Today the Democrats will put up some bills calling for cuts in state government spending — but cuts that are far short of what is needed to get us through the 2009 – 2010 fiscal year. Or put another way, if we approve only these cuts, this Spring will find us back in a crisis. But, of course, in the Spring, the ability to make cuts to resolve the shortfall will be significantly more difficult — it takes some time to realize the savings from reductions — time we will have with cuts adopted now, but necessarily in the Spring.
There are a lot of cuts that literally need to take place by the end of this fiscal year (such as cuts to education) or else it would mandate even more spending due to funding formulas set in the State Constitution. I get that. But the top priority of Senate and Assembly Republicans, like by a factor of ten, is to avoid a short-term fix that will have us all staring down the barrel of tax increases this Spring.
The politics of the State Capitol is confusing to me. And I have to admit that perhaps my advice to GOP legislators would be different on this subject if I hadn’t, to my disbelief, watched Republican legislators join with Democrats last February in a Faustian deal that hit every Californian with higher taxes.
Vote NO on a partial solution, that "kicks the can" to the Spring, and sets the table for immense pressure for increases in taxes.
Based on everything that Governor Schwarzenegger has been saying since the May Special Election, it’s likely that he would veto a "partial solution" even if one got to his desk. But let’s save him the trouble!