
The Price? The PASSAGE of a Spending Cap. Merely Placing One On The Ballot Does Not Suffice.
In my conversations with Republican Leaders in the State Legislature, there has always been one caveat to the line in the sand drawn against raising taxes, at least temporarily. They have consistently told me that they would at least entertain the thought if Democrats would put on the table placing a real spending limit measure on the ballot that, if passed, would place a modest and real hard limit on the annual allowable growth rate of state government.
In other words, Republicans have little interest in punishing taxpayers for overspending, and at the very minimum, the system that allows the overspending needs to be fixed.
Today there is an article in the Los Angeles Times that talks about a potential deal in the works (though the reporter notes that the deal may be falling apart as the specifics leak out) involving a substantial hike in the state car tax in return for placing a spending cap measure on the ballot.
We caution our Republican leaders not to be lured into any… Read More