This morning the “Big 5” will gather to put the finishing touches on a budget deal – so we’re told. Of course, from all accounts, the deal that has been put together is a mixed bag. First and foremost, the fact that there are no tax increases on the table demonstrates how budget negotiations can go differently when Governor Schwarzenegger stands tall for taxpayers, as he pledged to do in both of his elections – and it is also a significant feather in the cap of Republican Leaders Dennis Hollingsworth and Sam Blakeslee, both of whom took on the leadership of their respective legislative caucuses after their predecessors rather notoriously used their positions to become architects of over $16 billion in higher income, sales and car taxes – “in return” for faux reforms and selective tax breaks for major corporations.
So while the wallets of taxpayers appear to have been protected from direct assault by state government this go-around, there are some aspects of this budget deal that are extremely troubling – and frankly show that liberal Democrats Darrell Steinberg and Karen Bass worked very hard to maintain what we believe are unsustainable levels of social program spending for California.
Some of the rather blatant examples of where the role of Democrats in the negotiating process is leading to poor public policy include the “borrowing” of several billion dollars from local governments across the state. Not only does this represent a new risk to taxpayers as pressure rises for local tax increase campaigns to try and “backfill” this loss – but, simply put, local governments are taking this hit in order to financially support public employee union member benefits, and to prevent further cuts to social welfare programs – which simply is unconscionable.
Billions of dollars of gimmicks in this “deal” also amply tarnish what could otherwise be hailed as a victory for taxpayers – like our “favorite” – which is the sliding of the June 30th state employee payroll obligations to July 1st, which is a complete sham, and represents no actual savings – but allows a permanent shift of that payroll obligation into the next fiscal year. There are many other examples of “hocus pocus” to avoid the deepest of cuts that would represent the most responsible course of action at this time. The phrase “kicking the can” has been a bit overused – but that’s what these gimmicks are all about – delaying cuts until tomorrow that should be made now.
Let me conclude by saying that there is a lot for conservatives to be pleased about from these budget amendments. After all, there simply is less money available, which is forcing cuts in state spending that Republicans have advocated, without luck, for a very, very long time. The laws of physics are on our side – there simply isn’t enough money to maintain California’s infamous position as the state government in the nation with the most egregious policies of wealth redistribution in America. This package will contain billions of dollars in very real permanent cuts, and billions more in one-time cuts for this fiscal year. Permanent cuts, and even one-year cuts, represent tremendous achievements in paring down California’s welfare industry.
Hopefully we will all be able to see and study the actual fine details of the product of these “Big 5” negotiations as often, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Unlike the February budget debacle that will live forever in infamy, which was kept super-secret all the way to a legislative vote – we hope that the results of these negotiations will be a public document that is aired for at least 72 hours, in print, before legislators are asked to cast a vote.
In closing, I do want to congratulate the Governor and Republican Leaders Hollingsworth and Blakeslee. They have shown that Republicans sticking together can achieve some tremendous victories for taxpayers. A stark contrast to what we saw just a few months ago in February, and the resulting May Special Election where voters had to remind Sacramento politicians that we just weren’t going to take it anymore!
Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s Daily Commentary?
Just click here to go to the FR Weblog, where this Commentary has its own blog post, and where you can read and make comments.