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The Public Policy
The Jerry Brown Follies
Budget gimmickry is the best he’s willing to offer.
Human folly, unlike petroleum, is one resource in endless supply. You could ask Dominique Strauss-Kahn or Arnold Schwarzenegger or even California’s new-old governor, Jerry Brown. He thinks you can spin gold from words. Consider how he plans to make this alchemy work:
When he was inaugurated in January, Brown faced a state deficit of approximately $26 billion. His plan was to call for a special election in June to get extensions of certain sales, vehicle license, and income tax rates beyond their June 30 “sunset” date. Brown’s logic was that if the extensions passed, the state would get $12 billion, to go along with the $11 billion in spending cuts promised by the legislature. If the tax extensions were voted down, Brown would invoke drastic cuts, affected constituencies would howl, but he and his party couldn’t be blamed because they had asked the people to decide.
It didn’t happen. He couldn’t get the necessary handful of Republican votes in Sacramento to go to the ballot. He then trotted out a long list of proposed cuts. Predictably, howls ensued from border to border. Meanwhile, improvements in income tax revenue of about $6 billion eased the burden, but there are still billions to go. So, Brown now wants the legislature, by fiat, to extend the sales, motor vehicle and income tax rates, then put them on the November ballot for ratification by the people after the fact.
If they don’t — and polls show the extensions are not popular — will he be required to pay back the extra taxes collected between June and November? If so, the whole exercise would be a case of “budget gimmickry,” the very thing he has been railing against for months.
Meanwhile, speaking of folly, Brown’s administration has signed a contract with Santa Clara County to “borrow” for three-and-a-half years one William Lightbourne to oversee the “realignment” of various social services responsibilities to counties and cities. For this, the state is paying $52,000 more than the law would permit in payment to an employee, plus $127,000 in benefits and perquisites.
Brown has announced he will eliminate 43 state commissions (along with their overhead) and the state payroll by 5,500 jobs. This is a modest start; however, he’s a piker compared to New York’s liberal Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, who has cut 10,000 jobs and capped public employee pensions.
Brown has paid lip service to pension reform, but that’s all. Getting public employees to increase their contribution to their own pensions and creating a two-tiered system with less generous pensions for new hires — all this is way off in the mist. So the cost spigot is still fully open. No wonder: public employee unions are California’s largest, most powerful special interest and the source of Brown’s and most Democrats’ campaign coffers.
Another obstacle to converting words to gold by Brown is the fact his proposed budget has crept up by five percent since he first put it forth in January. By law, the state must have a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 by June 30. For several years, this law has been honored in the breech, being passed as late as September. On Brown’s watch, that negative state of affairs will almost certainly continue.
To make his alchemy even less likely is the fact that some 33,000 state prisoners must be released over the next two years to satisfy a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that “overcrowding” must be stopped. Where will they go and who will pay for it?
A century-and-a-half ago doughty miners extracted hundreds of millions of dollars in gold from the Mother Lode east of Sacramento. What Jerry Brown & Co. are mining, instead, is Fool’s Gold.
About the Author
Peter Hannaford was closely associated for a number of years with the late President Reagan, beginning in the California Governor’s office. His latest book is Presidential Retreats.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (68) | Leave a comment
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Dee See| 5.26.11 @ 7:01AM
---The '70s Show' psy op that is California
simply has no bottom.
MEANWHILE that Rockefeller/Carnegie/Ford
Foundation funded, and probably directed,
'Reconquista' and 'La Raza' ---pour across the
border like water over a spillway.
MEANWHILE the police state grid ---for Americans!
gets expanded and enhanced by the hour.
HUAC meets NUREMBERG ----can we wait till
2012?
CAN WE?-----------------------------------------------
Patrick| 5.26.11 @ 1:20PM
A little too much "Coast to Coast"?
Reconquista!? Bwahahaha! Mexicans are not, by a long shot, papal zealots. Their political leadership since the early part of the previous century has been keenly anti-clerical.
Proclaiming any support or even chilled tolerance for Christianity *gasp*, or dare I say Catholicism *double gasp*, in the political arena is essentially proclaiming subservience to the hated nation of Spain. Spain, of course, is the source of all that is currently wrong with Mexico, as they pull their insidious strings of world domination.
Please get back to reality.
I'm more worried about narcotics smuggling and terrorism from our southern border, but then, I'm not worried about micro-doses of radiation either.
donserge| 5.26.11 @ 7:47AM
By how much would the total of 33,000 released prisoners be reduced if the illegal ones were shipped out of the country?
Patrick| 5.26.11 @ 1:21PM
I hear the prisons in Peru are lovely this time of year. Just remember to sleep standing up, or the rats eat you.
G.S. Patton| 5.26.11 @ 8:05AM
Ah the Kalifornia freak show keeps getting better and better. Its starting to look like "Escape from L.A.," narrated by Kurt Russell was a documentary, and not just a bad movie.
Redstateboy| 5.26.11 @ 8:35AM
Ya keep challenging Liber-uls to explain why they believe what they believe and why should we believe it too by asking them - Where? Where is the practice of Liber-ul political Governance effectively promoting low taxes, vibrant economies with happy, contented and morally well adjusted populations?? And their answer is: California? California is Thee Poster Child for everything that is wrong and destructive when the practice of Liber-ulism given free reign. California is hardly "Bush's fault" - Liber-uls? You Own It!
Louis Jenkins| 5.26.11 @ 8:53AM
It is amazing to see Moonbeam's magic act. Conan the Governor couldn't do it, and neither can Moonbeam balance California's budget. The state is a basket case, and Moonbeam's hokey dokey is a farce. Kaliforniacation at its best. Better to put workman on the border with Saws Alls and cut the state out of the USA.
TL| 5.26.11 @ 5:44PM
We in California would love that. You realize (I'm sure you don't) that California puts more money into the Fed than any other State. 7th largest economy in the world, FYI Louis. So if we don't have to give money to the Fed, than there's no deficit, understand moron?
Wade Smith| 5.26.11 @ 7:21PM
Californians taxes to the feds are called income tax, social security tax, etc. Don't pay them see what happens. Lower your taxes, lower your expenditures, lay off the 100K life guards, etc and balance your budget.
Junius| 5.26.11 @ 9:28AM
In all of this budget farce being conducted by this Governor, who by the way collects two different state pensions, not one word, not a peep about the yearly cost of 13 Billion Dollars (a conservative estimate) to give various state benefits to the ever expanding tidal wave of illegal aliens residing in this imploding state. Instead they are using the tried and true scare tactics of first cutting "essential" services like police, fire, and education first in order to stampede the citizens into supporting higher taxes.
Regarding recent higher revenues, this is an anomaly which given California's rabidly anti-business climate will in the near future, accelerate the mass exodus of businesses and lead to a catastrophic drop in the ever shrinking revenue generating portion of the population. With a state government firmly in the grip at all levels by a Marxist/Environmentalist oriented democrat party, California is dancing on its own grave.
SeeSaw | 5.26.11 @ 7:46PM
Where is your documentation to show that the Governor is collecting two state pensions? Since, he is currently the Governor, a full time job, I think you are wrong. Let's see your proof. (He stated, during his campaign that he would be a good bargain for the State of CA, because he will not be eligible to collect his pension, until he is out of office.)
Steve A| 5.26.11 @ 9:29AM
Brown should take the 33,000 released prisoners & put them in charge of social services & state commissions. It will be interesting to see how all of Cal's problems are going to be the fault of Republicans. How will they cook that one up?
Pecos Pete| 5.26.11 @ 5:32PM
It is all Bush's fault!
Roy Allen| 5.26.11 @ 9:34AM
I've got it! Let's open the borders, give away free money and benefits to illegals, foot the bill for every loony group that asks for it, support all the public workers until they die.......
Oh wait, nevermind!
Redstateboy| 5.26.11 @ 10:16AM
I like the idea of offering free, one-way bus tickets to California to any illegal who will go.. better yet! One-way Tickets to San Francisco!!
RCV| 5.26.11 @ 2:35PM
I've got it! Let's open the US treasury, give tax breaks and subsidies to the wealthy, the oil companies, the banks, the agribusiness companies, scare the people about gays and immigrants and welfare mothers ....
Oh wait, never mind!
Reprobate Charlatan Vomitus| 5.26.11 @ 3:04PM
I don't bother with silly opinions from somebody who with 64 years of life experience under his belt has no more intelligence and honesty than to actually state
"I abhor sanctimonious conservatism of the tea party brand, an ideology wholly lacking in intelligence or a shred of real Christian love and compassion. Every policy it espouses is dangerous, damaging, and detrimental to this country and it's future. It will have a lifespan much like its intellectual forebearer, Know-Nothingism."
on... I've got it!... let's imagine... this somebody... who is this much of a stupid liar... thinks his opinion really matters... oh wait, never mind!... matters.
RCV| 5.26.11 @ 4:39PM
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......
Roy| 5.30.11 @ 5:19PM
Pretty much what I'm doing..
JmsA| 5.26.11 @ 4:11PM
Or better yet, let's give 24 billion dollars of stimulous money to tax delinquent (Obama supporting) entities and Obamacare waivers to ritzy San Fran restaurants. Just saying. You know Brown was a joke the first time around, and now he's just another leftist, tired old joke.
RCV| 5.26.11 @ 4:40PM
Brown WAS a joke the first time around. This time he's actually settled down and is making sense. His approach to the budget issues makes a lot of sense.
Pecos Pete| 5.26.11 @ 5:33PM
Raising taxes makes sense?
RCV| 5.26.11 @ 6:15PM
The proposal is to retain current tax levels, set to expire this June, for a couple of more years. And it does make sense.
JmsA| 5.26.11 @ 6:51PM
Oh Yeah! He's making a lot of sense. Like taking half of the "newly found 6 billion revenues" and giving them to the teachers' union instead of paying down the extant budget deficit.
JimmyMac| 5.27.11 @ 4:10PM
They won't expire in "a couple of more years". As a former resident of California (for thirty five years) I've seen this routine time and time again. When The Girly Man introduced this "temporary tax", we all knew it would become permanent. And why is the burden ALWAYS on the tax paying citizen? How about if the damned government starts spending less?
Steve A| 5.26.11 @ 9:56AM
Roy, Excellent plan. Now you need to ice the cake with a way to blame Republicans. Let's think.........Oh, hey, lets try racism! Or maybe we will just call them extremists wishing for old people to starve & die with no health insurance! That should do it.
Lois C| 5.26.11 @ 10:03AM
If Kalifornia wants to plug it's budget gap they only need to do one thing and that is to get rid of the illegal immigrants. How? Require everyone getting public services, i.e. welfare, food stamps, housing assistance, health care etc., prove they are either citizens or in the country legally. Once they get a little breathing room from that they can go after employers using illegal immigrants by levying heavy fines; after the jobs and handouts disappear the illegals will self-deport. In order to avoid the "racist" garbage I know some are thinking, this applies to all illegals not just Mexican but Chinese, Indian, South American too.
America can no longer afford to support any/every person who slips into the country illegally, they must go!
Anthony| 5.26.11 @ 10:28AM
Hmmm, The land of Moonbeams and fool's gold; looks like we have a winner for the new state motto of Kalifornia.
Steve A| 5.26.11 @ 10:28AM
No Lois, Your plan just expands your racism to other cultures. See how it works?
Wade Smith| 5.26.11 @ 7:25PM
Refusing to give social benefits to people that broke into our country is common sense. How about this we treat the illegals in our country the same way their home country treats illegals?
Skippy| 5.30.11 @ 5:42PM
Excuse me Steve, but my racism is my business.
Let the Mexicans get their own!
Shermans riding again!| 5.26.11 @ 12:24PM
All I can say is that the Schit is about to hit the fan and I am glad I am not there.
Redstateboy| 5.26.11 @ 1:15PM
My sweetheart's Son - A sharp, 32 yr old. who had his own Mortgage Finance and Debt Consol. Bus. in Orange Co. finally threw up his hands and left the People's Republic of California to return to TN. So there goes Another profit center lost to their revenue stream and do these Stupid Liberals get it in CA.?? No! They don't and they will NEVER get it.. They Can Not comprehend the simple reality that Money Does not grow on Trees.
Steve A| 5.26.11 @ 12:36PM
Calling RCV. Calling RCV. It's not too late to escape. I will sponsor a U-Haul for you to move to VA. We can play some golf, maybe have a drink & you can try to convert me to the dark side (Liberalism).
RCV| 5.26.11 @ 2:32PM
I'm here Steve. But I love California much too much to leave. It will survive just fine, thank you. It's too full of brilliant, entrepreneurial creative people to fail -- tax revenues for the first quarter of 2011 are up so much that almost half the budget deficit is gone already, so we will just fine, thank you. And although I'd love to have a drink and a round of golf with you anytime, I have no desire to convert you to anything. You're a smart and fair guy already. Be well!
Reprobate Charlatan Vomitus| 5.26.11 @ 3:38PM
I don't bother with silly folly when California's budget deficit has brilliantly and creatively been reduced almost half on brilliant and creative first quarter tax revenues alone on brilliant and creative intelligence and brilliant and creative real Christian love and brilliant and creative compassion meaning being part of the brilliant and creative party that brilliantly and creatively cares about human beings to brilliantly and creatively kill fifty three million of them by brilliant and creative 'legal' abortion and other brilliant and creative California folly like unicorns and rainbows and moonbeams and other brilliant and creative matters.
RCV| 5.26.11 @ 4:41PM
Zzzz....Zzzzzz...Zzzz...Z..Z
rdman| 5.28.11 @ 5:40PM
Yep, you're asleep... that's for sure, no doubt about it!!!
RCV| 5.26.11 @ 6:43PM
being on welfare along with my extended family there is no inccentive to leave. The only lacking here is mosques.
RCV| 5.27.11 @ 1:49AM
Try using your own name when posting, Idiot.
cicero| 5.26.11 @ 1:17PM
The ancients understood liberalism. When the great Ceasar wanted to be elected the ruler of Rome, he plundered the Gauls, and used the proceeds to buy the needed votes. When the Spaniards wanted to rule Europe, they plundered the new world of its gold and silver. Carrying on the tradition, our liberals don't even have to leave the comforts of home. They plunder the middle class. The difference is that neither the Gauls nor the Astecs/Incas voted for thier own destruction .
Patrick| 5.26.11 @ 1:28PM
While liberalism is founded on OPM, conquering the Gauls was necessary for peace. S
omething about crazed, naked horsemen killing, looting and plundering (not to mention getting some fresh decapitated heads for the coffee table) border settlements never plays well for political pacifists.
TL| 5.26.11 @ 5:52PM
Umm, thats not how Ceasar came to power (not even close) and the Spaniards collected riches from the Americas for over 200 years, yet for some reason never enacted this so called scheme to rule Europe. Read a history sometime.
John II| 5.26.11 @ 4:21PM
The accompanying portrait of the weird and ghastly-looking governor of California brings to the fore my seer's duty once again to prophesy:
Know ye that the desolation of the land called California is at hand! Let those who dwell in the LA basin flee to the mountains and to the lands beyond the sea! Let those in the Sodom of the Bay Area repent and flee to the deserts and plains of the east!
For these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that has been written in counterpoint to the renegades dwelling in the place called Sacramento. Woe to those who struggle with small businesses and woe to their hapless employees. Great distress shall be upon the land and wrath upon the lawyers and legislators. They will fall by the edge of the decaying infrastructure, even as the land is abandoned by the children and the children's children of the ancient westward migrations.
Behold! The reckoning is nigh!
And now back to "Duck Soup" (1929), in which the Marx Brothers explore the consequences of feckless and irresponsible governance.
RCV| 5.26.11 @ 4:42PM
Cut! It's a wrap! Where's Charlton Heston?
John II| 5.26.11 @ 8:20PM
He's dead. But don't get me started on the decline of Hollywood, Roberto. One must exercise prophecy with restraint--it's hard on the ticker.
And now back to "Brideshead Revisited" (1981), a faithful rendition of the 1945 Evelyn Waugh novel, in which the "law of sin" (Aquinas's term in the Treatise on Law of the "Summa") is delineated impeccably, so to speak.
Pat| 5.26.11 @ 5:01PM
It’s fun to knock California, heck, we Californians do it ourselves and our basic philosophy is: “Sunshine, low humidity and every geographic attraction from beautiful mountains to pristine beaches to lonely deserts – should we actually expect good government as well?”. And our Democrats in perennial authority over us will promptly respond to that rhetorical question with: “No, you can’t have good government, you don’t pay enough in taxes”. Or, look at it another way – many folks are amazed that Detroit ranks among the Top 10 year after year as America’s murder capital - but as the wise man once said: “How smart do you have to be to murder someone?”. As a corollary, how smart do you have to be to move to California?
And the folks who moved here from somewhere else, which is the majority of Californians, see the Golden State as very similar to an airport terminal, you’re just visiting, you’re not really taking up permanent residence within the John Wayne Terminal. You weren’t born here, you won’t die here, at least if you’re frugal – and, if you’re merely passing through on life’s journey, can you really expect good government?
California resembles Hungary in some ways. For centuries, Hungary was invaded by various foreign armies, who pillaged (whatever that means) raped, slaughtered and then eventually moved on – carrying home the more attractive Hungarian women (the gals without the mustaches) across their saddle bows. But none of these foreign invaders gave Hungary good government or had any desire to do so for that matter. And with the Big One hanging over our collective heads, Jerry Brown is just another invading Turk, out to pillage, burn and carry the more attractive guys back home across his saddle.
Zeta| 5.26.11 @ 5:52PM
It's time to fall back to the the last ditch remedies for California. I urge Governor Brown and his fellow Democrats to castigate the Republicans by redoubling their practice of shouting "racist" and "homophobe" at every opportunity. It's time to get serious.
Chuck| 5.26.11 @ 8:32PM
Governor Brown began California's long disastrous path back in 1975. What ye shall sow ye shall also reap. Welcome back Jerry.
Replica handbags&wallet; | 5.26.11 @ 9:16PM
The article is worth reading, I like it very much. I will keep your new articles.
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William| 5.26.11 @ 9:44PM
I believe Brown has been heard to say he can't do anything about public employee pensions because "the unions don't want it." I kid not.....
Dee See| 5.26.11 @ 10:35PM
AFTER you've checked out Alan Watt and his
latest audio dealing with inside agendas from
the think tanks et al
DO CHECK OUT that leaked youtube video
of Aussie PM Rudd selling out his very country
to the RED Chinese regime.
'Fabian Socialists WIN' --on youtube
CHECK IT OUT -------------NOW!
The 'continuity of agenda' holds worldwide.
STOP worshipping your rectums and get a good
look at what TREASON looks like ---without
the 'perception management'.
GO! WE DARE YOU
Richard Baker| 5.27.11 @ 11:47AM
California is STILL the "Land of the Fruits and Nuts!" Amazing how these "citizens" live in such a world of Fantasy.
RCV| 5.27.11 @ 1:07PM
It is indeed fantastic!
JimmyMac| 5.27.11 @ 4:16PM
RCV, I was back in LA a couple of weeks ago to close my office, which I maintained a year after moving in hopes that business might pick up (it hasn't). Visiting with my friends there I found many, like you, in denial about circumstances there... just whistlin' past the graveyard. The weather was real nice though.
RCV| 5.27.11 @ 7:03PM
It is indeed real nice, JimmyMac. And it will remain the innovative and creative driving force of the country for a long time to come.
JimmyMac| 5.29.11 @ 7:47AM
Yeaaahhhh... rrriiiiggghhhhttt. It'll have to do it without me and thousands of other professionals and business people like me (the innovative and creative ones). Ever been to Texas? Keep whistling and enjoy that weather.
rdman| 5.28.11 @ 5:51PM
RCV actually lives in the old '60s-'70s Haight-Ashbury era when he's not Zzzz... Zzzz...Zzzz... Zzzz... Z..Z.
That's what all that MJ and LSD will do to you... Zzzz... Zzzz...
RCV| 5.29.11 @ 9:26PM
I do love San Francisco, but I'm a Southern California guy. And JimmyMac, I've spent a lot of time in Texas. Nice folks, but wild horses couldn't drag me there to live. (Austin is nice.)
Reprobate Charlatan Vomitus| 5.27.11 @ 7:10PM
I don't bother with silly reality when real! Christian! love! means brutally! murdering! fifty three million! innocent! unborn! American! babies! 'legally' as long as they're not past being partially! born! on speaking as a brilliant! and creative! lawyer myself! and I haven't even used the word 'colation' or 'pendullum' yet! this week but I did use 'Zzzz....Zzzzzz...Zzzz...Z..Z' this week though! and other fantastic! indeed! matters.
RCV| 5.29.11 @ 9:27PM
You must be a scream at parties.
Reprobate Charlatan Vomitus| 5.30.11 @ 12:37PM
I don't bother with silly individuals who really are the life of the party bringing a little joy into other individual's lives at the all too few occasions of partying on being a pathetic individual and on being a despicable individual and on being a stupid individual and on being a liar as the all too frequent posts of RCV at AmSpec reveal matters.
Dee See| 5.28.11 @ 3:03AM
----ALERT
One and all ---GO CHECK OUT
'The Long History of EUGENICS'
-ALAN WATT
(youtube/online)
CHECK IT OUT
"That's the trouble with the past,
it isn't even past----"
-William Faulkner
REALLY! ----GO!
YOU WILL SEE------------------------------
Richard Baker| 5.29.11 @ 10:16PM
rdman:
Whenever I read of the Californians defending their "Golden State" I keep wondering if they mean the buzz that seems to afflict their mental state. Wooow Maaan!
DANSHANTEAL| 5.30.11 @ 4:35PM
Brown can't get the legislature to approve the tax.
The GOP will sue to stop him. Back to the chalk board.
Bill Sundling| 6.9.11 @ 4:21PM
90% of the released criminals will commit crimes in the future and be back in the hands of the state. With huge costs to the public.