Wry Catcher
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #1
"Borrowing soars despite Schwarzenegger's vows" is the headline on the front page above the fold of today's San Francisco Chronicle.
What the governor and state legislature has done is raid local governments revenue resulting in lay-offs of police officers and other essential local services.
Bonds were passed to repair infrastructure and to pay for day-to-day state governance. Instead of reducing non-essential spending (of course, how does one define and secure agreement on what is and what is not essential?) or raising taxes - something the Republican Party absolutely refuses to consider, the state has chosen to borrow.
Guess what people, the era of borrowing is soon to end; CA now only needs a simple majority to pass it's budget. And with it the test of whether raising taxes is sometimes a necessary and sufficient policy to restore fiscal solvency.
What the governor and state legislature has done is raid local governments revenue resulting in lay-offs of police officers and other essential local services.
Bonds were passed to repair infrastructure and to pay for day-to-day state governance. Instead of reducing non-essential spending (of course, how does one define and secure agreement on what is and what is not essential?) or raising taxes - something the Republican Party absolutely refuses to consider, the state has chosen to borrow.
Guess what people, the era of borrowing is soon to end; CA now only needs a simple majority to pass it's budget. And with it the test of whether raising taxes is sometimes a necessary and sufficient policy to restore fiscal solvency.