Here we are a full month into the ’08-’09 fiscal year, late again. I’ve been in the Assembly 5 2/3 years and have seen some opportunities come and go, to reform the budget process. My first year was the Davis Recall Budget year, 2003, when the voters said enough and made a change [that word did exist before the 2008 presidential cycle] and removed a governor.
One thing that has not changed, through the highs and lows of the economy since then has been the lack of discipline by the legislature on spending. Some stats say revenue has gone up 40% in the last few years. But at the same time spending has gone up 44%. In the meantime, even with all that new revenue, we are facing a deficit of $17 billion.
It’s not the fault of hardworking Californians not paying enough taxes, it’s the unabated spending. When the top 1% income earners ["the wealthiest Californians" is what the pro-taxers call them just before they seek to fleece them again] already pay about 40% of the entire tax load, then it’s not that they aren’t paying their "fair share" either.
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