Small Change Won’t Fill a Massive Budget Deficit
It’s time for California’s leaders to deliver the change Californians demand.
By Courtni Pugh, Executive Director, SEIU California State Council
Change and excitement are in the air in Washington, but Sacramento is stuck in a grinding budget crisis it can’t seem to escape.
Here’s what our elected leaders should do: Listen to the people of California.
Working Californians sent a clear message in November: we want change, and we want our government to be part of the solution. This year, pragmatic Democratic candidates netted three seats over anti-tax Republicans in the Assembly, and voters made huge public investments in education, healthcare and transit.
Change in California means ending the gridlock and cuts that have seriously jeopardized our middle-class. In the past three budget cycles alone, $16 billion in cuts have been made to education, healthcare, and other vital services. The 2008-2009 budget already includes over $10 billion in cuts – a completely imbalanced approach.
There’s a better alternative.
We need a Budget to Rebuild the Middle Class – a budget with enough revenue, combined with federal fiscal stimulus, to preserve the basics of middle class life in California, to protect our local and state economies, and to make our tax system more fair.
Whether it’s closing loopholes for oil companies or adding an extra nickel per alcoholic drink, there is a lot that we can do generate the revenue we need without burdening the middle class. Restoring sensible tax brackets from the Reagan and Wilson years would also help. And being smarter about tax collection and enforcement will play a role as well.
Leading economists have said that targeted tax increases are better for our economy than cutbacks in critical public services. But you don’t have to be an expert to know California’s middle class is struggling and can’t afford any more of the same.
Our elected leaders can’t ignore the clear call for change. Voters won’t stand by and watch the things we care about – our schools, our healthcare, and our communities – be destroyed by politics as usual.