Taxes are great!

I drove into Santa Barbara CA last weekend for an overnight stay.  Debbie and I were sightseeing.  We had not been there before.

We walked into our hotel lobby and found a flyer called "2012-2013 Free Map, Santa Barbara, Solvang, Buellton & Ventura - Traveler Info Guide."  The map shows all the scenic attractions in the immediate area and there are plenty wonderful sights to see.  So I thought this map was a good use of taxpayer dollars, albeit for a non-essential service.

I probably shouldn't have looked at the fine print, because before that I actually thought that they had used their residents' taxes to publish a map for people like me, who come to visit and spend money in their city.  But it was published by Anne M. Fearn, of Fearn's.  If you're going to Santa Barbara, you can download the map here.

Offering tourists a map of their city would likely be beneficial to the city (and its advertisers).  The city could probably have used taxpayer funds to publish its own map.  But, funding the publication of the map is simply micro symptomatic... it's more about the macro issue.  Their current Fiscal Outlook Report (Oct 12) states:

"It is currently anticipated that there will be a budget gap of $14.9 million in FY 2012‐13. The budget gap can be solved through a combination of strategies including ongoing measures such as increasing efficiencies, increasing revenues, and decreasing levels of service, or one‐time measures such as utilizing prior year savings and existing fund balance."

We know that government is unlikely to increase efficiency.  Increasing revenue is a disingenuous way of saying they're going to raise taxes (again).  Levels of services are at an all-time low already according to the locals. Utilizing prior year savings and existing fund balances is government speak for "robbing the till to pay the bills."

So now I don't like Santa Barbara any more... mainly because they have mismanaged their finances.  But I like the county, because it's easy on the eye.  Damn map that started it all!

But, we'll probably visit sometime in the future again, because the drive south on Highway 1 from Half Moon Bay to San Simeon is real easy on the eye, and very relaxing with frequent stops.

California's State deficit estimate has just hit $16 billion, which is a surge from the $9.2 billion estimated in January.  It also means deeper, more painful cuts, according to Governor Brown.  There is no obvious fix in sight, and seemingly no political will to address to underfunding of California State liabilities.  Santa Barbara is just a symptom of a brewing and simmering macro financial disaster!