A few days ago Dave Johnson of Speakout California posted a diary here: “Don’t Forget The Governor Vetoed A Budget That Passed” detailing the January budget bill that was immediately vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But who actually forgot about it? Apparently the very legislators who passed it in the first place. There has been much bleating and hand wringing from Sacramento about drastic budget cuts since May 19th, but the one thing they could do quickly would be to put that budget right back on the Governor’s desk, then go on a statewide full court press talking about California’s revenue problem and the need for progressive tax increases.
Too risky? Follow me below the fold:
Apparently not. It seems California voters might finally be ready to talk about such things. The question is, are Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg ready to lead or not?
UPDATE by Brian: To get full details about this poll, see the full polling memo, or this slideshow on the poll. Both are also available here
SPECIAL ELECTION MESSAGE FROM VOTERS:
CUTS AREN’T THE ANSWER FOR BUDGET MESS
Survey reveals voters defeated Prop. 1A because they
are tired of gimmicks, not because it extended tax increasesSACRAMENTO, CA — Proposition 1A failed because voters want real solutions and an end to political gimmicks, not because the measure extended tax increases, a survey conducted by a leading California research firm demonstrates. The survey of 1000 California voters, conducted May 16 to May 20, reveals that voters are deeply distrustful of Sacramento’s elected leaders, with 74% of voters believing the special election is another example of the Governor and Legislature’s failure to do the job they were elected to do….
Driving Tuesday’s low voter turnout and the overpowering opposition to Prop. 1A was the fact that voters simply do not trust the leadership in Sacramento….
Revenue options supported by a strong majority of voters include:
* Increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages (75% support)
* Increasing taxes on tobacco (74% support)
* Imposing an oil extraction tax on oil companies just like every other oil producing state (73% support)
* Closing the loophole that allows corporations to avoid reassessment of the value of new property they purchase (63% support)
* Increasing the top bracket of the state income tax from nine point three percent to 10 percent for families with taxable income over $272,000 a year and to eleven percent for families with taxable incomes over $544,000 a year (63% support)
* Prohibiting corporations from using tax credits to offset more than fifty percent of the taxes they owe (59% support)
While voters strongly support these options to help California increase its revenue, voters are strongly against specific spending cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
* 76% oppose cutting public school spending by $5.3 billion
* 73% oppose cutting funding for state colleges and universities by $1.2 billion
* 68% oppose cutting the state’s funding for health care services by $1.1 billion
* 62% oppose cutting the state’s funding for homecare services by $494 million
I wonder how many voters would support allowing the legislature to raise taxes with a simple majority vote? As long as a simple majority can increase spending while it takes two-thirds to raise taxes, we’re going to have a budget deficit.
It’s hard to fathom why this isn’t being brought up by Dem leadership. Their failure to do so makes it harder to convince people that there’s a way around Republican obstructionism.
Do you have any links to the details of that budget? I don’t know if they did it more honestly and avoided gimmicks in order
That’s what I told both last week. But I’ll contact my elected officials too. Where did the figures come from so I can attribute them correctly? And who was polled? All voters? They need to know if the support is really that widespread.
It’s not too early to start talking to them. It looks like Bass & Steinberg intend to move quickly.