2006 Issue of California Piglet Book Available Online

For the fourth year in a row, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation (HJTF) and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) have released the California Piglet Book, the definitive guide for reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the California state government.

Californians are threatened with immense tax increases while the waste and fraud of tax dollars runs rampant. The California Piglet Book gives enough examples to make any California taxpayer cringe, including:

* City and Local Government Abuses -- San Francisco has spent more than $2.3 million of taxpayers’ money in the past four and a half years on bottled water despite owning a pristine reservoir in the Sierra Nevada which touts some of the nation’s best-tasting tap water.

*Special Education abuses -- A school district billed almost $68,000 for out-of-state tuition, airfare, car rental, hotel, cell phone calls, meals, tailoring, new clothes, an iBook computer, stamps, tolls, gas and 13 future round-trip visits for a special needs student.

* Proposition 86 -- Ultimately, the projected excise tax revenues from a tobacco tax will not materialize, leaving taxpayers footing the bill for an array of new and costly healthcare mandates.

"A negative consequence of the resurgent California economy is that there is seemingly no incentive to address waste, fraud and abuse," said HJTA President Jon Coupal. "But if our policy leaders were wise, they would not wait until the next economic downturn before starting to look for areas where we can save precious taxpayer dollars."

"Until California lawmakers set priorities and restrain overall spending, CAGW will continue to publish the California Piglet Book to protect the interests of taxpayers," said CAGW President Tom Schatz.

The California Piglet Book combines elements of two perennial CAGW publications, the Congressional Pig Book and Prime Cuts, with HJTF’s knowledge of the California state budget. The report exposes areas in the state budget where wasteful spending can be eliminated, providing a valuable resource to legislators and taxpayers.

To read or download the 2006 Piglet Book (PDF), click here.

(For the 2005 Piglet Book, click here.)

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation is devoted to promoting economic education and the study of tax policy. Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.