[Rocketfan]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today will propose selling San Quentin Prison, the Los Angeles Coliseum and other state-owned properties in a bid to raise cash to counter the state's daunting budget shortfall.

He also wants to accelerate the sale of Agnews Developmental Center, the 81-acre facility on the north edge of San Jose that closed its doors in March after 120 years.

The proposal to sell off state assets is part of the governor's revised budget plan being released today. Besides the Coliseum and San Quentin, the properties he's eyeing for sale are the Cow Palace in Daly City, the Orange County Fairgrounds, Cal Expo in Sacramento, Del Mar Fairground, and the Ventura County Fair.

The sale of those properties would generate upward of $600 million and possibly more than $1 billion for the state, according to a copy of Schwarzenegger's proposal. But proceeds from those sales would not arrive for another two to five years.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/nation ... i_12364425

[matshark]

or he could lower taxes, cut expenses (i.e. welfare & state representative salaries), enforce immigration laws (which will save the state MILLIONS - or more!) and KEEP the state property.

you know, here's a novel idea, give the state reps a percentage of any budget surplus, provided taxes are not raised during that fiscal year. cut their salaries at the same time and all of a sudden they have a real and urgent desire to lower expenses and keep taxes low as well. why? their pay is tied to their performance. oh, and they can be voted out in two years time if they dont do a good job. man, now THAT'S a compensation package.

[RagingTireFire]

Aside from the prison, why does the state of California own those properties to begin with?

[prototype]

Most states own and operate fairgrounds. I think the coliseum and prison are no brainers, but the fairgrounds? I would be afraid that developments would take those over and it is nice to have fairgrounds where private investors can't jack the rental rates..

[matshark]

I don't think we want states to get in the habit of selling prisons to be run as for profit ventures by companies. Yes, it would save the state a lot of money, but justice and punishment is one of the things that the state needs to administer, not a for profit company. I think we get on very shaky ground when law and punishment is administered by persons other than the state - i.e. corporations. It's very appropriate IMO that prisoners repay their victims and society and that the state (being the representative of the public which has been harmed by their actions) sometimes reap financial benefits from their labor. I think it's very inappropriate when another entity profits from their labor.

Case in point:
Chain gangs and work crews being paid minimum wage and repaying their costs of food and shelter = good. (Might as well get some good out of them)

Companies making money out of running prisons and off of working prisoners, bypassing the state as a beneficiary of their efforts = bad. There is too much potential for corruption and abuse. Further, incarceration being a form of punishment and repayment to society for their actions, society should be reaping the benefit, not a company who is not directly responsible to elected officials.

I'd be quite ok with the state teaching prisoners how to do construction, then paying them much less than they would pay your average construction workers to do road construction. Roads would be constructed more cost effectively, money would be deducted from their paychecks to pay for costs of food and lodging (reducing the tax payer cost - if not eliminating it) and when they were released they would have a legitimate trade to practice and be able to be CONTRIBUTING members of society.

[flamesbball84]

lower taxes and bring in mor erich people. that will increase tax revenue. ask maryland how levying high taxes on millionaires worked out. a ton of the millionaires ended up leaving the state and the maryland government's tax revenue dropped significantly compared to before the levied the high taxes.

[Sly Fox]

I'm with RTF ... what on earth is the state doing owning county fairgrounds? That makes zero fiscal sense. If they own them then they have to pay to operate them. Why are folks in Eureka having their tax dollars underwrite the ability of people in Irvine to have access to corndogs and fried twinkies?

[matshark]

lower taxes and bring in mor erich people. that will increase tax revenue. ask maryland how levying high taxes on millionaires worked out. a ton of the millionaires ended up leaving the state and the maryland government's tax revenue dropped significantly compared to before the levied the high taxes.

they just wanted everyone to pay their "fair" share... so they did - by leaving and paying it somewhere else...bwahahaha

[RagingTireFire]

I'm with RTF ... what on earth is the state doing owning county fairgrounds? That makes zero fiscal sense. If they own them then they have to pay to operate them. Why are folks in Eureka having their tax dollars underwrite the ability of people in Irvine to have access to corndogs and fried twinkies?

Exactly. I've never heard of the state owning local fairgrounds or venues before.