Issue | Date | Original Bond / billions | 30-year cost with interest |
Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train | 11/08 | 9.95 | 19.4 billion / 30 years |
Children’s Hospital Bond Act | 11/08 | 0.98 | 2 / 30 |
Veteran’s Bond Act of 2008 | 11/08 | 0.9 | 1.8 / 30 |
Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security | 11/06 | 19.9 | 38.9 / 30 |
Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund | 11/06 | 2.85 | 6.12 / 30 |
Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities | 11/06 | 10.416 | 20.3 / 30 |
Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention | 11/06 | 4.09 | 8 / 30 |
Water Quality, Safety and Supply. Flood Control. Natural Resource Protection. Park Improvements | 11/06 | 5.388 | 10.5 / 30 |
Children’s Hospital Projects. Grant Program | 11/04 | 0.75 | 1.5 / 30 |
Stem Cell Research. Funding. Bonds | 11/04 | 3 | 6 / 30 |
Kindergarten -University Public Education Facilities Bond Act | 3/04 | 12.3 | 24.7 / 30 |
Economic Recovery Bond Act | 3/04 | 15 | Fuzzy - replaces earlier 10.7 bond |
Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act | 11/02 | 2.1 | 4.7 / 30 |
Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act | 11/02 | 13.05 | 26.2 / 30 |
Water Quality, Supply and Safe Drinking Water Projects. Coastal Wetlands Purchase and Protection | 11/02 | 3.44 | 5.7 / 30 |
California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act | 3/02 | 2.6 | 4.3 / 30 |
Voting Modernization Bond Act | 3/02 | 0.2 | 0.255 / 30 |
Veterans’ Bond Act | 11/00 | 0.5 | N/A |
Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act | 3/00 | 2.1 | 3.6 / 30 |
Safe Drinking Water, Clean Water, Watershed Protection, and Flood Protection Bond Act | 3/00 | 1.97 | 3.4 / 25 |
California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act | 3/00 | 0.35 | 0.6 / 25 |
Totals: | 111.834 | 187.975 billion | |
Annualized cost | 6.27 billion per year |
At a time when California's bond rating is the worst in the nation (just a plain old "A" at S&P--on a "AAA", "AA", "A", "BBB" system) we're borrowing money for the stupidest projects--and projects which obviously should be coming from the general fund, such as school construction and clean water.
Californians on Tuesday said that they were fed up, but time and again, they showed the same restraint as the politicians.
Not every idea needs to be followed through. Not everything that should be followed through should be done by government. Not everything that should be done by government should be paid for by debt-financing the project!
And just to point out: the 2008 bond initiatives alone called for more than 11 billion dollars worth of paying on credit.
Addendum: Of course, 2006 was the banner year. All tolled, the bond initiatives add up to 42.644 billion dollars. According to the state's revenue service, total revenues into the state that year were: 120.739 billion. That means, in a single year, the people of California decided to borrow 35.3% of their annual income to pay for the initiatives.
Let's put it this way: Say you found a wonderful education charity. One that worked on all levels from K through university. One that really worked and that you believed in. Let's also say that you have an income of $121,000 a year. Would you ever dream of taking out a $10,400 loan in order to give it to that charity?
That's essentially what the state did that year, with a 10.416 billion dollar bond for K-U schools.
We really can't blame the politicians for this mess. You get the politicians you deserve. The spending in Sacramento was entirely in line with the expectations of the electorate.
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