California poised to shut gates on 80% of the States great outdoors as parks struggle with budgets

Why is it when money's tight all the best stuff is cut first?? What the hell is he thinking!!

Hmmmm no park rangers on these isolated lands??? pot farmers are going to have a great year in cali!!

Closing the parks would save 143 million. That's only 0.005 % of the shortfall.

Completely not worth it!

Here's a novel idea... how about actually getting rid of all the extra fat in government? How about cutting wages for government officials? how about cutting all the wasteful and useless boards?

We need to put dinosaurs in the parks and then just charge twice as much. This is the simplest solution because who doesn't like dinosaurs?

G'damn ETspoon you're an idiot.

why are we being punished for their falures. well there goes the wildlife, harvesting of black bear for their gallbladders is a big problem, 15k to 60k each bladder on the chinese market. venison will become more available at the mexican markets where i get my $1 tacos. eagle and condor feathers sell faster than a couger skull at a gun show.

"Our wallet is empty, Our Bank is closed, Our credit is dried up" Governor Arnold Schwartenegger, Governor of California. The Great Bear State is struggling in Bearish hard times, yes, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. California is now poised to do what no other of the American States can do: limitedly legalize Cannabis. When I hear of the grossly underestimated Billions it could bring into their money supply, I have to smile. Try TRILLIONS !!! We Americans of the modern day have no insights into how Cannabis has been used interchangeably with Gold as money in nearly all cultures and at many times throughout World History. Even my many books on the subject only report its 10,000 practical uses. They're not a time machine to transport me back to colonial America where they commonly used Cannabis for so many things that they could spare their Gold for those things it could not substitute for. But I have a good idea of how extremely valuable it was to them. And how it can be to California. Noone needs to lock all the legislators in a room filled with
tables of their favorite fruit and release Cannabis smoke to get them to legalize its 10,000 uses. They only need to understand its basic economics. Passing
a law which legalizes industrial hemp would stimulate all the thousands of businesses to produce products
saving them Billions in costs...Would then allow them to hire workers...Would then put Billions of State income tax dollars immediatety in real time back into the State's Bank. The proposed taxation at $50 a Z
for non medical Cannabis use for over 21 year olds is only the tip of the iceberg producing mere Billions. It's the supermassive black hole effect of sucking in Trillions of dollars of tourist money from all points on the globe that will flood California with its direly needed money supply. As it will redirect its internal citizens' money flow away from the contrabandistas to the State Treasury. The History Channel documents
how the dicovery of Gold at Sutter's Mill in 1849 triggered THE most massive migration of humans in modern recorded World History. Millions of people from as far away as Japan and Australia, Europe and
India flocked to California(with their money) to strike it rich. When they couldn't, they continued on to to the Yukon and Klondike to find it there. My point is that California can be booming with all kinds of business stimulation, and tax revenues, with people having money in their pockets again to spend if they would
simply free a weed from the prison of human ignorance and fear. FDR was right. The only thing that people have to fear is fear itself. (assuming they're cautious and sensible enough to do the right things anyway)

sucks

Removing parks in the long run decreases public health and concern. A good rule of thumb should be 'Do NOT touch school and parks or their funding". Unless your goal is to breed a generation of unhealthy dolts. Which I would not put past some governments. Probably the only way some can build up army infantry.

This is really really stupid! these parks belong to us,the people, not to you rich scumbags! Cut government saleries! Cut coporate welfare! Don't close state or national parks!

Baily--I'm sure us Cali kids would be up for your idea too. It would rid of us of the christian conservative clones who constrict concious clever-minded types into recession. Plus we'd be closer to our Hawaii brethren.

lets just push California off into the ocean and be done with it. Why do we keep bailing them out?

I wonder if they are going to close the Pacific Ocean next.

I have an idea. Make California the guinea pig for the green energy revolution. Jobs, tax revenue, no more rolling blackouts, and a cleaner environment. If California gets out of the hole, the rest of the country can follow.

Well, something's gotta go. Your vacation in a State Park or you kid's Math teacher.

We have to remember that national parks are are larger part an institutionalized scheme to preserve our forests and natural resources. It's more than the gov't "protecting the right of citizen access to nature." If the gov't stepped back from these natural habitats (which still wouldn't happen for years) and the policies expire, private onwership or enterprise would undoubtedly get invovled. The same moves are happening currently, as we all know, with off-shore drilling in previously protected areas...

It is the perfect time for Gray Davis to initiate a recall on Arnie.

All of this is due to that utter retarded ballet initiative system that California employs. Every election, California voters vote that they want more and more projects funded (despite the none of the voters having a clue as to what the budget is) while at the same time, voting in mass to block any and all attempts by the government to pay for the things demanded by the voter.

Politics have nothing to do with it...its a completely broke system that is holding the state hostage.

Hilarious!
I remember when Arnold got in and Gray Davis went out. Davis had to try and balance the budget because of crap like Enron. He had taxes planned that probably would've done it eventually. Arnold's stupid popularist idea was that he'd do it WITHOUT raising taxes.... Turns out he was wrong. Worse than wrong. He's a fool and the people that voted him in are bigger fools.
What's even more funny is when people say that the GDP of California is bigger than most countries. Oh really? Doesn't help them much, does it?

Liberal californians.....I am laughing at you...

It's stupid and insane to do this. National parks bring in REVENUE, they turn in a profit and pay for themselves with fees.

Even if they didn't, they're not even expensive to maintain! Why don't they repeal the tax break they gave to yacht owners instead?

It doesn't say when this could happen does it? I am going to do the Hwy 1 drive between LA an SF in about 3 weeks. I hope that it isn't closed between now and then.

BIG fat boo.

and yes - I'd like to know the same - "how we can we close off Nature" that's like charging us for AIR.

So, let me get this straight... California is closing parts of NATURE? I know it takes funding to keep national and state parks running, but it sounds so ridiculous. Nature was here first.

The Country was in sad shape when Obama became president....The last time I checked, Arnold was Governor of California..The voters got what they asked for. The Bush Administration is mainly responsible for our huge debt....It will take longer than six months to turn the economy around. I wonder if Arnold is going to cut taxes.

This is a classic political manuver. Take from the people what they love best and they will shut up and fall in line agreeing to higher taxes. Years ago the corrupt Governor of Louisiana, Edward Edwards, now in Federal prison close friend of the Kennedy's, did the same thing during one of the oil price collapses. Arnold is finally showing his Austrian steroid induced ignorance. Shutting the parks reduces tax income from gasoline and fuel, hotels and motels suffer, restaurants, sporting goods and camping supply store suffer, the potential incremental reduction in taxes to the gov't. outweighs the money saved. Why not shut down or reduce some of the non-revenue producing beaurecratic operations? Or my second choice is that he could "terminate his position".

This is what the good citizens of California get for thinking they can live in an advanced industrialized civilization without paying for it.

Who will the Sarah Palin-skirt sniffers, Ted Nugent-fans, Hells Angel-wannabes and fetus-huggers blame when they roll up to a closed Californian state park with a carload of bawling brats wanting to commune with nature?

Because the good voters of California have harkened to the Siren-song of "shrink-government-until-it-can-be-drowned-in-a-bathtub" Norquistian politicians and demagogues, they are the ones responsible for driving the "world's eighth largest economy" into the Third World.

How much does it cost to run wildlife? I would expect only thing national parks pay for are employers wages. I must wrong because running a "park" with trees, grass, and wildlife must be expensive. Aren't forest the same as National parks just with less people? This is confusing

this plain sucks.

If the government would legalize pot and tax it like tobacco & alcohol, we'd have tons of new revenue. Also added saving by not pursuing people who use pot, no court costs and no jail costs. It's a win win!!!!!

legalize pot and leave the parks alone you loser.

What Budget? The way Obama is spending money aroung the world and on wars he must have plenty. else we would have ,millions of Hungry starving men women and children and jobs for everyone. Obama is a miracle maker, I know because I heard him say he was going to make changes and bring the boys home and make everybody rich and happy. That was 6 months ago. Where are these changes that are so good for the people? And dont Blame congress for the failures. They caint be failures because they dont do anything of value to fail. When Obama gave more enhanced powers to the Federal Reserve, Obama exposed himsellf for what he is, A Bilderberger and all of the worlds power to back him up, right or wrong. I dont sympathize with California, for more years that I can remember California has been living beyond their budget and existing on debt, The Bankers and the Federal Reserve Board must love the hell out of Obama and all of the past California Governors who have racked up this debt. Now the Chinese and Spain can buy up some more of the Debt accrued by the incompetent politicians elected to power. Instead of electing politicians we need some intelligent economists and financial wizards. Get rid of all of those attorneys who think that mare Laws are needed to solve our problems. Fire them and burn all of the laws enacted since 1945. And even though he is dead,burn an effigy of Hapless Harry Truman in Washington on the white house lawn. The father of Korean war. No need to legalize pot, Just arrest all of the members of the federal Reserve Board and divert the cast to as real US Treasury. Its as simple as that. Oh yes Fire Geitner and all of the Bear Strearns board members.

I find it tragically ironic that there has been a widely covered epidemic of marijuana growers growing weed in California's protected, public parks and BLM land, while at the same time the debate rages on about the tax revenue that would be generated by legalized marijuana. Isn't the answer staring them in the face?? And now, with the reduction in funding for the managment of the parks, on can assume that the "use" of that land by growers will only increase.