California to legalize and tax marijuana to fix budget crisis. It's about time.

California is at the vanguard of new taxation strategies. The state is the 8th largest economy in the world--meaning that California has a greater GDP than the vast majority of the world's countries.

Yes, you read that correctly.

I've frequently noted that as California goes, so goes the rest of the country in ten years.

California is suffering a serious budgetary crisis and needs new revenue streams. A state legislator is offering up a bill legalizing marijuana.

In my opinion, California is taking steps that should have occurred years ago. The proposal would allow adults to buy cannabis and pay a tax.

Since marijuana is one of the highest cash crops in the state, the treasury will have scads off cash.

I see marijuana legalization as the next lottery or casino for many states.

We'll see.

GOP still using the tax cut snake oil.

This op-ed sums up my general feeling about the GOP.

John Boehner, in a stunning display of switcheroo, came on television and said the bailout is borrowing from our children and grandchildren.

Huh?

This is the same thing Democrats have said about Bush's policies for years--policies Boehner happily supported when it helped his wealthy constituents.

The GOP touts tax cuts as the solution to everything. In days of yore, Snake Oil salesmen claimed their remedies would take care of everything too.

The problem with tax cuts is that people actually need taxable income in order to benefit from tax cuts.

The U.S. is shedding jobs so fast that the revenue stream from taxes is drying up faster than any tax cut would offset as a benefit.

The GOP needs to new religion other than tax cuts. It hasn't worked and it won't work while Americans have no jobs to make income.

Tax cuts haven't spurred economic growth. So where does that leave us?

Stimulus. But this time, the stimulus should be spent at the lower end of the economic spectrum rather than at the top where the wealthy get their share first.