California Lawmakers Should Cut Budget To Match Revenue Losses
October 10th, 2008
The Issue: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been meeting this week with the State Assembly and Senate party leadership in an attempt to negotiate cuts to the California budget. Budget cuts have been imminent since the passage of the budget in light of the decreases in revenue the state has seen this year.
The Big Five (Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator President Pro Tem Don Perata, Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Assembly Minority Leader Mile Villines) plus the incoming Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg have been meeting in the Capitol this week to figure out how to balance the California budget in light of major revenue shortages. While the discussions have been happening behind closed doors, one can speculate that the Democratic Leadership is asking to increase taxes while the Republican Leadership is recommending decreases in spending.
So what is the best solution? Decreasing Spending.
California already has a tax level that is the second highest in the United States. Continuing to increase taxes to match the amount of spending we have become accustomed to is bad fiscal policy. In education alone spending has increased by 85% since Governor Gray Davis took office in 1998. Everyone is aware that the economy is at a low point right now, but that doesn’t merit increases in spending. Think about it.
If you make less money at work this month, you stop eating out and don’t go to the movies as much. It seems that California Lawmakers want to revive the economy by either taxing those who already provide the revenue we currently have or by borrowing money to spend, creating a fake economic recovery. Now is the time to come to our senses and live within our means.
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