Having spoken out numerous times on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Republican colleagues’ inability to deliver on their promises to solve California’s budget problems, I was further outraged by their recent opposition to closing a loophole that gives tax breaks to wealthy yacht owners. At a time when California is considering drastic cuts to education, health care, state parks and the poor, this unconscionable position only underscores the Administration’s inability to deal with our budget crisis in an honest manner and their willingness to balance the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable.
Currently, it’s possible for new yacht owners to avoid paying state sales tax by parking their new purchases out of California for 90 days. In February, the legislature considered closing the loophole that gives the wealthiest in the state a tax exemption for their extravagant toys. The proposal was simply to adjust this loophole in the tax law and increase the waiting period to a year–an action that is estimated would have netted the state $26 million. No-brainer, right? Well, not to the Republicans in the legislature.
Because Republicans in both houses voted against the bill, it failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed for passage. Republicans in the legislature have taken a pledge to never, under any circumstances, consider tax increases, even during budget deficits like the $16 billion one we currently face. This unwillingness to compromise to save California from possible insolvency is the latest example of the fiscal irresponsibility that has plagued Republicans in the State House and the Governor’s mansion.
By way of review, during the 2003 recall election, Mr. Schwarzenegger promised to be the “Collectinator.” He said that his friendship with President George W. Bush and the Republicans in Washington, DC would allow for him to bring home federal dollars that were missing from the state’s coffers. Subsequently, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, identified tens of billions of federal dollars owed to California. She and the California Democratic congressional delegation tried to get the Governor to live up to his pledge by working with him and the Republicans in a bi-partisan manner. Unfortunately, his promises have continued to yield little results.
In his first “State of the State” address in 2004, the Governor said that he would bring great change to Sacramento by “blowing up the boxes” of government bureaucracy. Unfortunately, this translated into dismantling essential local governmental services including police and fire safety and health programs. One of his first actions in office was to spend over $4 billion in revenue the state did not have by rescinding the vehicle license fee. The fee, which had been in place for 63 years, went to local governments throughout California. Today it costs the state $6 billion a year in revenues according to Elizabeth Hill, the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst.
In 2005, the Governor spent $80 million of the state’s money on his unnecessary ‘Special Election’ to benefit his corporate, special interest agenda instead of working with the Legislature in good faith to soundly address the complex issues facing California. The measures he put forward on the ballot were soundly defeated and he succeeded in wasting a year of the taxpayers’ time and millions of state dollars.
In 2006, the Governor told the state he was working across both sides of the aisle and proclaimed a new era of ‘post-partisanship.’ Unfortunately, instead of offering real solutions to our structural budgetary deficit, the Governor pulled out the state’s credit card again and borrowed billions of dollars- essentially taxing our children’s future.
Last year, in 2007, fresh off the campaign trail, the Governor, unable to get his Republican colleagues to support the agreed-upon state budget priorities for the new fiscal year, led us once again into a budget stalemate. The months-long stand off stymied critical state functions and stalled payments to millions of children, elderly, poor and disabled Californians. Medi-Cal funds were frozen, hospitals and care providers had to function using IOUs, and our community college districts stretched their dollars to the breaking point until the state finally agreed on a budget.
Now in 2008, we find ourselves straddled with a $16 billion shortfall. Amazingly, just a few months ago the Governor proclaimed that the “budget deficit is zero.” Fast forward a few months later and he told us that we must make draconian cuts to deal with this amazing turn of economic events. He is now proposing that we cut more than $4.5 billion from K-12 education; decimate our AIDS Drug Assistance Program; further reduce reimbursement rates for health care providers; put the children of mothers on state assistance at risk of homelessness; deny the blind, the elderly, and the disabled even a minimal cost-of-living adjustment; slash funding for our court system; virtually close down our state parks system; and continue to under-fund our higher education systems. Part of the Governor’s plan is to make it harder for people on Medi-Cal to get reimbursed for their health care by simply creating more paperwork for them to fill out.
For nearly five years of the Schwarzenegger Administration in Sacramento, we’ve seen this movie over and over again. It’s time to get real. We must have an honest conversation with the people of California about the priorities we have for our families and how we’re going to pay for them with a balanced approach of spending cuts and revenue enhancements, like closing the yacht tax loophole. The Governor’s script always promises real budget solutions, but fails to deliver time and time again.