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In addition to Jon’s kudos to the Gang of 13 this morning, let’s also send a big birthday wish to Senator Tony Strickland. Keep in mind he missed both a Valentine’s Day weekend as well as a birthday weekend, holed up and locked down while protecting the taxpayers of California. That’s the best gift I ever received from someone else on their day.
Happy Birthday, Tony! 39?… Read More
California’s Democrat legislators must be salivating. To be so close to redistributing another roughly $1400 per family straight out of their budgets and into the state budget must be tantalizing to them – because, as everyone knows, politicians in Sacramento know how best to spend the money earned by working Californians, right? Never mind that we are in the middle of very difficult economic times, when raising taxes by this massive amount with be the deciding factor on why some California businesses close, why jobs are lost, why houses go into foreclosure, and more.
Fortunately for California taxpayers, Republican lawmakers get it. They understand that there is never a good time to raise taxes, and that there are certainly worse times to do so – and this is one of those times. The drive that Democrat lawmakers, and Governor Schwarzenegger, and a handful of GOPers have to pass this Big 5/Big Taxes budget plan that notoriously contains over $14 billion in new taxes on cars and car registrations, as well as sales and income taxes is amazing.
Last night, as he adjourned the State Senate until 10am this morning, State Senate President Darrell Steinberg… Read More
Senate goes into session at 10:00 pm, I am told. Cox has apparently cut his deal, and is rumored to be the vote for the budget. He had a laundry list of reforms he negotiated for, none of which included eliminating the taxes. We will see however.
It usually isn’t hard to get a deal when it is down to one vote, someone will always cave. That is why the Leaders’ capitulation on the tax in this negotiation was so disastrous.… Read More
We salute the thirteen members of the State Senate Republican Caucus who have held the line against a plan that would saddle as much as $70 billion of tax increases over the next five years on California taxpayers.
THANK YOU SENATORS AANESTAD, BENOIT, COX, DENHAM, MALDONADO, HARMAN, DUTTON, HOLLINGSWORTH, HUFF, RUNNER, STRICKLAND, WALTERS AND WYLAND.
We have duly elected members of the Legislature under the Capitol Dome being treated like children. Let’s just assume that everyone is an adult and they all of them can generally take care of themselves. Some of you are laughing now but we are talking about grown men and women.
Recently the doors have been locked and they have been prevented from leaving.
I want to know what authority the Assembly Speaker and President Pro Tem have to do this. Under Article 4 Section 7 of the California Constitution:
SEC. 7. (a) Each house shall choose its officers and adopt rules for its proceedings. A majority of the membership constitutes a quorum, but a smaller number may recess from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members.
So who is absent? Was the leadership really compelling attendance be absent members? No one was absent. They didn’t miss anything.
If this is the only justification provided by the leadership for their actions of locking the doors… Read More
There are a lot of problems with the Big 5/Big Taxes plan — some of which are a function of a broken process. The super secret-squirrel negotiations result in a scrambling of speedy analysis, trying to figure out what is really in the package.
State Senator Bob Dutton, who ironically is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, like everyone else has been scrambling to look into the details of the plan, having had it sprung on him just like everyone else.
One interesting analysis that his staff did was they looked over the stated $15.1 billion in cuts in the plan. Guess what they found? Yep, State Capitol "double speak" is alive and well.
Attached is a document (excel format) that details the sad truth, which is that if you apply the traditional "normal" definition of cuts (you know, were we actually reduce the amount of money on a program, as opposed to "cutting an anticipated increase" — or how about calling cuts items that have to be paid back?
Anyways, by the take you take out the "cuts that aren’t cuts" — the real cuts in this package are only $3.1 billion —… Read More
Republican Insurance Commissioner and Gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner sat down with reporters with the Sacramento Bee this morning. He made a common sense suggestion on how to keep the state from going insolvent without ANY tax increases. Rather than pursuing an 18 month solution, perhaps we should look more short term, so that we don’t have to raise taxes? A novel thought.… Read More