Assembly Republican Caucus Launches Interactive Budget Website
Posted by: Jessica Austin | 07/15/2008 1:11 AM
Website Highlights Democrat Tax Increases and Emphasize Republican Solutions
SACRAMENTO - In response to repeated calls for tax increases by legislative Democrats, the Assembly Republicans have launched a website to highlight the very personal impact those taxes would have on hard-working California families.
"We have launched this web campaign to show that children, homeowners, and seniors are not merely 'tax loopholes', as claimed by some but how they are the potential victims of a short-term, quick fix to the current budget deficit," said Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines, R-Fresno. "It is unfortunate thatmy Democrat colleagues cannot see that our state's spending problems will continue budget year after budget year - unless we enact sensible budget reforms and begin the difficult task of long-term fiscal planning."
The State of California's spending habits have increased at an astounding rate - growing by almost 58%, from $66 billion per year in 2000 to $104 billion this year. California's current deficit of $17.2 billion, for comparison, is larger than all the revenues of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa combined.
Some of the Republican plans to fix these problems are to stabilize spending by putting a cap on the budget, and require the Governor's office to publish an estimate of the condition of the state's General Fund for the upcoming year.In addition to the three unsound taxes outlined on the website, Democrats have proposed or introduced legislation amounting to nearly $47 billion in new or higher taxes - not including their most recent budget proposal. These run the gamut from a global warming tax, to higher gas taxes, to a tax on the internet, and the return of the car tax increase, removed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2003.
The Assembly Republicans will continue to fight to protect California families and sensible budget reform without resorting to piecemeal attempts at solutions, higher taxes, and the potential for even larger deficits in the coming years.
For more information, please go to www.wearenotataxloophole.info
Subject: Hard-Working Californians Shouldn't Pay for Budget Gridlock
Dear ,
California's hard-working state workers cannot be allowed to bear the brunt of political gridlock. The Governor's threat to reduce their salaries to the federal minimum wage is a cruel threat that illustrates what's wrong in Sacramento. The broken politics that threaten to hold them and their families hostage hurt all of us in the long run.
The people of California cannot wait any longer for you and your colleagues to pass a responsible budget that solves California's deficit with a careful mix of cuts and new revenue.
With a $15 billion deficit, we cannot afford a budget that relies completely on cuts. That approach would do serious and lasting damage to everything we've invested in for years: our schools, our healthcare, our roads, our seniors, and our communities. We have to combine cuts with new revenue - and everyone has to pay their fair share of taxes. There are some good proposals on the table now to make sure everyone, even the wealthy and corpora tions, must pay their fair share.
I urge you to work with your colleagues and support a compromise budget such as the Conference Committee's budget or a budget with a similar mix of cuts and revenues.
We can't afford to wait any longer: state workers can't be pawns in this game, and the State of California cannot afford to ruin our credit rating and pay hundreds of millions of dollars in additional interest just because our legislators haven't compromised.
The people of California deserve better than this.
Sincerely,