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The following commentary is from the March 24th Harman Report. Senator Harman represents the 35th District in southern CA.
Budget Update
“To my dismay, there have been no additional actions to solve our state’s multi-billion dollar deficit. Last week numerous spending reductions were passed but the two most controversial elements, the elimination of Redevelopment Agencies and Enterprise Zones, did not gain enough votes in either house and remain unresolved. It also appears that the Governor is unwilling… or unable… to support and engage in any serious discussion on the structural reforms needed to get at the heart of California’s fiscal problems.
The other remaining unresolved issue is the Governor’s proposal to place personal income and sales tax, as well as increases to the vehicle license fee on the ballot so the voters could decide themselves on these “important issues.” I remain firmly opposed to any tax increase and believe, as a matter of principle, that it is better to reduce government spending than to increase taxes.
If voters are to decide on this ‘important issue’, why not allow them to decide on other important reforms that the Governor expressed support for while on the campaign trail, such as a spending cap, pension reform and a host of other issues California desperately needs and the Legislature is unwilling to enact? These are the very issues that Republicans have been advocating for years.”
Well, Tom where is your budget?
Where are your proposals?
If you don’t have any, why are you collecting a paycheck?
Mayor Quimby.
So we empower you to cherry pick who is to be paid? At last count we were to have 120 elected officials plus the governor in our state legislature. If you wish to withhold paychecks based on not having a mandatory budget you must open your limited tent.
As part of the Rogue 5, Senator Harman should know better than to try to deal with Democrats. The public employee unions will never agree to the pension reform that Harman and the others insist must be part of the ballot before they will agree to place tax increases on as well. It’s been noticably silent from the lefties on here who think the people should be allowed to decide on tax increases but apparently not on spending cuts, pension reform, a spending cap, and other key issues that will help eliminate our crushing deficit.
Sure, put pension reform on the ballot along with tax extensions. How would it be phrased though? For one thing, it doesn’t matter how many voters vote to breach an existing contract, THAT wouldn’t hold up in court. Voting on pension reform for the future, ok.
A excise tax on excessive pensions at the source sure would help balance the scales.
Well if Harman and the Republicans ever actually released a real budget or proposal that they wanted people to vote on, then everybody could comment on it.
Maybe I missed those concrete proposals that they wanted people to vote on.
Come on, you know Harman is only still in Sacramento to sweeten his pension and collect a salary and a per diem.
If we ended all taxpayer payments to pensions for next year the savings would be at most 3 billion.
Even with the most drastic reform we would still be obligated to pay the current retirees which would reduce this saving to I would think at least 2 billion.
2 does not equal 26.
Is part of the republican proposal to include no double pensions by elected officals and no collecting another taxpayer based pension while getting paid taxpayers for another job?
We only hear the word pension reform, specifics please and how much will it save?
Of is it a ploy to reduce the ablitly of unions to support Democrats for office ?
If it does not really save money which I have never seen the figures of how if could legally save money, ask Orange County who has been defeated in court several times trying to change a plan without a new agreement, without success.
LA just struck an agreement to help close thier budget hole with the unions there, why cannot other governments do the same including the state?
Same old left talking points. Any attempt to reform pensions is merely a way to attack union support of Democrats (I guess the idea of actually letting union members decide where their dues go is foreign to the left). And you never get any specifics because the second anyone brings up pension reform, the union machine kicks into high gear and gets its purchased politicians to shut the talk down. The Rogue 5 is a point in fact. While I don’t support trading taxes for reform, do you really have to wonder why our Governor has not agreed to any pension reform in an effort to get his tax increases on the ballot?
“Same old left talking points” does not mean they aren’t true. Of course the attacks on unions are a transparent attempt to finally run the middle class out of town–why do you support those who care only for the wealthy?
LA just struck an agreement to help close thier budget hole with the unions there, why cannot other governments do the same including the state?
I like an answer to that question too.
Yeah, it sounds like the agreement Wendy Leece & Katrina worked out with their workers in Costa Mesa last year. Before the Riggy zealots took over.
Its unfortunate who are government appears to be getting weaker from this constant bipartisan attacks in which no one agrees with no one about what needs to be done to resolve our fiscal crisis. Each side seems to be attacking the other side instead of working together to figure out how best to resolve the matter.
Nora. Welcome to gridlock