Assemblyman John Laird calls for quick budget solution

The Issue: California Assemblyman and Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee John Laird held hearings on the state of the California Budget Friday.  In his opening statement, he called for both parties to make concessions to allow for a bipartisan solution to the budget revenue shortage, totaling close to $12 billion.

John Laird, a Democrat from Santa Cruz spoke at the Assembly Budget Committee’s hearing on the budget today.  He urged a three-pronged response that must be implemented this month (before the Thanksgiving holiday and the end of the Legislative Session).

Listen to Assemblyman Laird’s Opening Statement

Laird’s Main Points:

1. Budget was flawed from the beginning.
2. The economic meltdown added insult to injury.
3. No way to solve the problem with just budget cuts or revenues.
4. Avoid any “lines in the sand”.
5. The sooner the legislature acts, the sooner the effects can work.
6. California needs a Federal Bailout.

California’s impartial Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor spoke about the severity of the budget situation. He stated that the current budget situation is “the most serious that he has seen in [his] time”.

Analysis: Laird had some fair points

The worst mistake the Legislature could make right now would be to not take swift action to fix the budget deficit.  He was also right when he said that the budget was flawed from the beginning.  Where he and I disagree is where the problem lies.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger famously said that California has a spending problem.  He is right.  Our state already has the second-highest tax rate of any state in the Union.  When will enough be enough.  The problem can be solved when the government reduces the waste, fraud and abuse that exists in the system.  Our government agencies can be run more efficiently.  Our nation’s private companies, faced with the same dilemma never raise the price of their goods or services on their customers to increase revenue (i.e. taxes), they try to sell more of their product and reduce waste in their operational budget.

Let us cut spending to fix our problem, not increase the taxes of those already bailing out the lending industry.