Governor Brown Ends Cali Budget Talks With Republicans-GOOD!

Here is the story that California Democrat governor, Jerry Brown, is ending talks to get at least four Republicans to vote for a tax extension measure for a June special election. And it is about time. Why Gov. Brown is playing a game of chicken is beyond me. Gov. Brown can let these taxes lapse and propose new ones. New ones that the legislature-you know the elected representatives of the people-vote on. But that is the scam. Because of the ridiculous campaign promise that he would not raise taxes without letting the people vote on it, Gov. Brown boxed himself in a corner. Surprisingly, the Republicans in the legislature have stood together enough to stop this from getting to a vote. What Gov. Brown is trying to do, along with the Democrats is say that they will not raise taxes, but that if the people vote on it, they will pass the taxes. That way, the Dems can say see, the people want to keep their tax hikes for another five years. Of course the possibility that the people may not vote for the measure seems to have not crossed the minds of the Democrats. Now, Gov. Brown is using the old draconian budget cuts trick to scare people. The problem is that the people realize that the size and scope of California government is too big. We are willing to make sacrifices for the good of the state. As John Fleischman puts in in this column, no budget deal is better than a bad budget deal. In fact, I want to highlight the last paragraph of Mr. Fleischman's column: If you are a liberal Democrat, I have some good news for you – a “silver lining” in what is a very dark rain cloud. Thanks to your campaign to pass Proposition 25, you don’t need the votes of a single Republican to pass a budget - you get to do this on a majority vote. In times of plenty, this means you get to make all of the choices of where to spend an influx of taxpayer dollars. But it also means that in tough economic times, like now, you get to make all of the choices as to what programs and functions of state government get cut. I highlight the last part because at the end of the day, this is the fundamental problem. The state is broke, thanks to Democrats and some Republicans, and the same people are afraid to make tough choices because they know they will face the potential wrath of the voters. Tough duck! It is not all candy and rainbows. The reality is that government budgets depend entirely on the economy. A bad economy, where there is high unemployment, little private sector growth, lower tax revenue and budgets need to be trimmed. Happens all the time. In good times, the politicians propose and fund programs without thinking. Gee, maybe we won't be able to keep this program if the economy starts to go downward. Gov. Brown and the Democrats need to get real. They have all the power and are squandering it hoping that they will not have to vote on tax hikes. The Republicans do not need to help the Dems out of the hole of their choosing.