Sitting at his desk in a spacious office overlooking the east corridor of the Capitol, Joe Simitian has the pensive look of an accountant approaching tax season.
For nearly 20 minutes, the state senator, who represents parts of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, has diligently stuck to his talking points. He has expressed tempered optimism about a proposed budget, released four hours earlier by Gov. Jerry Brown, which would aggressively confront California’s $25.4 billion deficit. But now, Simitian’s smile has faded, and he takes off his glasses to squeeze the bridge of his nose.
Having already used the word “painful” a dozen times regarding the proposed budget, Simitian admits the hard truth is that life is going to get worse for many Californians before it gets better. That is doubly true, he says, if Brown is unable to win voter approval for some new tax revenue.
“I think the success of the governor’s approach will rise or fall on his ability to communicate just what the impact of the cuts will be in the absence of that revenue,” Simitian says. “I think the challenges that kind of California would present are literally beyond comprehension for most folks.”
Brown has proposed cutting $12.5 billion in spending—much of which would affect students, state workers and programs aiding the state’s disadvantaged citizens. In addition, he proposes raising $12 billion through a five-year extension of tax hikes approved two years ago by the Legislature.
Without voter approval in June for extending the taxes another half-decade, Simitian says, California will be amputating a limb from a budget that has already been limping along for some time.
In announcing his budget plan Monday, Brown said the taxes are the only way to avoid a doomsday scenario for K-12 education as well as other vital services after years of “gimmicks, tricks and unrealistic expectations. “It’s better that we take our medicine now and get back on balanced footing,” the governor said.
But kick-the-can budgeting has been the norm in Sacramento for decades, and Brown’s belief that a deal can be reached with Republicans regarding taxes might be wishful thinking. “The governor is going to get push-back on that,” Simitian admits. “But I think it’s a wise move for a couple of reasons. First, it’s honest. I think part of the frustration people have had—understandably and appropriately in my view—is the ‘good-enough-for-now’ budgets.
“Let’s be honest with ourselves about the fact that it’s going to take us a period of years, not a year or two, to set things right. I think five years is probably an appropriate judgment call on his part.”
Simitian says its about time California restores some balance between spending and revenue.
“Sometimes the right things happen for the wrong reasons.”
Many say that illegal aliens cost the State of CA about $10 billion per year. That’s roughly equivalent to half of the budget deficit at hand.
In good conscience, I cannot vote for an extension of the “temporary” tax increases until our State Legislature and County and City Governments deal with the costs of supporting illegal aliens through all manner of services and accomodations.
Raise taxes. Check.
Ignore 800 lb state employee pension timebomb. Check.
Deckchairs rearranged on Titanic. Check.
Vote No new taxes – time to reduce government and many wasteful commissions, programs and unnecessary spending by Legislature and only spend on necessary public services
Public employee unions and their politicians have run California into debt with excessive public pensions and wasteful political spending while neglecting schools, infrastructure and services than than voters and taxpayers want
Joe,
Have always like what you have done at Legislature and your having public suggest new state laws
Suggest you consider new state laws to
a) prioritize state and local spending for essential state and local services at reasonable performance levels not minimum services
b) eliminate all or reduce state or local tax spending on nice to have services;
c) require economic development project tax subsidies to payback taxes spent in 5-8 years
d) require government employees to pay 25-50% cost of benefits and pensions like voters / taxpayers
IF not better prepare for June 2011 tax extension ballot measures to be defeated and more cuts in state and local government spending
California has the highest tax rates in the nation (unless Illinois just took the crown). We really need to get them down to keep jobs and businesses from leaving the state. Extending the “temporary” tax increases is not the answer. Didn’t we just have an election on the subject?
Mr. Jardonn:
You don’t seem to realize. The nice people from the Sierra Club WANT jobs and businesses to leave the state.
Everyone sees to have forgetten that they are population control Malthusians. They fundamentally believe in a pristine environment and you, your voracious kids, your obese over-consuming relatives, and your greedy capitalist employer are what is making California NOT pristine.
California has too many of you, and not enough of them.
They don’t need jobs. They have trust funds.
They don’t need to disrupt nature and exploit other human beings to “make a living”; the just go to the ATM in the small, ecologically sensitive redwood bank branch in their rustic little community.
Their trust funds are in tax sheltered investments, and they they live on public land trusts (where you CAN’T live). So, go ahead and raise taxes. It will clear out the invasive species—like you.
Illinois raised their top tax bracket 67% to 5%. California would have to CUT theirs 50% to match Illinois! Fat chance!
Raise taxes?
Sure. AFTER all the sugar plums and goodies for special interests are castrated from the budget.
No new taxes until the following pork projects are GONE GONE GONE!
1.High Speed Rail
2. California Global Warming Solutions Act
3. Wildly excessive public employee pensions.
And the full revenue potential of California’s energy and agricultural sectors are realize.
1. More oil and gas drilling
2. More dams and irrigation projects to grow crops the world will pay for.
Businesses will leave the state if our infrastructure crumbles. That means we need good schools, roads, libraries, etc. Where businesses locate is a function of where the business leaders want to live and where there is a source of employees. If our state continues to crumble, qualified employees will leave and businesses will follow.
Therefore, we have to invest in education and infrastructure. That takes dollars. That means temporary taxes until the income taxes coming in to the state recover to a level that fills the current gap.
Brown’s proposal doesn’t add any new tax burden, just keeps things at their current level long enough to get us through the rest of the effects of the recession.
Question: has California increased or decreased spending on K-12 education FY2003/4?
Answer: According to a study by the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, total expenditures (excluding capital expenditures) INCREASED 22% (from $45.6 billion to $55.6 billion)from FY2003/4 to FY2008/9. This, despite a decline in average daily attendance. During the same period, per capita personal income increased 15%.
People bemoaning the “cuts” to education are either ignorant, or practicing the perverse art of government accounting.
Visualize Liberty has it right.
California needs freedom from greedy special interest especially government employee unions, bought and paid for politicians, lobbyists, redevelopment tax payments to sports teams, corporations and developers
Where is the public interest in public decisions that mainly reflect special interest enrichment and political legal” pay to play ” bribery for campaign contributions
Public pays taxes and get little while special interests and insiders get millions taxes and insider deals, corrupting government with political contributions