With warnings from State Controller John Chiang that if something isn’t done about the state’s out-of-whack finances that state government will soon literally run out of operating funds, and State Treasurer Bill Lockyer making it clear that if imminent action isn’t taken soon, even with massive cuts there won’t be time to do the financing that the state would typically need to do this summer to pay its bills – you can be sure that the Democrats in the State Capitol will do something.
If their rhetoric and lack of action on substantive cuts in the Joint Budget Conference Committee are any indicator, despite the overwhelming results of the May 19th Special Election and a repudiation of tax increases, you can bet that Democrats are going to look to raise taxes – perhaps with “majority vote” fee solutions that are, in fact, tax increases that seek to end-run Proposition 13’s 2/3 vote requirement.
What does this mean? Well, it means that before we see a real “all cuts” solution to the state’s massive overspending-created woes, the Democrats are going to see if Governor Schwarzenegger means what he says. The Governor has made it abundantly clear that he would oppose any plan that raises taxes or fees. But in order for that to really “sink in” with State Capitol Democrats, they will invariably have to go through the exercise of passing them, and requiring the Governor to use his veto pen.
Why don’t they just go ahead and do that today, so we can get past this particular phase of the process – appease the unions. Most of the Democrats in the State Legislature owe their primary wins to support from big labor. Democrat legislators will need to demonstrate to their masters that they tried their best to “increase revenues” and that it didn’t work.
Pass them this morning. The Governor can veto them by lunchtime. And then the majority party can put their cuts forward asap, or hear more dire warnings from Chiang and Lockyer.
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