Thread: Calif. Wrestles With Budget Shortfall

Calif. Wrestles With Budget Shortfall

Thursday, February 21, 2008 9:00 AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California's multibillion-dollar budget shortfall has grown, the state's nonpartisan fiscal watchdog said Wednesday as she offered a trim-and-tax plan that competes with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal for across-the-board cuts.

The report by Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill shifted the state's fledgling budget debate to whether new taxes should be part of the solution _ an approach the Republican governor has opposed.

It also sparked the kind of partisan sniping that Democrats and Republicans had so far avoided in hopes of preventing a repeat of the protracted budget debate that paralyzed the capital last summer.

Schwarzenegger last month pegged the shortfall at $14.5 billion through June 2009, but Hill said it has grown to $16 billion. She said Schwarzenegger's proposal for the 2008-09 budget year was flawed because it fails to set funding priorities or correct the state's chronic imbalance between spending and revenue.

"A decline in revenue means we have a larger shortfall than the governor projected," she said. "Our recommendations will affect all Californians in some way. However, we think that will benefit all Californians in the long run."

It is the first time Hill, California's budget analyst for the last 22 years, has offered a wholesale, competing approach to a governor's plan before state lawmakers began debating the budget. The spending plan for the 2008-09 budget year takes effect July 1.

Hill criticized Schwarzenegger's proposed 10 percent cuts to most state agencies. Instead, she called for targeting and eliminating nonessential state services and raising tax revenue by cutting personal and corporate tax credits for families, businesses and motorists. She also advocated a higher gasoline tax.

Republican Roger Niello, vice chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, said Republicans disagreed with the tax credit plan put forth by Hill.

"Californians already pay enough in taxes. Republicans stand ready to begin our difficult budget work today," Niello said in a statement.

But Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a Democrat, said he agreed with Hill's alternate approach.

The "report makes it clear that a slash-and-harm, cuts-only approach of dismantling state government won't fix our budget problem," he said in a statement.

Schwarzenegger said he looked forward to negotiating with lawmakers but remains opposed to tax increases.

"While I believe that we should begin negotiations with all ideas on the table, I have been very clear in my position against raising taxes to fix Sacramento's spending problem and our budget," he said in a statement.

Schwarzenegger's finance director, Mike Genest, said he did not consider Hill's competing budget proposal an affront.

"She's saying she believes how serious the problem is," he said.

http://www.newsmax.com/us/california_bu ... 74385.html

If CA just stops spending on ESL programs, they will probably save a lot!

16 billion dollar shorfall. We need this on the front page.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 7050.story

Holy cow, this is just not good. I hope they don't expect the Feds to bail them out. It won't happen. Not now.

Things are going to get ugly there.

Check hw much Los ANgeles spends on welfare and anchor baby births. 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles are to illegal aliens. They can start by changing the 14th ammendment so we don't have to pay for these kids births or health care. Stop the no child left behind and by requiring a valid SSN to enroll your child in to school plus residency verification. I experience this first hand living in San Diego, all the freebies need to end. Once that happens see how quickly the deficit clears up. I don't understand how much they want to tax us to give out these freebies to IA and their anchor babies. No taxation without representation. We should decide how our money is spent and considering how many hospitals have gone bankrupt because of IA and how much the state is in debt instead of cutting school funding they should cut off funding to IA, it's not rocket science.

There are only so many net negative taxpayers that the state can afford to support. Cilfornia needs to have 187 go into effect for the sake of the economic health and future of the quality of life.

Originally Posted by Richard

There are only so many net negative taxpayers that the state can afford to support. Cilfornia needs to have 187 go into effect for the sake of the economic health and future of the quality of life.

I completely agree, when are these politicians going to realize we've already hit rock bottom and we need to turn this around. There is no choice they need to be on the side of the American people. How they can take an oath of office and then go against it every single day in office I have no idea. How they think it's fair for honest, hard working americans to pay for the care of people who are not citizens of this country as though it is our job and duty is baffling. People look and listen, let California be a lesson and learn from it. Do everything you can to prevent this from happening to your state. PLease! Because I'm going to need a nice IA free state to run to when I can afford to leave San Diego. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Richard

There are only so many net negative taxpayers that the state can afford to support. Cilfornia needs to have 187 go into effect for the sake of the economic health and future of the quality of life.

I don't see how that would happen, we have a former illegal immigrant Governor and anchor baby head of the Legislature. They will take care of "their people" first, even if it means completely turning CA into Mexico North (we are already halfway there).

Originally Posted by Bowman

Originally Posted by Richard

There are only so many net negative taxpayers that the state can afford to support. Cilfornia needs to have 187 go into effect for the sake of the economic health and future of the quality of life.

I don't see how that would happen, we have a former illegal immigrant Governor and anchor baby head of the Legislature. They will take care of "their people" first, even if it means completely turning CA into Mexico North (we are already halfway there).

While they stick their heads in the sand, more and more taxpayers are leaving California. The shortfall will get bigger and bigger. Pretty soon, only the elites and illegals will remain. Who will subsidize the "poor" illegals then?

Originally Posted by miguelina

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While they stick their heads in the sand, more and more taxpayers are leaving California. The shortfall will get bigger and bigger. Pretty soon, only the elites and illegals will remain. Who will subsidize the "poor" illegals then?

The illegals would move to other states but hopefully most other states will adopt laws like OK and AZ have to prevent them from moving there. You know the AZ law actually makes me think illegals are coming here from AZ and that is why our deficit is shooting up.

Anyway at this point CA is going down the drain and only the federal government can stop it. If they don't in a few years we will be no different than Mexico and that will be the only thing keeping more illegals from flooding in.

California is already too far gone. Voters of this state tried to save it back in 1992 with the passage of prop 187 that would have denied benefits and schooling, medical care, etc. to the illegals. Is passed with over 70% of California Residents voting for it.

Unfortunately, some liberal, illegal loving Judge on the 9th Circuit ruled 187 to be unconstitutional and struck it down. The governor then stuck his head in the sand like a coward, (believe it was Gray Davis after Pete Wilson was recalled) and refused to challenge this ruling.

Fast forward 15 years later and look were we are. The state is full of illegals, anchor babies, and politicians with hispanic last names who are absolutely determined to turn this state over to their beloved illegal invaders.

It didn't help matters any that right next door was the State of Oregon, that until very recently, gave drivers licenses to illegals. CA is bad, but it does not give drivers licenses to these criminals, atleast not yet.

I will be leaving this state for good in July and relocating to the south.