voiceofsandiego.org: Broke San Diego

This paragraph pretty much says it all, and how we're going to deal with a $43 million deficit.  And that our city is apparently set up to always have a budget deficit, where we're completely designed to always spend more than we take in (not just stupid, but actually set up wrong).  Works great in bull markets...

"Taxes. The city's two main sources of revenue are sales taxes and property taxes. The third is hotel-room taxes. Sales taxes hit the poorest residents hardest. And in order for increases in sales taxes to work, there have to be, you know, sales. With retail activity dropping precipitously, an increase in sales taxes might do little more than cushion the fall and it might even accelerate it. An increase in property taxes too might only provide a feather bed for our falling revenues as thousands of San Diegans scurry to have the tax assessors revalue their property downward."

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/11/28/opinion/lewis112708.txt