Posted on 11/27/2008 7:36:53 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO — As the Legislature's latest attempt to fix the state's fiscal mess ended once again in a bout of partisan sniping and no visible progress, something surprising happened: Hints began to emerge of the possible contours of a compromise.
All year, Republicans have refused to consider raising taxes, without which Democrats and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger insist the state's massive deficit — $28 billion through mid-2010 — can't possibly be closed. At least a handful of GOP votes are needed because California law requires a two-thirds supermajority to raise taxes.
That opposition continued when the governor called lawmakers back to Sacramento this month for an emergency session of the Legislature to tackle the deficit. At the same time, Republican leaders began to signal that a deal might be negotiable — but at a price that would force Democrats to alienate some of their key supporters.
Specifically, GOP lawmakers are pressing for a slate of measures that they say would take the sting out of any tax increase. They include relaxing laws governing overtime and lunch breaks, easing environmental regulations for new land developments, and enacting tax credits to encourage job creation.
"Republicans truly believe that raising taxes will hurt the economy," said Jennifer Gibbons, a spokeswoman for Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines, R-Fresno. "So for us to even consider raising taxes, we'd need to know measures are being taken to mitigate" that.
Schwarzenegger sides with Republicans on the issue, calling in his latest budget proposal for a package of tax breaks, including one to help film and TV producers. But the governor also agrees with Democrats that higher taxes can't be avoided: His budget plan calls for a temporary boost in the sales tax, among other tax increases.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Yeah sure. I’ll give you a worm if you bite my hook. Oops sorry, the worm was rubber and I’m keeping it anyway.
California has a mess to deal with. Since I do not live there, I am not too concerned with how they deal with it. However, no US gov’t bailout should be given CA, or any state for that matter.
why doesn’t the state reduce its employees?
that’s what businesses do.
Typical milquetoast, nimble-around-the-edges, half-assed Republicans - how in the world are these myopic, brain-fart proposals going to help reduce the deficit? Whatever happened to taking a good hard look at the budget and consolidating or abolishing programs and departments? What about the illegals, the bureaucrats who make six-figure incomes doing virtually nothing??? Are CA Republicans this friggin' brain-dead?
"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
All of the blue states are presently having much more financial problems compared to all of the red states, but this fact wasn’t well explained by the GOP prior to November 4. Also, the MSM succeeded in profoundly suppressing “everything GOP” and “everything conservative” up to November 4 and beyond. RINO’s complicated things even more for both the GOP and conservatism as did the present campaign finance reform system.
it will only get worst. democrats keep raking up the spending forcing deficits and then say the only way to fix it, is to increase taxes, so taxes get increased and more spending contines and then even more taxes
Oh well.
So much for Republican core principles.
Unless Republicans learn to start acting like Conservatives again, the party’s destiny is that of the lukewarm, socialist-lite, politically correct, gun grabbing, socially liberal “conservative” parties of western Europe.
Da link, it does nothingk!
IF THEY RAISE TAXES, THEY ARE NOT REPUBLICANS.
****ers.
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