- Sen. Darrell Steinberg says the state's budget is often late because Democrats are "not going to settle on a budget that hurts the very people we were elected to serve."
Posted on 07/22/2008 7:56:41 AM PDT by SmithL
Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, takes over as state Senate leader after the current session ends. The Bee talked with him about the budget and taxes.
Q: Why would the Democrats roll out a tax plan that they knew ahead of time the Republicans wouldn't vote for?
A: There's actually some consensus that has developed over the past several years. It's clear from even the way the Republicans are acting in the budget negotiations, there is a common recognition that we cannot cut our way out of this problem. The Republicans aren't putting $15 billion of cuts on the table, for good reason. … That would implicate the department of corrections and law enforcement, public education, transportation, a whole host of other policy areas that are not necessarily partisan in nature, so now the debate is framed very clearly.
Q: Are the Democrats concerned that the increase in taxes would have a negative effect on business retention in California?
A: I think the Democrats are approaching the tax question in an intelligent way. Look at the upper-income tax. This was a tax that (Pete) Wilson, a Republican governor, pushed through. I know the claim is made that wealthy earners would leave California, but that belies the facts. I did Proposition 63, the mental health initiative, which was just a surtax on earnings over $1 million, and there hasn't been some great flight out of the state. … People choose to live in California for a lot of good reasons, and ensuring that we have the resources to properly invest in education and health care and an infrastructure, I think, is more important to the business community.
Q: Does the state of California have a revenue problem or a spending problem?
A: That's a question that is always asked in the political context,...
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
- Sen. Darrell Steinberg says the state's budget is often late because Democrats are "not going to settle on a budget that hurts the very people we were elected to serve."
Fish gotta swim, and
Rats gotta tax.
If California opened up their offshore oil fields to drilling, they might be able to make up the shortfall in tax revenue.
Just ream the people, who are already hurting, some more..........
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Most of the money in California goes to education. I don’t understand why since the education department isn’t doing its job. It seems that they are just supplying jobs for the teachers....not education the children. If they wish to argue this point have them give statics on how the schools are doing.....grade by grade and how many children enter high school and how many graduate.
let’s say you had $7,500 in your checking account and you write $10,000 worth of checks would your bank say you have a revenue problem or a spending problem?
You’ve got a spending problem, idiot.
Since Davis signed the “15 year rule” and starting in the early 1990’s California has been abandoning oil wells. It was once stated by the DOG (Division of Oil and Gas) they expected to abandon 40,000 wells in California between 1995 and 2005.
With oil being lifted at 21.00 a barrel, companies just sealed them up to prevent the liability. Now with oil up, it is worth reworking the wells and going back into production however, we have no refining ability due to other government restrictions.
Last month I was invited to address a joint tax committee of the Utah Legislature to discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of various methods of taxing real property. Specifically, Utah is considering adopting an "acquisition value" based system -- such as Proposition 13 -- to replace its traditional "current value" system that taxes property based on what it is worth now rather than the purchase price.
Although the legislators had lots of questions, I was amazed at their level of knowledge, their business acumen and their concern for taxpayers. More than that, they were unfailingly polite and none of them tried to set me up for a "gotcha" moment.
Having testified before the Utah Legislature once before several years ago -- and having a similar enjoyable experience -- I thanked the committee's co-chairs for the invitation and noted that the experience was different from some of my appearances before the California Legislature.
At the mention of the California Legislature, several members of the committee laughed. The Chairman grinned and said that "we love the California Legislature -- they do more for Utah business development than anyone else."
The message was clear. Utah's healthy business climate was due in no small measure to California firms moving to that state or simply choosing to expand their existing business operations there and not in California. There are a lot of reasons why, compared to California, Utah is so attractive.
First, California is a high tax state while Utah's tax burden is much more moderate. According to the Tax Foundation, California's state-local tax burden percentage stands at 12th highest nationally, estimated at 11.5% of income. This is above the national average of 11.0%. Californians pay $4,965 per capita in state and local taxes, and per capita state income is $43,338. (Unfortunately, California's poor ranking is probably understated because of the high number of non-workers, such as children and the elderly. When tax burden is spread among the employed -- a methodology employed by CalTax -- it is even higher).
However, for a small business entrepreneur, the differences can be more stark. California has the highest personal income tax rate in the nation. Utah's top tax rate is about half of California's top rate. And in overall business tax climate, the two states are at the opposite ends of the spectrum with Utah ranked 17th and California a dismal 47th.
Second, businesses appreciate government that is run well. According to the Pew Center on the States, Utah ranks number one in several categories and has earned a solid A grade: "Utah has been a clear leader in sound government based on smart planning and effective performance management that emphasizes long-term results."
California, on the other hand, has a D+ for fiscal management as measured by such criteria as fiscal budget process, structural balance and financial controls. According to Pew, the outlook for the Golden State is grim: "California faces fiscal problems that budget writers in most states would find difficult to grasp, let alone solve."
While California wallows in debt, Utah had a $1 billion surplus last year. Did they follow California's lead and spend that money on new permanent programs or higher employee salaries? Of course not. They spent that surplus on infrastructure -- new roads, highways and other public improvements. And they did it without debt -- on a pay-as-you-go basis like California did back in the '60s.
Perhaps most important is the positive mindset that Utah has toward both individual and business taxpayers. Elected leaders understand that, without taxpayers, there is no way to finance government. Instead of viewing taxpayers as sheep to be sheared, intelligent public leaders do all they can to attract and retain the best and the brightest -- whether a new family just starting out or a multinational corporation.
But in these dark economic times in California, what does the tax-and-spend leadership in Sacramento want to do? Raise taxes $9 billion. Such a strategy is sheer madness.
Don't be surprised if the Utah Economic Development Corporation sends Speaker Bass and Pro Tem Perata a nice thank you card.
Imagine that. Utah has a balanced budget and a $1 billion surplus that's invested in creating a better quality life for the state's residents. California has a humongous budget deficit and spends its money on public employees and illegal aliens. There's a lesson here and that's why California is no longer a state to which people want to come to live. $9 billion dollars in new taxes will be reason enough for people to go to Utah.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I doubt there’s an oil company out there stupid enough to invest in drilling off the coast of California - not after what happened last time. ‘Big Oil’ lost billions investing in the oil platforms that do exist out there, which the state decided to unceremoniously shut down before any of them had even recouped their cost of construction.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
From that bastion of right wing reactionary policy...USC.
Here is the truth:
CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension fund with assets totaling $248.4 billion as of April 30, 2008,
CalSTRS is the nation’s second largest public pension fund with assets totaling just over $162.2 billion as of June 30, 2008.
the very people we were elected to serve..
Oh my.
where does one begin on that list?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.