As a member of the non-profit Americans for Prosperity family of activists on June 11th I joined our statewide volunteers and leaders on a trip to our state capital where we participated in a Taxed to the Max rally. After listening to VIP speeches we delivered 28,000 petitions to our state assembly members and senators in their offices with a message reminding them of their taking the “no new taxes” pledge.
Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association president Jon Coupal was being interviewed on local radio that day where I heard him state that “CA is in the worst fiscal situation (then any state) now in America.” We are. But how did we get here?
On July 26th, 2006 Cutting Edge-a Talk Show producer Ron Winship and I covered governor Schwarzenegger at an Arnold Express rally held in Tri-City park in Placentia. While readers have read this reference before it is worth restating, especially as the financial hole keeps getting deeper each month. Governor Schwarzenegger. At that event you boasted of having reduced Governor Davis’s deficit from the $15.5 billion you inherited to $3.5 billion in the two and a half years since you took office. Without debating his math perhaps someone can tell Juice readers how that $3.5 billion figure quoted by our governor has exploded to $41 billion in the next two and a half years leading up to today. You can watch that video and the governor’s comments commercial free, 24/7, at www.cuttingedge-atalkshow.com
Fellow Republicans now serving in the state legislature. While I surely will be hammered on this blog for the following statement, do NOT break your “no new tax” pledge.
Juice readers. As any tax increase requires a two-thirds vote of approval, and without Republican support will fall short, do you think Republicans will hold to their pledge?
If not, who do you think will be the first to cave in?
The question that should be answered is: Who brought forward this “oath to keep from raising taxes”? Check it out. Does the name Grover Norquist ring a bell? Check this guy out. He has traveled the country asking GOP elected officials sign his pledge. Norquist ranks right up there with Jack Abrahms. Come on folks this economic problem is beyond politics. Norquist’s goal is to ruin government and society as we know it. Arnold has done his utmost to make government bigger and more expensive. All of the budget deficit of $41 Billion will offset any education and social needs of our State, not to mention tax refunds and payments to vendors. Where are our leaders?
CJ
CJ.
Although I sent a copy of this post to the governor’s office I do not expect to receive any response. The issue for me is to take a deep breath and turn the clock back to see what changed over the past 30 months to send our deficit into the stratosphere from Edwards AFB.
Where did Arnold get the $3.5 billion figure which was quoted in Placentia on his whiste stop for Republicans? No one in that audience challenged or questioned him on that “feel good” update on his visit just prior to his reelection.
3.5 turned into 41 because they havent done anything to correct the structural problem of taking in less money than we spend. With the state leading the country in unemployment, and if the Reeps are correct we lead in business taxes as well, we can little afford to raise tax on businesses and are forced to cut spending that does not keep and add to jobs in the State.
Since the Education Budget, the Public Safety Budget, and the Transportation Budgets are all heavy on salaries so they need to remain. What programs can be cut?
Anonymous.
While I do not have time to review the “books” today somehow we must scrutinize Elizabeth Hill’s LAO reports for the past few years when the number was $3.5 billion dollars to see which slices of the state budget pie expanded, be it existing departments or simply the addition of new programs.
PS: While writing the above I just received a phone call from a colleague in the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Assocation office on this post.
For starters we need to analyze the $41-$42 Billion deficit which overstates the problem.
It fails to take into account the $7 to $8 billion dollars in cuts which each side has already agreed to. It also overstates future growth. Based on these two factors, we can cut the number by $10 billion dollars. There will be an additional $14 billion in savings as a result of the furloughs that (may) go into effect next week. State employees will be off without pay the first and third Friday’s of every week.
I was told that the budget negotiations are very “fluid” at this time and that there is nothing official to report. Circa 3 p.m. Jan 27th
Arnold today said:
“You can’t do $42 billion in cuts. It doesn’t exist. Anyone that thinks that you can do all of this with just cuts doesn’t know math, and they should go back to Math 101.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cap29-2009jan29,0,7623816.column
And he is right.
The Jarvis Association is one of the major causes for this, because of Prop. 13.
As I have said several times before, they had good intentions, but good intention is the opposite of good. They were shortsighted, and didn’t understand the long-term consequences, and we all have to suffer because of that. Being shortsighted, thinking ahead just as far as the next street corner, is simply a bad thing.