only Mr. Holder but a team of lawyers from the Washington law firm Covington and Burling, where Mr. Holder landed when he left government employment.

Mr. Holder is a truly distinguished lawyer, holding the distinction of being the first attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress, for withholding documents about his Operation Fast and Furious, the botched sting of gun dealers by selling marked guns to them. Mr. Holder and his Covington and Burling colleagues were hired to advise the Democratic legislature about how to “resist any attempts to roll back the progress California has made.” Lawyers like to make work for other lawyers, but it’s not clear why the new state attorney general, a Democrat, is not up to the job of protecting the state’s rights.

California, once the most envied state for its glamour, sparkle and prosperity, clearly needs help now in spending money it no longer has. California officials concede that the state faces a “wall of debt” of $26 billion, and when unfunded state and municipal liabilities (pensions, bonds, interfund borrowing, and so forth) are included, the debt surpasses $400 billion.

Mr. Holder has a tough job ahead of him. “We’re talking about workers’ rights, civil rights, voting rights, environmental protections, climate action, protecting children from being separated from their mothers, and massive deportations,” Mr. de Leon, the president pro-tem of the state Senate, says, sharing his laundry list with The Washington Post. Mr. Holder says he’s “honored” that he is to be California’s legal adviser, as a lawyer with a client should be, “as it considers how to respond to potential changes in federal law that could impact California’s residents and policy priorities.”

Tim Clark, the director of the Trump campaign in California, has a different view of the attempt to continue the 2016 presidential campaign. “[California] has most debt, worst roads, failing schools, highest poverty,” he Tweeted. “So what’s the plan? Hire Eric Holder to fight Trump.”

California’s improbable discovery of states’ rights might lead the state’s leaders to look to the example of the several red states that successfully challenged great swaths of President Obama’s attempt to impose his radical-left agenda on everyone. But probably not. California still thinks it’s the promised land, but cold reality has overtaken the promise. The piper wants his pay, and the state, once golden, is broke.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...states-rights/

Doesn't matter how big CA economy is....

the state is still insolvent and can't pay their bills when due

Yes, the news today by Gov. Brown is that the state has a 1.6 billion deficit. Taxes are probably coming....

I'm sorry Jean. I'm sure they will be wanting to raise taxes on you out there. I wish there was more we could do to help California, such a beautiful state and so many nice people. We'll continue fighting illegal immigration and soon that problem and expense wil at least be over soon.

As to the crazy lefties, well, it looks like they're not moving to Canada after all. Nothing much we can do about that except boycott their movies, and I'm all in on that one.

"Legislative leaders see a surplus with room to comfortably increase expenditures."
==============

Brown, Legislature differ sharply on California budget

• By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press
• Updated 17 hrs ago

• Rich Pedroncelli

California Gov. Jerry Brown discusses his 2017-2018 state budget plan he released at a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

• Rich Pedroncelli

State Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, talks to reporters about California Gov. Jerry Brown's 2017-18 state budget at the Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. Brown released his $122.5 billion state spending plan, and warned of a looming $1.6 billion budget deficit because of slow growth on tax revenues. Nielsen, the ranking Republican on the Senate budget committee said that "Our California budget is perilously balanced" and that "the governor has, along with the Republicans, opted to hold the line on our spending." (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown sees a budget deficit and an urgent need for spending cuts.

Legislative leaders see a surplus with room to comfortably increase expenditures.

Always at odds when it comes to the budget, the Democratic governor and the Democratic Legislature are particularly far apart this year as they embark on six months of spending negotiations amid uncertainty about federal funding under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.


Brown staked out a conservative opening position Tuesday, warning of a potential $1.6 billion budget deficit and proposing a spending plan that keeps general fund expenditures flat at $122.5 billion. Since costs rise every year, his plan would require cuts to keep pace, and he suggested eliminating billions of dollars allocated to education, state building construction, subsidized housing, college scholarships and child care providers.

He seeks to boost the state's reserve fund to $7.9 billion — up from $6.7 billion in the current budget year — to help soften what he warned is an inevitable recession after 10 years of economic recovery.

"You've got to save your money or you're going to lose the farm," Brown said, acknowledging that he expected "some shoving back and forth" with lawmakers as a final budget compromise is negotiated by June.

Democratic legislative leaders gave Brown's budget a tepid reception. Acknowledging the need for caution in the face of federal uncertainty, they nonetheless rejected Brown's proposed cuts to college scholarships and child care while insisting they will still push to increase spending on social welfare programs.

"This is not a time to eliminate important programs that lift up the middle class," Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, said in a statement.

Brown said months of lower-than-expected revenue, combined with the likelihood of a recession and the potential for drastic cuts in federal spending, demand restraint.

His projection for a deficit was a stark contrast with the forecast released in November by the Legislature's nonpartisan budget expert, Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, who projected a surplus as high as $2.8 billion.

Drawing on that forecast, Assembly Democrats in December called for $1 billion in new spending for things such as expanding the state earned-income tax credit, mandatory full-day kindergarten and reducing college costs.

To maintain current spending, Brown proposes cutting $3.2 billion from future commitments, about half by giving schools and community colleges less than expected. He wants to stop enrolling new college students in the Middle Class Scholarships program, saving more than $30 million, cancel $300 million in upgrades to state buildings and drop a $400 million proposal for affordable housing that the Legislature rejected last year.

Brown also proposed canceling higher payments for state-funded child care providers.

The governor's budget includes $800 million more to cover people who joined Medi-Cal under Obamacare.

He also revisited his previous proposal, which has stalled in the Legislature, to increase gas and vehicle taxes to raise $4.2 billion per year for road construction and maintenance. In all, California's spending plan would reach $179.5 billion when restricted "special funds" and bonds are included.

Brown also proposed eliminating driver's license suspensions for people who fail to pay court fines — a move sought by social justice activists who say the practice traps people in poverty.

Many Republicans, who are more often aligned with Brown than legislative Democrats on spending, offered qualified support for the governor's approach but said he should look to fix roads with existing funds rather than new taxes.


Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, the ranking Republican on the Senate budget committee, called the budget "perilously balanced" and urged Brown to continue holding the line on spending.

"We cannot be getting loose with the purse in California," he said.

Trump and the Republican-led U.S. Congress have vowed to repeal or alter many programs that affect California, from immigration to President Barack Obama's health care law. California has embraced the program and has enrolled about 5 million people in private health insurance or publicly funded Medi-Cal coverage.

The proposed budget assumes federal policies remain the same, but Brown noted the uncertainty is another reason to maintain the fiscal prudence for which he consistently advocates.

"If they do go down that road, it will be extremely painful for California," Brown said.

http://qctimes.com/business/governor...718b159f3.html

California revenue is growing. So why the talk of deficits?

Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press
Updated 3:10 pm, Wednesday, January 11, 2017


Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP
California Gov. Jerry Brown discusses his 2017-2018 state budget plan he released at a news conference Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif.


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's economy is expanding and voters just approved billions of dollars in tax increases, yet Gov. Jerry Brown this week projected a budget deficit for the first time in four years and called for spending cuts.

So what's going on?

The paradoxical budget picture is a result of revenue growing more slowly than economists had predicted after years of rapid increases from a hard-charging economy. While Brown expects revenue to be up 3 percent next year, Brown and lawmakers assumed revenues would be even higher when they planned the current budget, and they spent accordingly.

Costs are higher than expected, too.

Lower revenue and higher costs mean the state has approved spending money that Brown doesn't think it will collect. He is proposing to cut $3.2 billion allocated to education, state building construction, affordable housing, college grants and child care providers.

"The red always far outweighs the black, and the years of surplus are very few in number and very modest, and the deficits are much larger in magnitude," Brown, a Democrat, told reporters when he released his opening budget proposal on Tuesday. "And that really is the challenge of California."

Brown's administration says California's three biggest income sources — personal income taxes, sales taxes and corporate taxes — are all coming in below projections.

That's because recent growth in wages has been dominated by workers at the lower end of the wage spectrum who pay less in taxes, according to the Department of Finance. Many new jobs are going to people new to the workforce or re-entering it, who tend to make lower wages, and minimum wage increases are raising labor costs.

The higher labor costs, combined with fears of lower earnings in the coming year, are diminishing corporate profits and the taxes they pay.

And sales taxes are depressed by high costs for housing and health care — expenses that don't incur sales tax but eat up consumers' disposable income and crowd out other spending.

Meanwhile, costs are rising.

For the current budget year, Brown and the Legislature approved $6.2 billion in new optional spending on programs they care about; about $700 million of it is for ongoing costs for universities, state workers, the courts and prison system, and social services.

They also under-calculated how much it would cost to operate Medi-Cal, the publicly funded health plan for the poor, by about $1.8 billion.

Brown could also be wrong. The administration's revenue forecast for the next budget year is $4.1 billion less than the Legislature's estimate released two months ago, which projected a surplus.

Republicans say the problem isn't with revenue but with spending.

Despite the recent revenue slowdown driving Brown's current deficit projection, state revenue is up $36 billion since the worst of the budget bleeding that followed the Great Recession. Some of the extra money is thanks to robust economic improvement that drove up wages and employment, and some is the fruit of voter-approved tax increases on high-income earners.

About two-thirds of the $36 billion has gone to required education spending; by law, about half of state revenue must go to K-12 schools and community colleges. Per-student spending in the governor's budget proposal is up $3,900 since 2011-2012.

Brown and lawmakers have also expanded higher education funding. Costs are up for public-employee pensions and retiree health care costs. The higher minimum wage and collective bargaining agreements have increased state labor costs.

"Just last November, California voters approved an additional $10 billion of new taxes to line our government's pockets, yet the governor and the Democrats have managed to spend $2 billion more than the state is projected to collect," Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, said in a statement.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/C...f-10851413.php