Legislative Democrats Come Out Very Strong On The Budget

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

The headline, State Democrats determined to raise taxes, is kind of ridiculous, but the meat of the story indicates that Democratic leaders are drawing a line in the sand.

Democratic legislative leaders declared this morning that they are prepared to delay the state budget this year if that's what it takes to get tax increases, which they called the only reasonable solution to California's multibillion-dollar shortfall.

"This is going to be the fight of a lifetime," Senate leader Don Perata (D-Oakland) declared at a news conference on the steps of a Sacramento high school that faces teacher layoffs and bigger classes under the governor's proposed budget, which closes the deficit with spending cuts, borrowing and deferrals.

"We are not going to be going anywhere this summer," he said, referring to the annual midyear process of trying to agree on a budget by the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. "I told everybody that wants to go to the Democratic [National] Convention, ... TiVo it. That is close as you are going to get."

Perata drew his line in the sand while standing with his successor as Senate chief, Democrat Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, and other Democratic senators and school leaders. Perata said the governor's proposal to cut school spending by 10% is unacceptable, and Democrats will reject any budget that includes less for education next year than this year.

There was a big press conference with a union coalition and the LAUSD today that essentially had the same purpose.  The Democrats are going to use this proposed slash to the education budget - with which will impact almost every county in the state - to demand a sensible resolution to our broken revenue structure.  Here's Perata's message:

Asked how Democrats propose to make up the difference, Perata said: "Raise taxes. That clear enough? Raise taxes."

Given the state's dire finances, he said, "no one is going to tell me . . . the average Californian would not be willing to pay pennies on the dollar more for an education system . . . that is worth what we believe California is about."

The second statement is exactly the way to play this.  California is worth paying for.  This state deserves a better education system than it's getting, a better health care system than it's getting, better infrastructure than it's getting.  Because of the broken revenue model, we can't even fund the landmark global warming law that got the Governor on the cover of all those magazines.  Paying for this state to have the society everyone generally wants is a patriotic act.  That's exactly the frame the Democrats are using.

There's a hint of a "go-for-broke" strategy here, which I believe is sped up by the transition in the leadership.  We've needed to have this fight for 20 years.  Despite legislative majorities, the conservatives have been leading the way on fiscal issues for far too long.  It's time to have this conversation once and for all, out in the open so that every Californian knows what's going on.  Let's put on our helmets.  This is going to be a long, tough slog.
UPDATE: From an Education Coalition press release:

Today a local coalition of concerned parents and educators held a press conference to discuss the real impact on local schools of the Governor's proposed $4.8 billion cut to education funding, including more than $1.3 billion in projected in cuts to Los Angeles County schools.  They called upon members of the Legislature to uphold Prop. 98, the minimum school funding guarantee, and reject the draconian proposed cuts to schools and students.  

"Schools in Los Angeles are striving to meet the needs of a diverse student population while working to improve student achievement," said LAUSD Superintendent David L. Brewer III.  "Our state's leaders cannot continue to cut back on students' education, without expecting to undermine our state's most valuable resource and shortchanging California's future."

The proposed cuts are the equivalent of cutting more than $24,000 per classroom.

They're planning on running ads about this, too.