“Facing a Wednesday deadline for passing a budget or forfeiting pay, Democrats in the Legislature are quietly drafting a spending plan they could pass without the GOP votes needed for tax increases or extensions,” according to the L.A. Times.
“The alternative plan would keep paychecks coming even though talks between Gov. Jerry Brown and Republicans have snagged on the issue of taxes.
‘”We will have a budget,’ said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento).
“Barankin and others close to the process declined to provide details. But a fallback blueprint would almost certainly rely on accounting moves and other measures that would merely paper over the state’s remaining $10-billion shortfall: Democrats, who have sharply cut back many programs already, have little appetite for further reductions.
“Barankin acknowledged that any plan written without a renewal of some tax increases or more drastic cuts would not fully restore the state’s financial health.
‘”There’s no way to solve our long-term fiscal problems without [taxes],” Barankin said, and “Republicans are simply unwilling or incapable of supporting a budget that includes [more] revenue.’
The rest of the article is here.
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Meanwhile, while a handful of wingnut republicans hold out desperately for the return of the 19th century, Google has just announced a 280 million dollar deal with a solar company in San Mateo, CALIFORNIA. Poor Governor Brown…he should be like our road crews…if you can’t make the “obstruction” part of the landscape, they first take the detour around it until you can boot it or reboot it at a later date. The assembly DID pass a bill that will give these obstructionists all the local taxing authority re: schools and safety, that they could ever need or want AND the sensible option to take it to the people to vote on. An option NOT given to the governor OR California voters, I might add…Kate
Over the years the republicans have created such a stigma to taxes that they cannot vote for any measure that increases revenue for the government . They have tied they own hands with strict, uncompromising ideological principles which disregards what is actually happening in the country and state. In a time when we are taxed at one of the all time lowest rates, they have corned themselves with no solutions to offer other than more cuts.
I wonder, with this burden, are they capable to govern?
If Mitt Romneys response to the tragedy that is Joplin, MO. is any indicator–which was that the federal government has no financial emergency/crisis role to play there–they have literally lost all political gravitas and flexibility regarding taxes AND appropriate spending. They’re all in the moral and spiritual wilderness as well. It looks like Romney has sold his soul to someone somewhere…its sad really. Kate
We need to get rid of the 2/3 majority provision of Prop 13.
The California Republican legislative delegation is out with their demands, one day before the budget deadline once again, and its fascinating:
http://cssrc.us/pubs/110613_ReformProposalSpecifics.pdf
They are basically calling for a CPI/Population adjusted cap on spending at the 2011-12 level (the lowest level since 1972) until the state pays back its 30 billion budgetary debt; a ban on local taxes without legislative approval; big changes to state pensions including a hybrid pension system and higher employee contributions to health care; what I consider to be a hugely expensive economic analysis requirement for all new rule-making processes; and changes to CEQA many of which make sense but also including an exemption for projects for GHG emissions.
Reading this list there are things that make sense as well, such as much of the CEQA reform, the IDEA of a cap but not the level it is set at, and the regulatory review processes, although doing it every five years is overkill.
What I really seeing is that they are really not that far apart.