Tomorrow, And The Day After That
Although the California budget crisis is allegedly over with the new-and-improved deal announced by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state legislative leaders, there are already rumblings that the process isn't quite over. The Republicans got most of what they wanted, i.e., no new or increased taxes, but even they recognize that the proposed budget is nothing more than a shiny yellow Hello, Kitty bandaid on a deep and wide wound. Sooner or later the dressing will have to be changed and the blood will flow once again.
The budget deal did more than just "kick the can down the road" for the next governors and state legislatures to reckon with, it also kicked the can in the general direction of cities and counties which will now have to make some increasingly tough decisions of their own, as this Los Angeles Times editorial makes clear.
...The agreement also relies on swiping billions of dollars from those same cities and counties, sticking them with the hard choices -- whether to seek tax increases to prop up public safety, mental health, addiction, housing and job placement services, or to put up with more people in the jails, on the streets or lined up for scarcer assistance. Now, on top of the already deep and painful cuts in state programs such as Healthy Families, CalWorks and In-Home Supportive Services, county and city governments will have to identify millions of dollars more in cuts.
The smoke-and-mirror budget ultimately is nothing more than a series of accounting gimmicks which are intended to put some cash in the state "bank" so that some bills can be paid now. No problems were solved, just as payday loans don't solve financial problems for more than a few days. In fact, these gimmicks are guaranteed to make the problems worse when the next "payday" comes, say in about six months when the new budgetary process begins again, this time facing gargantuan interest payments in addition to the same problems that weren't addressed by this "deal."
The editorial's conclusion has it right, at least for the most part:
...No once-and-for-all resolution was available. Despite the fantasies of would-be reformers, government cannot be remade in a few weeks during the middle of an economic disaster, a fact proved by the kick-the-can budget just announced. The real work comes over a period of months and perhaps years, as Californians turn their attention -- as they must -- to remaking our tax structure and reinventing our government.
The fact is that there were a number of ways the budget could have been fairer and on more solid ground, all of them taken off the table by the GOP which had just enough strength to bar them because they involved taxes and fees. But the editorial does indirectly acknowledge what it will take in its final clause.
In the mean time, well, "Calibama, here we come..."
The budget deal did more than just "kick the can down the road" for the next governors and state legislatures to reckon with, it also kicked the can in the general direction of cities and counties which will now have to make some increasingly tough decisions of their own, as this Los Angeles Times editorial makes clear.
...The agreement also relies on swiping billions of dollars from those same cities and counties, sticking them with the hard choices -- whether to seek tax increases to prop up public safety, mental health, addiction, housing and job placement services, or to put up with more people in the jails, on the streets or lined up for scarcer assistance. Now, on top of the already deep and painful cuts in state programs such as Healthy Families, CalWorks and In-Home Supportive Services, county and city governments will have to identify millions of dollars more in cuts.
The smoke-and-mirror budget ultimately is nothing more than a series of accounting gimmicks which are intended to put some cash in the state "bank" so that some bills can be paid now. No problems were solved, just as payday loans don't solve financial problems for more than a few days. In fact, these gimmicks are guaranteed to make the problems worse when the next "payday" comes, say in about six months when the new budgetary process begins again, this time facing gargantuan interest payments in addition to the same problems that weren't addressed by this "deal."
The editorial's conclusion has it right, at least for the most part:
...No once-and-for-all resolution was available. Despite the fantasies of would-be reformers, government cannot be remade in a few weeks during the middle of an economic disaster, a fact proved by the kick-the-can budget just announced. The real work comes over a period of months and perhaps years, as Californians turn their attention -- as they must -- to remaking our tax structure and reinventing our government.
The fact is that there were a number of ways the budget could have been fairer and on more solid ground, all of them taken off the table by the GOP which had just enough strength to bar them because they involved taxes and fees. But the editorial does indirectly acknowledge what it will take in its final clause.
In the mean time, well, "Calibama, here we come..."
Labels: Budget, California
posted by Diane at 4:06 AM
1 Comments:
The real work comes over a period of months and perhaps years, as Californians turn their attention -- as they must -- to remaking our tax structure and reinventing our government.
The real work involves making sure the GOP is so marginalized they can't screw people over any more.
Until that day, we all suffer.
~
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