I’ve heard, like others, of a reputed "deal" on the State budget struck by Big Five negotiators, to be announced Monday. If it includes new taxes and fees, it will be an outrage, and the final nail in the coffin of a State Republican Party dying a slow death for 20 years. The tax issue is all this Party has left, and to cede it to a bunch of leftists, in the middle of a financial crisis, would be monumentally stupid.
But Mike, we need more revenues, you say. No we don’t. If you believe that, then you believe taxes are too low right now, and that the economy can withstand new taxes and fees. Anyone accepting either premise is either completely ignorant, or worse, intellectually defective.
Assembly leader Mike Villines and Senate leader Dave Cogdill have held out too long and worked too hard to accept a compromise. Eight years of compromise is precisely what put us here in 
the first place, and another compromise will plunge a knife into the heart of a badly damaged economy. We out here in the business world don’t care if Sacramento can fund its programs. We are trying to survive. What is it about this that cannot be understood by a typical 10 year old, let alone Democrat legislators and completely neutered Governor? It sounds like a few Republicans may be drinking the tax increase Kool Aid. Guess what guys? You’re toast if you do.
Here’s the political problem. The tax increases will never go away, because in the highly unlikely event that they actually produce more revenue, the Democrats and their interest groups will push the spending baselines even higher. And what about budget "reforms" you say? They will be gone, done, overturned on a simple majority vote at the Democrats first opportunity. These people not only aren’t trustworthy, but they’ve proven time and time again that they will reverse course as soon as they get what they want. How many times can the GOP get rolled in this fight?
I remember the famous 2000 budget debate. The Democrats dangled "ag tax breaks" in front of Central Valley Representatives in order to get their budget votes. The farmers even got into the act, calling and pressuring people like Assemblyman Mike Briggs to vote on the budget. And guess what happened? They picked off just enough votes to pass a budget that year, probably the worst budget in the history of California, and just four years later the Democrats got rid of what? Tax breaks for agriculture. History will repeat itself again.
You know the following, but it bears repeating over and over again. The State budget has doubled in just ten years. We are getting almost nothing in the way of a commensurate positive impact from this spending. Our bond rating is the worst in the nation, and there are over $70 billion in bonds authorized by the voters over the passed few years that haven’t even been issued. Businesses are downsizing their workforces, shuttering, or leaving altogether. California must get its spending on education, health care and pensions under control – now.
To Mike Villines and Dave Cogdill – bankruptcy would be a far better option than any deal with tax increases and phony budget reforms. We are counting on you to do what is right, at any cost, to protect the interests of California taxpayers. Anything less will send the economy, the State GOP and California taxpayers into a free fall it might not ever recover from.
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