California's Budget Soap Opera

[Voronwë the Faithful]

It's not often that a politician does something that truly surprises me, particularly in a positive way. But Jerry Brown, California's governor, managed to do so this week. California, as most are aware, as a huge budget shortfall (although it turned out to be somewhat smaller than expected because we have greater tax revenues than we thought we would have). When Governor Brown took office, he announced that he wanted to close the shortfall by making major spending cuts, and by continuing certain tax increases that were scheduled to expire. He wanted to put the tax issue to the public, since it would require a two-thirds vote. And he made it clear that he didn't want to use the same kind of gimmicky budget tricks that have been used in recent years to "close" the shortfall, only to have it come up again the next year. But in order to get the tax issue on the ballot, he need to get the agreement of a small number of GOP legislators, and in the current climate that has proven to be impossible. Meanwhile, the state has recently passed a law providing that if the legislature failed to pass a budget by the constitutionally-mandated deadline, that the legislators permanently forfeited their salary until it passed. The day of the deadline, the democratic majority passed a budget with no GOP support that included no tax increases (though it included "fee" increases) and a number the budget gimmicks that Brown said he would not allow.

Brown, the Democratic governor, vetoed the budge passed by his own party!

I can't think of any time that I have heard of something like that happening before. I was really surprised. I have to give Brown credit for standing by his word, and forcing the two parties to go back to the drawing board and see if they can come up with something that they (and he!) can agree to.

California's Brown vetoes fellow Democrats' budget

[Primula Baggins]

Good for him! And I wish there were more politicians like him in this.

[Cenedril_Gildinaur]

Well, with the "putting the tax on the ballot" there's a little more to that story.

At first the Republicans were dead-set against that, and Brown was trying to convince a few of them to break ranks. But then some polls came out and showed that if they were put on the ballot they'd lose horribly.

So John and Ken of KFI 640 switched their position and said it was ok for Republicans to break ranks and put the tax extensions on the ballot.

Meanwhile the head of the California Public Employees Union (whose name I don't remember) is trying to advise the Democrats to leave the voters out of the discussion.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

John and Ken, for those who don't know (e.g., probably just about everyone on this board not in Southern California) are conservative radio hosts with a wide audience in southern California, that are reputed to have a strong influence on GOP legislators in California, and who threatened tire repercussions to any who broke ranks on allowing the tax issue to go to the ballot. C_G is essentially correct that they (or, I think, mainly one of them, if I remember the story I read correctly) changed their mind when polls started to show that the public was not in favor of extending the taxes. However, no GOP legislators have yet agreed to vote to allow the vote.

I believe that when C_G is referring to the "head of the California Public Employees Union he is referring to David Kieffer, executive director of the Service Employees International Union California State Council, who has in fact warned that such a vote is "fraught with peril"

Union Chief Says Jerry Brown's tax vote is 'fraught with peril'

Interestingly, as that article says, the public is in favor of having the special election, based on the support of both those who think that it should win, and those who think that it should not. Brown obviously thinks that he can sell the idea, and I definitely am in favor of trying. That's a vote I would actually try to help influence. The idea of either using only spending cuts to close the gap, or once again relying on temporary gimmicks fills me with dismay. I usually am against California's out of control initiative process, but this seems like an appropriate use of it.