[Educationforall] California Legislative Bi-Partisan Commission: We need to cut billions more (from the poor)!

Sat Feb 19 18:03:12 UTC 2011

LAO is a bi-partisan committee of economists and analysts that crunches numbers for the California Legislature's Budget Committee. 
The only difference with Wisconsin, is that here it is a bi-partisan effort and rather than confront unions head-on, they plan to slowly bleed us to death with the 'death by a thousand cuts' method.
They could just raise taxes on the FILTHY rich and solve the problem immediately, but then that would be 'bad for the economy.' 
List of specific recommended cuts below article.
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California's legislative analyst lists possible cuts without tax extension
kyamamura at sacbee.com 
Published Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011

The Legislative Analyst's Office provides a sobering take on how to solve the state's $26.6 billion deficit without new tax dollars in a memo released Monday.

School districts would shorten the school year by a few more days, districts would increase K-3 class sizes and college tuition would soar. The state would soften its "three strikes" sentencing policy. And state workers would pay more in health care costs and face another round of two furloughs a month.

The 11-page letter comes in response to a request by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who asked the analyst's office to suggest how the Legislature might solve the deficit without $13.5 billion in additional taxes. 

"The LAO report is important information for people to consider, and the Legislature to consider, about what our choices are over the next (few) weeks," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said. "And then, ultimately, what the people's choices will be come June."

Few legislators in either party could stomach such deep cuts; Democrats are having a hard enough time accepting the sweeping social service and health reductions that Gov. Jerry Brown proposed in his January budget. They already plan to reject some of Brown's ideas, such as cutting off aid for children in the state's welfare-to-work program after 48 months, and replace the proposals with alternative savings.

Steinberg said he doesn't think the analyst's cuts will reach the floor for a vote.

"What we plan to do is address the first $12.5 billion (of Brown's reductions)," he said. "We're going to keep to the governor's framework, we're going to try to shape them a little bit to minimize the impacts on the most vulnerable the best that we can, and then we're going to seek to put the remaining question of the tax extensions before the people."

Besides reducing $15.6 billion in general fund spending through program cuts, borrowing and fund shifts, Brown wants a five-year extension of higher tax rates on income, vehicles and sales. In keeping with his campaign pledge, voters would have to approve the taxes.

That would generate $11 billion through June 2012, and up to $11 billion annually in subsequent years. The governor also wants lawmakers to pass nearly $3 billion in other tax changes.

Brown could have proposed a cuts-heavy budget as a fallback plan in case voters or lawmakers rejected his tax proposal. But the Democratic governor has been deliberately vague about what other cuts he would pursue, noting in January that "some people might say that I'm putting a gun to their head, so I'm not going to do that."

Critics questioned the motivation behind seeking a concrete list of alternatives should the taxes fail.

"The LAO, in putting this out here, is being used as a foil for the Democrats' plan," said Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, vice chairman of the Senate budget committee. "That becomes just a weapon to scare voters into supporting what they see as necessary, and that's tax extensions."

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez did not support the Senate's request for alternative cuts. "This list doesn't get us any closer," said Pérez budget aide Chris Woods, adding that the Assembly is focused on Brown's budget.

Democratic political strategist Steve Maviglio said he doesn't think the list will hold much sway.

"My sense is that voters have heard it all before, that it's going to be the end of the world unless we pass tax increases, and I think they're numb to that argument," Maviglio said.

Steinberg emphasized that the list came from the nonpartisan analyst's office, rather than from legislators.

"The facts speak for themselves," he said. "What's important is that the information comes from the respected legislative analyst."

Compared with Brown's budget, the analyst's memo shows K-12 schools taking a $4.6 billion reduction, higher education facing an added $1.7 billion cut and criminal justice losing $2.6 billion.

Jason Sisney, the LAO's director of state finance, said his office does not necessarily recommend the cuts on its list but offered them as options should additional taxes fail to materialize.

"While we have recommended in recent years some variation of many of the alternatives provided in this letter, we have had to go far beyond our normal comfort level in order to meet the requested solutions target," Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor wrote in the memo. "Some of the listed actions would have serious impacts on individuals, programs and local governments." 

Here's the $13.5 billion in additional cuts the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office proposed to solve the state budget deficit if tax extensions proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown are not approved (savings in parentheses):

K-12 SCHOOLS ($4.6 BILLION TOTAL)

. Eliminate K-3 class size reduction ($1.275 billion)

. Require that kindergartners be 5 years old at enrollment in 2011-12 ($700 million)

COMMUNITY COLLEGES ($585 MILLION)

. Impose a 90-unit cap on each student's taxpayer-subsidized credits ($250 million)

. Increase community college fees from $26/unit to $66/unit ($170 million)

. Eliminate state subsidy for intercollegiate athletics ($55 million)

UNIVERSITIES ($1.1 BILLION)

. Increase tuition another 7 percent for UC and 10 percent for CSU ($270 million)

. Reduce CSU enrollment by 5 percent ($124 million)

. Reduce personnel costs by 10 percent at UC and 5 percent at CSU ($408 million)

HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES ($1.2 BILLION)

. Reduce state portion of in-home worker salary to minimum wage ($300 million)

. Eliminate food and cash aid for noncitizens who courts have determined can receive benefits ($190 million)

. Stricter income eligibility for welfare-to-work recipients ($180 million)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND JUDICIARY ($2.6 BILLION)

. Require second and third "strikes" to be serious or violent in "three strikes" sentencing ($50 million)

. Eliminate funding for public safety grant programs ($506 million)

. Implement automated speed enforcement cameras ($150 million)

. Order two furlough days a month for court employees ($130 million)

GENERAL GOVERNMENT ($1.8 BILLION)

. Reduce state employee pay an additional 9.24 percent, equal to two furlough days a month ($700 million)

. Reduce state contribution to employee health care by 30 percent ($330 million)

. End state general fund support for Small Business Loan Guarantee Program ($24 million)

. Eliminate Department of Fair Employment and Housing and state commission ($17.2 million)

TRANSPORTATION, RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ($1.7 BILLION)

. Enact another accounting swap that eliminates sales tax on diesel and raises weight fees, reducing funds for local transit and intercity rail ($400 million)

. Allow oil drilling at Tranquillon Ridge, off northern Santa Barbara County ($100 million)

. Reduce wildland firefighting costs by imposing a new fee on residential property owners in areas protected by the state, clarifying that the state is not fiscally responsible for loss of life and property and shrinking territory for which state is responsible ($300 million)

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/15/3403228/californias-legislative-analyst.html#ixzz1EQcmVjOa
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