EDITORIAL: Some lawmakers making budget problems worse
By The Bakersfield Californian
Knock it off already. We know you want to be seen as actually doing something, but if it puts a bigger hole in the state budget, unless voters have already OK'd it, now is not the time.
You'd think it wouldn't be necessary to point this out to state legislators, but sadly we must. Even as lawmakers struggle to close an estimated $26.6 billion gap, many of those same elected officials are attempting to widen California's budget deficit with bills that would either increase spending or diminish revenue. Democrats and Republicans alike -- but mostly Democrats -- are guilty.
Some bills would create programs or assign duties to state and local agencies that are already trying to do more with less, most having laid off workers or reduced services. Most if not all of those proposed programs and duties are very much worthy of support. But a spending crisis is not the time to spend more.
Other measures would establish various tax credits and exemptions, despite the fact that state tax revenue is down almost 7 percent from three years ago. No doubt most if not all of those tax credits would be a shot in the arm for the targeted industries. But a revenue crisis is not the time to turn away revenue.
State legislators have written fewer bills than is typical for this time of year, so we've seen a little progress. Members of the Assembly have introduced just over 1,500 bills, down from 1,800-plus in 2007. The number of Senate bills is down from 1,165 in 2007 to 1,005. But, typical of any year, about two-thirds have been classified as having a possible fiscal impact, either in terms of new spending or reductions in revenue.
That doesn't work in 2011-12, with many essential services on life support, higher education in trouble, and the middle class bearing most of the brunt. Knock it off already, Legislature. Fix our budget problems, don't worsen them.
Facebook
Twitter
Mobile
RSS
Most CommentedMost Popular
About two dozen protesters stood in front of Kern County Superior Court next to the Liberty Bell Thursday morning to make a statement about police brutality.
The death of a man in custody following a prolonged struggle with Kern County Sheriff's deputies and CHP officers and the subsequent fracas over confiscated witness cellphones have gained international attention and raised concerns here that the incidents could tarnish the county's emerging...
Sheriff’s investigators served a search warrant on Kern Medical Center and the Mary K. Shell Mental Health Center seeking medical records to find possible reasons for David Sal Silva’s behavior prior to and during his encounter with law enforcement, The Californian learned Friday.
The Kern County Sheriff's Office is out of control. That's one conclusion many people will draw based on the events of the past two weeks and in the context of recent years.
Blood stains are still visible on the sidewalk at the corner of Flower Street and Palm Drive, where a Bakersfield man struggled with as many as nine officers and later died this week.
Classes were canceled at Bakersfield High School Monday after three small bottle bomb explosions struck campus, authorities said.
David Sal Silva’s screams seem like they will never stop.
Responding to what he called a case that “has consumed the media and our community,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Tuesday he has asked the FBI to conduct a “parallel” investigation into the death of Bakersfield father of four David Sal Silva, who died May 8 after he was beaten by deputies.