Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/52570
6A Daily News – Thursday, January 12, 2012 Opinion Brown budget — More taxes, government spending D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Last week, Governor Brown released his 2012-13 budget – a full five days ahead of schedule. While I had hoped that the Gov- ernor would put forward an hon- est plan that would help the state continue to make progress in closing its budget shortfall, sadly what we received from the Brown Administration was more of the same. The Governor announced that our budget deficit has fallen to $9.2 billion. It is good news that California is finally making progress to get its budget deficit under control. Despite the Gover- nor's rosy rhetoric, California isn't making nearly enough progress to eliminate the deficit. Even with a 6 percent increase in General Fund tax revenues from personal income, corporate, and sales taxes, California will still face a significant budget shortfall this year. Why? The Legislature and the Governor continue to overspend. The Gov- ernor proposes to grow General Fund spending by a whopping 7 percent next year. California cannot afford this. If spending continues to outpace revenues, we will never make any real progress in getting our budget deficit under control. I am particularly troubled that the Governor proposes to expand his dangerous public safety realignment scheme. This will result in more dangerous crimi- nals being dumped on the backs of counties and into our commu- nities, where they are already vic- timizing us. We will see more inmates serving in already-over- crowded local jails or released into our communities. No amount of funding or reform can fix realignment. I recommend that AB 109 be repealed and a new plan re-written that insures justice for public safety and solves the prison overcrowding problem. In the coming months, the Legislature and the Governor must work together to finally get serious about our spending prob- lems. While we have compassion for those in need, we can no longer afford to be the most generous state for health and welfare pro- grams if we are ever going to get our long-term spending under control. Last year, Assembly Republi- cans made classroom spending and funding for local law enforce- ment an important budget priori- ty. ering taxes, we helped to stimu- late the economy and bring in new tax revenue. That's why pro- jobs reforms must con- tinue to be a priority for the Legislature. But one of the worst things we could do is enact the Governor's proposed $35 billion tax increase on Califor- nians over five years. The Governor's pro- posed spending increas- es show that Californi- ans don't need to pay higher taxes in the first place. If state govern- ment cannot live with a $4.5 billion increase in revenue, then we are in real trou- ble. ly focus on the budget and cease producing even more legislation. We don't need more bills, we need a balanced bud- get. To truly get Califor- Jim Nielsen Unfortunately, Democrats shortchanged these priorities and did so again in the Governor's budget proposal. We will contin- ue to fight to protect K-12 educa- tion and public safety funding. One of the main reasons why the deficit is shrinking is because the economy grew. So-called "Big 3" revenue – sales, income and corporate taxes – is projected to grow $4.5 billion this year. This growth is the result of Republicans standing together last year to defeat the Governor's $58 billion tax increase. By low- What are most clearly absent from the Governor's budget are the reforms and structural changes required to end Califor- nia's long-term budget problems. It is good news that the Gover- nor is suggesting some perfor- mance-based, or zero-based, bud- geting but only as applied to two departments. This will finally force bureaucrats to justify how they spend our tax dollars each year and instill accountability. But we need to take the next step and embrace performance-based budgeting across state govern- ment. I suggest the Budget sub- committees immediately convene and apply performance-based and zero-based budgeting to all agen- cies. The Legislature should sole- nia's finances back on track, we must also enact a spending limit and rainy day fund. If there had been a hard spending cap in place in recent years, Califor- nia wouldn't be facing this budget mess. Bipartisan negotiations resulted in the Legisla- ture placing a spending limit before the voters, but Democrats last year punted this measure to the 2014 ballot. The Governor's tax and spend plan shows a spending limit is needed more than ever before. The release of the Governor's budget officially kicks off this year's budget debate. It is just the starting point of many discussions that will take place in the months ahead. Assembly Republicans will continue to fight for an hon- est budget that reflects priorities like education and public safety reforms our budget process and rejects new taxes. Assemblyman Nielsen represents the Second Assembly District, which includes: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo counties. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. The GOP's long sad march to the inevitable nominee Commentary Republicans have a wide variety of conservative white males now vying to be their nominee. No, really. Bear with me. They have former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich sum- ming up the worst of the '90s GOP. Not only did he shut down the government during his tenure, he attempted to oust a president for doing what Gin- grich was doing at that very moment. The Speaker investi- gated Bill Clinton for hanky panky with an intern (a paid one – FYI – oh the '90s were a gold- en age) while Gingrich was messing around with a Capitol staffer; soon to be his third and current wife, Callista. I've stopped using the word "hypocrite" for people like Gin- grich. It's a 75-cent word no one cares about. A better term is "fraud." Gingrich enjoys going after people for the things he's guilty of, like when he said we should lock up Congressman Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd. Gingrich described them as "the politicians who profited from the environment and the politi- cians who put this country in trouble." This was before it was disclosed Gingrich was paid $1.6 million by Freddie Mac for what any reasonable person would call lobbying. (He main- tains it was anything from being a celebrity to being a historian that "earned" such a paycheck.) He's now attacking Mitt Romney for "making people unemployed" at the leverage buyout firm Bain Capital, while not mentioning Gingrich was on the advisory board at a compet- ing leverage buyout firm Forstmann Little after his stint as Speaker. Fraud. But don't worry, Republicans also have a sample of the worst of their party from '00s: Rick Santorum. Now Santorum believes your uterus doesn't have a right to privacy. If Santo- rum has his way, women's pri- vate parts are up for public scrutiny and federal regulation. He's also bravely stood up for states being able to ban birth control and not wanting to make black/blah people's lives better by giving them someone else's money. But Santorum ranks among the worst of the Bush Era because of a blah spot on the Grand Old Party called: The Terri Schiavo case. In 2005, Schiavo was in a decades-long vegetative state; her husband wanted to abide by her wishes and not keep her alive by artifi- cial means. Her parents dis- agreed. They went to court. Then Congress got involved. Then the President of the United States at his home in Crawford boarded Air Force One on East- er to fly to Washington to sign legislation to "save Terri." Santorum was at the bedside of Terri Schiavo (uninvited) to make a national spec- tacle of himself. How'd he get there? Walmart corporate jet. Why was this Pennsyl- vania senator in Flori- da? Outback Steak- house fundraiser. So an industry toady uses his corporate favors to publically moralize our most intimate issues? He's pro-life, with the caveat of being pro-er- big-big-business. A few months later in that same year, nearly 2,000 Ameri- cans died in Hurricane Katrina without a special session from Congress or a visit from Santo- rum. It's hard to embrace the sanctity of life while corpses float along the streets of an American city. Santorum lost his seat by 17 points the next fall. So worst of the '90s, worst of the '00s and just to add diversi- ty - the cartoon of an absurd GOP future: Rick Perry. All that really needs to be said about Perry is he was final- ly able to list all three agencies he'd cut while president and got a nearlystanding ova- tion from an otherwise subdued New Hamp- shire crowd last Satur- day at ABC's debate. As they say in Texas, Perry is all hat and no… "Uh … I can't … sorry … oops." Tina Dupuy Which leads us back to the 1 percent (tipper) representing, Mitt Romney. Because all the other candidates remind us of bygone ethics violations, shameful hysterias, China or Ron Paul, the GOP looks like they're stuck with Romney. But they do not love him. His campaign has been like the rehearsal dinner for an arranged marriage: kind of sad, kind of inevitable – fun to watch from another party. Tina Dupuy is an award- winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.