[pct-l] State parks closing

[Reinhold Metzger]

Say Shelly,
Did it ever occur to you that raising taxes is not the only way to balance a budget?
Did you realize a budget can be balanced by cutting expenses?
Could it be that California is spending beyond its means?

JMT Reinhold
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Shelly wrote:

I completely agree as to having to pay for what you use. California, while I
love my state, has one of the goofiest ways of funding itself. Our state
money it almost completely tied to income and sales tax, so when the economy
is in the tank so are the state coffers. I regularly hike in a local state
park and I would love to donate money directly to keep my park up and
running. However, all park fees go directly to the general fund and not
necessarily into the state park system. The legislature can't raise taxes
without a 2/3rds approval vote of the legislators (we are one of only two
states in the US with this kind of limitation) so our ability to raise
revenue is limited.Sorry if this off topic but it might help to understand
why the park system, not to mention the entire state, is in such trouble.