Democrats Balance California’s Budget And Increase Education Spending
How did California go from a projected $26 billion budget deficit to projected surpluses?
For years the state’s politics conspired to create obstacles to compromise.
As Governor Gray Davis attempted to deal with the sudden budget problems brought on by the dot com bust in the early 2000s, his political opponents — financed by now-congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) — launched a recall drive that eventually led to the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governator had to contend with the same obstacles Davis faced, including needing a 2/3 majority vote in the state legislature to approve any tax increase and decades of ballot propositions that mandated spending and limited property taxes.
So what changed since Jerry Brown was elected in 2010?
In his second stint as governor of the Golden State after serving in the 1970s, Brown was able to push through painful cuts that forced Californians to take the budget seriously. But what helped him most was the state’s demographics and shift toward the Democratic Party.
California hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988. And since Proposition 187 promoted by Republican governor Pete Wilson went after undocumented immigrants in 1994, the swelling Mexican-American community in the state has turned against the GOP. In 2012, after Mitt Romney’s comments about self-deportation reminded many Californians of Prop 187, the state went for President Obama by a margin of about 10 percent and elected a supermajority of Democrats to the state legislature.
Also on the ballot in November were ballot propositions designed to secure more revenue. One temporarily increased income taxes on high earners while temporarily increasing the state sales tax for all Californians to fund education. Another closed a loophole that large businesses had been enjoying, to help fund green energy.
Voters said yes to higher taxes.
http://www.nationalmemo.com/democrats-balance-californias-budget-and-increase-education-spending/
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