At the flower market in downtown Los Angeles, where people haul away
calla lilies and peonies by the dozens for weddings, funerals and
business gatherings, some shoppers were taken aback by the higher
totals on their bills.

?They hear the price and ask me, ?Why is
it more?? ? said Mario Valle, owner of Valle Wholesale. ?I tell them,
?You voted it in. If you don?t like it, quit voting for higher taxes.? ?

Huy
Le, 31, and his fiancee, Lori Nguyen, heard about the tax increases and
showed up at the market, ready to scale back their spring wedding next
year. The junior high teacher and optometrist from the city of Industry
don?t like having to cut back, but they figure that the state has no
choice other than to raise taxes.

?There will be less flowers, less designs than we wanted,? said Le.

Inside
a craft store along Wall Street, Angelia Harper, 48, was not as
understanding. She said legislators should have weighed the rising cost
of food, transportation and housing before they asked voters to
contribute more.

?How do they expect me to stay afloat?? said
Harper, a homeless advocacy worker who lives in low-income housing on
skid row and cares for her 10-year-old disabled daughter. ?The more you
take away from us, the less we?re going to spend. I?m pinching pennies
as it is because I have no idea what?s around the corner.?