California looks to internationalist for bailout

[LordBrownTrout]

“He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.”
- Francis Bacon

Time can't hold a candle to Wall Street when it comes to innovating evils. If the citizens of California are serious about economic reform, North Dakota blazed that trail in 1919.

“North Dakota is a sparsely populated state of less than 700,000, known for cold weather, isolated farmers and a hit movie – Fargo.

"Yet, for some reason it defies the real estate cliché of location, location, location.

"Since 2000, the state’s GNP has grown 56%, personal income has grown 43%, and wages have grown 34%. This year the state has a budget surplus of $1.2 billion!”

"What does the State of North Dakota have that other states don’t?

"The answer seems to be: its own bank.

"In fact, North Dakota has the only state-owned bank in the nation.

"The state legislature established the Bank of North Dakota in 1919. Fleetham writes that the bank was set up to free farmers and small businessmen from the clutches of out-of-state bankers and railroad men.

"By law, the state must deposit all its funds in the bank, and the state guarantees its deposits.

"Three elected officials oversee the bank: the governor, the attorney general, and the commissioner of agriculture.

"The bank’s stated mission is to deliver sound financial services that promote agriculture, commerce and industry in North Dakota.

"The bank operates as a bankers’ bank, partnering with private banks to loan money to farmers, real estate developers, schools and small businesses.

"It loans money to students (over 184,000 outstanding loans), and it purchases municipal bonds from public institutions."

Since certified card-carrying banks are allowed to do something nobody else can, i.e., create "credit" with accounting entries, California could solve its solvency problem the next time it goes to the polls.

North Dakota Shows...

Good find. I read about this a few years ago.

 

[Two Thumbs]

“He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.”
- Francis Bacon

Time can't hold a candle to Wall Street when it comes to innovating evils. If the citizens of California are serious about economic reform, North Dakota blazed that trail in 1919.

“North Dakota is a sparsely populated state of less than 700,000, known for cold weather, isolated farmers and a hit movie – Fargo.

"Yet, for some reason it defies the real estate cliché of location, location, location.

"Since 2000, the state’s GNP has grown 56%, personal income has grown 43%, and wages have grown 34%. This year the state has a budget surplus of $1.2 billion!”

"What does the State of North Dakota have that other states don’t?

"The answer seems to be: its own bank.

"In fact, North Dakota has the only state-owned bank in the nation.

"The state legislature established the Bank of North Dakota in 1919. Fleetham writes that the bank was set up to free farmers and small businessmen from the clutches of out-of-state bankers and railroad men.

"By law, the state must deposit all its funds in the bank, and the state guarantees its deposits.

"Three elected officials oversee the bank: the governor, the attorney general, and the commissioner of agriculture.

"The bank’s stated mission is to deliver sound financial services that promote agriculture, commerce and industry in North Dakota.

"The bank operates as a bankers’ bank, partnering with private banks to loan money to farmers, real estate developers, schools and small businesses.

"It loans money to students (over 184,000 outstanding loans), and it purchases municipal bonds from public institutions."

Since certified card-carrying banks are allowed to do something nobody else can, i.e., create "credit" with accounting entries, California could solve its solvency problem the next time it goes to the polls.

North Dakota Shows...

What a great idea. Every state could do that, it would make other banks compete for business or move out.

 

[georgephillip]

One of the longshot Democrats in Florida's last gubernatorial contest (who has a Ph.D in Economics) made the claim that a state Bank of Florida could eliminate the need for propterty taxes.

Needless to say he was buried in the primaries.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I said they will go to the IMF and I'm sticking to it

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

The budget process in California look like Thelma and Louise's car. It is going to take a lot of imaginative ideas to get it running.

Yes, but so far I have liked what I've heard from Jerry Brown. Hopefully he'll be able to walk the talk.

 

[Two Thumbs]

The budget process in California look like Thelma and Louise's car. It is going to take a lot of imaginative ideas to get it running.

Yes, but so far I have liked what I've heard from Jerry Brown. Hopefully he'll be able to walk the talk.

How'd he do last time?

[cheap shot, I know]

Well here's hoping he can actually fix things, I doubt it, b/c if things were going to turn around they would have tried to do so years ago.

 

[georgephillip]

The budget process in California look like Thelma and Louise's car. It is going to take a lot of imaginative ideas to get it running.

Yes, but so far I have liked what I've heard from Jerry Brown. Hopefully he'll be able to walk the talk.

Jerry Brown's talk has always stressed process rather than solutions, questions rather than answers.

Here's a LBO (Left Business Observer) critique of Jerry from the late 90s with a link to Jerry's side of the story.

The Brown's family "ancient" history with Indonesian dictators is well established. If it's true his sister recently resigned from Goldman Sachs, his future might well include dragging California down a slide into Zen-tinged fascism.

"Jello Biafra and his colleagues in the Dead Kennedys were onto something in their 1980 anti-Jerry anthem, 'California uber alles.' Biafra told LBO that he found in Brown and 1970s California hints of an 'eco-deco-fascism' reminiscent of Germany in the 1920s.

"Take moral purification, add casual racism, welfare cuts, work camps, and women-back-to-the-home, combine with spiritualist reflection: Zen fascism."

 

[Trajan]

calis problems aren't just money, its attitude and outlook. Without a change in that, they can throw all the money they want at it, in effect filling a bucket with a huge hole in the bottom (not as big as the hole in their heads though).

here is a prime example of unintended consequence and attitude that laws have no 'real' effect on 'people' and 'things';


The State of California recently adopted stricter anti-pollution regulations which obligate the blood bank to progressively decommission seven out of eight of its existing bloodmobiles. As a consequence, we need an extra $1 million for our bloodmobile fleet. So I am asking you to make a generous contribution so that we can start acquiring replacement bloodmobiles critical to our life-sustaining mission in the community.


(snip)


The San Diego Blood Bank supplies most of the blood products given to patients in our region. Our products are thoroughly tested, properly matched to patients’ needs, and delivered to the right place at the right time, every day of the year. We carry out our mission so reliably that from the point of view of doctors and patients, blood is routinely “just there” when they need it, like water out of the tap.


Bloodmobiles are vital links in the chain underpinning the dependable availability of blood. Without bloodmobiles, the San Diego Blood Bank could not collect enough blood units to meet our community’s needs. Although we operate several fixed-site donor centers, mobile collections account for half the blood donated. Without our fleet, few of our 1,800 yearly mobile blood drives -- averaging 35 per week -- could take place. But unless we can raise the funds to start replacing our bloodmobiles now, the fleet will inevitably shrink, until we can no longer reach the donors who give half the blood we collect.


The San Diego Blood Bank has been a frugal steward of its mobile collection units. In fact, we still have a vehicle purchased in 1982! Based on this experience, we initially estimated it would cost $850,000 to refurbish or replace aging bloodmobiles over the next several years.


Today a new bloodmobile represents an investment of $250,000 when fully equipped and compliant with government standards. The price is likely to increase before we have replaced all the mobile units.


The $1-million additional cost of complying with new regulations and sustaining the bloodmobile fleet will stretch us financially. But it’s doable with your help, and it must be done! Furthermore, besides bringing the blood bank into compliance with state rules, the new bloodmobiles will be more efficient and easier to operate and maintain, reducing our collection costs significantly.


(snip)

And thank you again for being our partner in securing the supply of blood and blood products for our community.


Most sincerely,


R. Elaine Hanson, M.D.

President, Board of Directors

San Diego Blood Bank


from-
San Diego Blood Bank - A Special Holiday Request


and much more at-
Left Coast Rebel: California Decline Watch: CARB Forcing San Diego Blood Bank Fleet off the Road, or Reason #12,345 that Statism Kills