Budget Fiasco 2000-2001- The Taxpayers Lose Again

By Dick Ackerman

Another year, another state budget, and another example of government at its worst: lobbying, dealing, and spending money as if Governor Gray Davis grows it in the Capitol gardens. Unfortunately, the money being spent didn't come from a money tree - it came from the pockets of California's taxpayers, who unwittingly paid approximately $12 billion in surplus taxes. But rather than giving it back to the people who earned it, the Governor and the Legislature decided to blow it on a $100.8 billion budget - the largest in the history of California. Proponents of this year's budget say size doesn't matter. They are proud of their decision to increase the number of people on welfare; cheat numerous counties and cities out of money to fix their roads; increase the size of government by more than 20 percent; and plug in twelve times the amount of pork projects as last year's budget. Amazingly, they did all this while managing to give the average taxpayer back less than the amount needed to buy a week's worth of groceries. But when you take a moment to examine the garbled, pork-filled plan we call a budget, the damage it inflicts on Californians goes far beyond what we can imagine and will take years to undo. Welfare Reform. Governor Pete Wilson fought tooth and nail to make California a leader in the battle to reform the nation's welfare system. With one stroke of the pen, Davis and his Democratic allies have managed to seriously undermine Wilson's efforts. This year's budget will cost taxpayers at least $17 million in increased welfare costs and add an estimated 3,660 new welfare cases to the rolls. In addition, drug felons may also be among those now eligible for CalWORKS assistance and food stamps, and current welfare recipients will receive a cost-of-living increase. Transportation. In California, transportation projects have traditionally been non-political. Cities and counties brought their funding requests to the non-partisan California Transportation Commission (CTC). The CTC prioritized the projects according to need and placed them on a master funding list, which the Governor and Legislature used to determine the allocation of transportation money. In addition, counties were given funding based on established formulas, which resulted in a fair distribution of funds. Davis replaced this system with his own arbitrary process. He politicized the projects and chose those that reflected his personal whims and those of his Democratic cohorts. In effect, he cheated counties all over the state out of millions they could have used to fix their roads and alleviate traffic congestion. For example, Orange County was underfunded by Davis, which caused great distress and infighting among local cities and the Orange County Transportation Authority. However, things could have been worse - there are 33 counties throughout California that will receive almost nothing in this year's multi-billion dollar plan. Davis chose to heavily fund Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego counties at the expense of many other needy areas. But perhaps Davis is counting on something George Bernard Shaw once said, "A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." In the meantime, thousands of Californians will have to contend with sub-par roads and freeways. Tax Cut? Don't Bank on It. Once again, Davis managed to politicize something as simple as a tax cut. The initial agreement to give back $2.7 billion to California's hardworking taxpayers was scrapped. Democrats reduced the tax cut to $1.4 billion - a wholly insufficient amount in light of the $12 billion surplus. Only public school teachers have a real reason to rejoice this year. Davis has given them a tax credit worth anywhere from $250 - $1,500 depending on their years of service. In effect, this simply reflects Davis' original - and much maligned - plan to completely exempt teachers from state income taxes. Teaching is one of the most honorable and needed professions, and teachers deserve every possible benefit. In fact, this year the Legislature voted to increase their starting salaries to $34,000. However, singling out one profession for special treatment begs an important question: What about police officers? Firefighters? And all those who also strive to serve the community? Besides, this year's $12 billion surplus is something all taxpayers deserve to benefit from in the form of a tax credit - not just one single group of people. These are just a few of the tangled strings laced throughout this year's budget, and none represent items we can point to proudly. We owe it to future generations to consider the entire state's well-being, rather than a few politically powerful portions; to consider all taxpayers' needs, rather than those who happen to live in the districts of key legislators; and to consider allowing people the opportunity to keep more of the money that they earn every year, rather than sending it to their elected officials to squander away. It would be nice if money really did grow on trees in Sacramento, but the truth isn't quite as rosy. Eventually, California will be made to pay for such a bloated and inefficient budget.