Thread: Brown to go public with California's dire budget news

Brown to go public with California's dire budget news

By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 - 12:21 pm

Gov.-elect Jerry Brown, largely absent from public view since Election Day, next week will launch an unusual, highly public campaign to tell Californians how dire the state budget crisis really is.

The event – a forum to which Brown is inviting the state's lawmakers – is at least in part a political measure by Brown to remind voters that the budget crisis is inherited. It also is to prepare the Legislature and the public for a January budget proposal in which Brown, facing an estimated $25.4 billion deficit, is almost certain to make highly unpopular recommendations.

Brown, the 72-year-old former governor, won't take office until Jan. 3, and the forum in Sacramento on Wednesday will occur as lawmakers convene in a special budget session called by the incumbent governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Democrat Brown is likely the following week to host a forum with education leaders in the Los Angeles area and to discuss health and human services in the Bay Area, but those plans are tentative.

"Certainly this is out of the ordinary," said Renee Van Vechten, an assistant professor of government at the University of Redlands. "It's a bit of an orientation to Jerry Brown and his administration and his style of working with people. It's not just about the budget."

Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford said Schwarzenegger was made aware of the meeting and did not object.

"It's a special session on the budget, and this is a meeting about the budget," Clifford said. "I don't think they conflict."

Brown will find it far more difficult, if not impossible, to make major spending cuts or to raise taxes if he cannot convince voters of the severity of the crisis, said Michael Genest, a former state finance director.

He called the forum a "positive development" and said, "Maybe he's going to pull the bandage off and see what it looks like, and that's what he has to do."

Brown has remained largely cloistered in the month since Election Day, spending most of that time meeting with advisers about the budget. He has described the deficit as "an enormous, unprecedented gap" and has said "not a lot of people have many good ideas on how to deal with it."

Brown himself has offered few specific proposals to address the shortfall. Clifford said none will be forthcoming next week.

"This is a meeting to make sure everyone's on the same page in terms of the size and scope of the problem," Clifford said. "It's not a solutions meeting. It's a 'define the size and scope of the problem' meeting."

The invitation-only forum at Memorial Auditorium will involve constitutional officers, Finance Director Ana Matosantos and Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor. Lawmakers and local officials from throughout the state are expected to attend. The event is open to the media, and Brown's advisers are considering streaming it online.

Most Californians believe the state's budget crisis can be resolved without massive service reductions or tax increases but by eliminating waste and inefficiency, a line of thinking promoted by some politicians, according to a recent University of Southern California/Los Angeles Times poll.

To the extent that Brown can convince voters otherwise, next week's forum could be productive, said Darry Sragow, who served as interim director of the poll during the fall elections.

"Voters think you can close the deficit by cracking down on fraud, waste and abuse. That's simply not true," he said. "But it's a mistake to think that voters are reaching those inconsistent conclusions because they're somehow idiots, because they're not idiots. They just don't have any information."

Tom Dresslar, spokesman for Treasurer Bill Lockyer, said Thursday that the forum is important to focus attention on the budget.

"You've got to start with talking to the people straight about what the problem is, how serious it is, before you can make some serious headway," Dresslar said.

Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, seemed less enthusiastic.

"Governor-elect Brown needs to do what he needs to do to get up to speed," a spokeswoman quoted Dutton as saying.

Still, Dutton plans to attend.

Brown suggested in his gubernatorial campaign that he would hold such forums if elected, promising to make his budget process visible and to hold meetings throughout the state.

The forum Wednesday is to start at 10 a.m. Regarding its estimated length, Clifford said, "It will be long."

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/03/322971 ... z175frHcQR

Let's see if Brown and the California legislature have the guts to cut benefits and entitlements of illegal aliens. This is where the rubber meets the road. Let's see where his loyalties lie!!

Originally Posted by TexasBorn

Let's see if Brown and the California legislature have the guts to cut benefits and entitlements of illegal aliens. This is where the rubber meets the road. Let's see where his loyalties lie!!

I would like to see something said and done about the illegal alien problem, but I doubt anything will be said about how much money they cost the state.
They are the chosen people, therefor they are untouchable in the minds of the lame politicians who have been running California into the ground.

Maybe if the criminals who run Sacramento and who refuse to enforce our laws here in California were put in jail, and the state was given back to the people, we could crawl out of this black hole here in northern Mexico.

Illegal immigration costs taxpayers billions, study states

By Jay Heflin - 07/07/10 11:00 AM ET
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/8 ... udy-states

A new study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) found illegal immigration costs governments $113 billion a year.

Cost estimates in the report, the Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers, are based on an analysis of federal, state and local programs that are available to illegal aliens and their U.S.-born children.

The study found states incur a majority of the $113 billion cost, with the federal government picking up only $29 billion.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxes paid by illegal aliens amount to roughly $13 billion a year, but the study noted that this figure could be higher if more of them paid taxes.

The study comes as the Justice Department announced it will sue Arizona over its controversial immigration law, saying it conflicts with federal law.

The department seeks to delay implementation of the law, which is slated for July 29.

Arizona’s annual cost of illegal immigration is $2.5 billion a year, according to the study.


FAIR advocates for restrictions on immigration.

Originally Posted by Molly

Originally Posted by TexasBorn

Let's see if Brown and the California legislature have the guts to cut benefits and entitlements of illegal aliens. This is where the rubber meets the road. Let's see where his loyalties lie!!

I would like to see something said and done about the illegal alien problem, but I doubt anything will be said about how much money they cost the state.
They are the chosen people, therefor they are untouchable in the minds of the lame politicians who have been running California into the ground.

Molly, honestly, I don't think California will have a choice. It will be ugly but ultimately it will come down to cutting benefits for citizens or cutting benefits for illegal aliens. If they try to cut benefits for citizens while letting the IA's slide, I personally think you will have open revolt in California!

Hear we also spend twice as much per prisoner than Texas. Perhaps they can explain why?

RELATED

L.A. County Cuts Welfare Costs, Pays Illegal Aliens to Go Back to Mexico

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-220211.html

Originally Posted by jean

Hear we also spend twice as much per prisoner than Texas. Perhaps they can explain why?

Prison's guard union (started by Brown), owns the Democrats.

Oh and what is this "going public", everone already knows California is a hopelessly bankrupt insane liberal cluster grope.

Originally Posted by Bowman

Prison's guard union (started by Brown), owns the Democrats . . .

And the Teachers Union, State Employees Union, Nurses Union . . .

Yes, I'm well aware of how powerful the unions are in this state and it's a major problem for us. Governor Davis gave the prison guards more benefits before he was recalled. If only our media would do some serious investigative reporting about the unions in this state. One can dream....