I got home yesterday and a message on my VM told me it's my Republican State Senator. Dave Cox. And he's calling in response to my email challenging him to do the responsible thing and pass a budget with a mix of taxes and cuts over the Republican "hard line in the sand" of no new taxes plus a hard spending cap. WTF?
First, I was amazed that he actually called me back personally. So I called his office. His assistant answered and I said, "I'm blankety, blank, and I received a call either from Senator Cox or from this office. He checked to see who called. The next voice I heard was the Senator. Very odd. How am I, a Democrat, able to talk with a Repub California State Senator about the State's ongoing budget fiasco.
So, I tried. We talked about what was going on. Steinberg took the bull by the horns and passed billions of dollars of "fee increases" that didn't have to pass by a two-thirds vote but could have helped the State's revenue system immediately. That is governing by a strong Democrat.
Steinberg negotiated as Senate Majority Leader for three-weeks to no great success. Republicans, not willing to give an inch. Republicans wouldn't budge in the negotiating process, so f**k em. The longer they are obstructionists the better chance Dems have of getting to 2/3 in the Senate and Assembly.
I asked Senator Cox about Republican refusals to increase State spending in the face of the State of California partially or fully shutting down. He gave me a wonderful sermon on the expansion in California's General Fund -spending increased from 50 billion dollars in 1998 to 100 billion in 2007. I told him that wasn't such a big deal since the CPI in California went up 39.4% over that same period. Doesn't seem as if spending is outpacing inflation that terribly to me and I told him so.
Now that California has reached this particular point in the ongoing Depression, let's not shut down a whole sector of spending at the same time the rest of the job market is reeling and we're only halfway through the mortgage foreclosure debacle. It just doesn't make sense - let's get through this immediate period and if we make it out of the Depression as one state then let's worry about a hard spending cap and lines in the sand. I told Senator Cox that, from down here at ground level, it seemed as if shutting down an entire sector of economic activity at this particular point seemed none too smart.
Of course he then asked me if, as a kid, I'd gotten everything I'd wanted. Of course not. Not. Even. Close. But that's cool because we had love and support in a household that emphasized education. I didn't quite see the relevance. Oh, I know he's alleging that Democrats get everything they want in CA. Well, no actually. What about public transportation systems that work? Statewide single-payer? Stuff like that - I don't think so. And in reality the Democratic legislators put plenty of cuts to schools, social services etc. into the plan that was passed yesterday and that Arnold promised to veto. What a tool.
Other key elements of the Democrats' plan include:
• A half-cent sales tax increase.
• A 9.9 percent severance tax on oil produced in California.
• A personal income tax surcharge of 2.5 percent on money owed, in all brackets.
• A 3 percent withholding tax collected by businesses from money paid to independent contractors.
The $18 billion package includes $7.3 billion in budget cuts previously proposed by Democrats, including $2.5 billion to schools in the current fiscal year.
Other proposed cuts include lowering grants to low-income, elderly, blind or disabled individuals; suspending increases in welfare payments; reducing funds to state universities by $132 million; and imposing $657 million in state worker compensation cuts, to be decided in collective bargaining.
One portion of the Democrats' plan would not raise money for the general fund and, thus, is not counted toward easing the massive shortfall.
What Steinberg should do is take every Dem policy idea that he can work through his caucus and pass it. Keep passing it. Arnold will even sign some of it. Show California which party governs and which party keeps obstructing the process.
If you live in California you can help push for getting a budget passed that raises fees and taxes by calling your Assemblyperson and your Senator. Oh, and another thing - callArnold and tell him not to veto the Dems plan to address what's turning into an insurmountable budget deficit. Let's get busy.