Blogging on Meds

Is it any surprise that California Republicans would hand out tax cuts for the uber-rich during a $16,000,000,000 budget crisis while also drastically cutting funding for education?
Reasonable Californians… get ready to be sunk to new depths.

The Courage Campaign has sent out this email today, promoting the commercial you see here and asking for donations:

It’s shocking and unbelievable.

California is in crisis, facing a $16 billion budget deficit. Social services are being slashed to the bone. Teachers and education professionals are being laid off by the thousands (up to 20,000, according to California Department of Education). Tuition and fees at state universities and colleges are being raised through the roof.

And California Republican Assembly members are unanimously supporting an appalling loophole in our state’s tax code that allows the super-rich to avoid paying sales taxes on…

Yachts.

Still blinking in disbelief? You read that right: Tax loopholes for yacht owners.

While you are wondering if your child’s school is going to be shut down because of the brutal cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his California Republican “Yacht Party” colleagues in the state legislature are protecting the lavish lifestyles of the super-wealthy.

With the budget crisis approaching catastrophe, it’s time to change the conversation inside our state capital. Inspired by California netroots activists like David Dayen and Robert Cruickshank, the Courage Campaign asked our friends at Agit Pop Communications to create a memorable ad to air on cable news programs watched by Republicans in Sacramento (OK, we also want to air it on “fake news” shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but not fake news like the Fox News Channel).

To air this ad Wednesday on CNN and MSNBC, plus the Daily Show and Colbert Report, we have to raise $10,000 by Tuesday from members like you.

That means we need 250 generous donors contributing an average of $40 per person ASAP. Will you chip in $25, $50 or $75 or more on ActBlue to fund our “Yacht Party” ad campaign no later than Tuesday at 12 p.m.?

http://www.actblue.com/page/YachtParty

Yacht purchases aren’t the only tax loophole California Republicans are blowing open for the fat-cat donors who paved their path to power in Sacramento.

Get this: Private jets are tax-free as well.

The only catch? Richie Rich must stash his yacht or private jet outside of California for at least 90 days.

So, if you’re wealthy enough to not only own a yacht but spend a sizable chunk of time vacationing on it (or sneakily ship it elsewhere for a few months), you don’t have to pay one dime of sales tax on your ultra-luxurious extravagance. Meanwhile, people like us pay sales tax on essential needs, from clothing to school supplies. And the Republicans in the state legislature march in lockstep, calling for draconian cuts that will destroy California’s social safety net.