The Sacramento Bee — sacbee.com — GOP unveils its no-tax-hike plan: “Senate Republicans unveiled their long-awaited plan Wednesday to fill California’s budget hole without raising taxes, saying they would roll over a $3 billion deficit until 2005 and slash billions from state programs.”
Jim Brulte, Senate Republican leader and likely candidate for Governor in ’06 if Schwartzenegger is terminated unveiled a plan for balancing the California budget without raising taxes or fees as the Democrats have proposed. The Brulte plan makes 7% across-the-board cuts in General Fund spending, and refrains from raising Community College fees or raping counties, the two methods most preferred by budget-balancers in the past. Brulte also plays some accounting games to comply with the state’s balanced budget law, such as using a two-year budget cycle and altering Medicaid accounting. The big question mark is how it squares with Prop 98, the law setting a floor on school spending pegged to a percentage of the General Fund, but the Davis plan has a similar exposure.
The good thing about the plan, from a bipartisan viewpoint, is that it gets the ball rolling on talks among the Big Five* that will ultimately resolve the budget impasse.
*The Big Five are the Dem and Rep leaders of the two houses plus the Governor. They traditionally do the big horse-trading that leads to a budget each year, and are very late getting started this year, which had led to fears that the Reps were going to hold out until the state couldn’t issue checks before getting down to business.
Jim Brultes lack willingness to negotiate a budget comprise shows lack of anything except pure politics. His budget plan.as usual, is put on the backs of those who can least afford it. He dosen’t seem to give a damn about the devistation he will cause to education, health,and general welefare of the middle class and low income families in California. He threatens his own party members if they dare to think for themselves. There is pleanty of blame to go around for our present situation from Pete Wilson’s flawed derergulation plan to Gov. Davis not acting the summer before the energy rip off.
Ferc must share some of the blame for being a tool of corporations at that time, as well as President Bush, who in so many words, said he didn’t about the plight of california. The budget fiasco however is the fault of guys like Jim Brulte. We need to get some adults in our government. Doc Laine
Jim Brultes lack willingness to negotiate a budget comprise shows lack of anything except pure politics. His budget plan.as usual, is put on the backs of those who can least afford it. He dosen’t seem to give a damn about the devistation he will cause to education, health,and general welefare of the middle class and low income families in California. He threatens his own party members if they dare to think for themselves. There is pleanty of blame to go around for our present situation from Pete Wilson’s flawed derergulation plan to Gov. Davis not acting the summer before the energy rip off.
Ferc must share some of the blame for being a tool of corporations at that time, as well as President Bush, who in so many words, said he didn’t about the plight of california. The budget fiasco however is the fault of guys like Jim Brulte. We need to get some adults in our government. Doc Laine
Jim Brultes lack willingness to negotiate a budget comprise shows lack of anything except pure politics. His budget plan.as usual, is put on the backs of those who can least afford it. He dosen’t seem to give a damn about the devistation he will cause to education, health,and general welefare of the middle class and low income families in California. He threatens his own party members if they dare to think for themselves. There is pleanty of blame to go around for our present situation from Pete Wilson’s flawed derergulation plan to Gov. Davis not acting the summer before the energy rip off.
Ferc must share some of the blame for being a tool of corporations at that time, as well as President Bush, who in so many words, said he didn’t about the plight of california. The budget fiasco however is the fault of guys like Jim Brulte. We need to get some adults in our government. Doc Laine