Apparently, $4 billion in unexpected new revenue for the State of California materialized out of thin air right in time to be counted for the budget that just passed. But Gov. Brown and the Democrats didn’t get the sales tax extension that they wanted, so sales tax will drop one percentage point and car registrations one-half of a point on July 1.
“I put up an all-cuts budget. Then the Democrats change [the all-cuts budget] and put in gimmicks. Then I veto it. Then everybody sits there until we run out of money. It’s not going to be a pretty sight. It’s like one-two: No tax, all cuts, gimmicky budget, veto, paralysis.”
When economies sour and budgets fail, people look for answers. And as California’s financial misery continues, some are looking to identify the guilty party, but perhaps the system itself is the real culprit.
On the heels of Gov. Jerry Brown releasing his revised budget in May, a recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that opposition to his tax extensions was highest among Republicans, followed by Independents.
To help school districts deal with years of massive spending cuts in education, in 2009, the state legislature temporarily de-regulated $4.5 billion in funds formerly earmarked for 40 programs that school districts had been required to fund, such as adult education, classes for gifted children and training for blue collar fields like carpentry.
It certainly seems that way sometimes, doesn’t it? The California legislature shambles around, bumping into things, with no apparent sense of direction. Issues that managed to get resolved quickly in other states (like Utah revising their public pension plans in one year flat) take ponderously interminable amounts of time for California to even start pondering them.
After years of denials and legal battles, a former city official of Vernon pleaded guilty to illegally using taxpayer funds for golf outings, meals, massages, and even to pay off his own personal credit card debt, wrapping up one of several corruption cases that have brought the city under increased scrutiny.
