Look, everyone against or for these registration fee cuts are not paying attention to the big picture. First of all, you have to learn rule number one. You cannot trust anything you read in the mainstream news or anything you see on the mainstream TV channels.

The second order of business is to understand the difference between a BUDGET and a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report or CAFR (in smaller operations it can be called a "financial statement") which each and every state, county, city, various districts as outlined as follows must create for analysis:

Fire Districts Irrigation Districts/Commissions Conservation District Transit Insurance Pool Reclamation District Community Colleges Sewer District School District Insurance Group Water District Power Resource Managers Medical Center Stadium Authority Commissioners Association Hospital District Housing Authority Airport District/Authority Transit System/Authority Public Utilities Insurance Association Convention Center Authority Housing Improvement District Communication Center Cities Insurance Authority Counties Insurance Fund Water Resources District Lighting Districts etc., etc., etc.

What these CAFR's and financial statements show is the TOTAL assets of these entities, which almost always are NOT shown on the budget...yep, the budget which is always the document by which these entities use when they present to the public the *shortfalls* whereby they can justify increased taxation. They rarey OR never use the CAFR to substantiate taxation...because the typical total assets of an established entity...be it a city, county, school district, utility authority, state, etc etc... do not present their total net worth to the public for scrutiny.

Is it legal? Unfortunately yes. Is it moral and correct? **** NO!

Do your research and when you come to the same conclusion...I suggest you spend your efforts supporting those individuals who want to change the beneficiary status of these funds from the elitists back to the people.

When you look at the total composite governmental asset base not included in budgets, you are looking at one very rich country. Who owns the country? Remember...government primarily gets it's money through taxing (in many ways) it's citizenry. Go ahead and guess.

If you want to investigate this issue then go to

http://www.cafrman.com/

be prepared to spend a fair amount of time looking into this...information about the state of Washington is there also. Be prepared to understand that Washington has more surpluses than California. That is phenomenal unto itself!!!!!

-- OR (orwelliator@biosys.net), August 20, 2000