Perata: Democrats Reject Defeatism and Pessimism in Governor’s California Budget May Revision

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Senate President pro Tem Don Perata made the following remarks today about the Governor’s May Revision to the state spending plan for 2008-09.

“This budget and its reasoning, candidly, is very disappointing. It’s really a budget that is beneath this great state of California. It’s kind of a subprime budget – risky borrowing for what we cannot afford. It’s an admission of failure.”

“The lottery proposal that he unveiled today is the worst kind of market speculation, worse even than the speculation that caused the housing collapse in the subprime debacle that caused millions of Americans to lose their homes.”

“By the way, last year’s budget included the sale of the EdFund. The Governor now has moved that sale two years into the future. I think the reason is the investment banker was Bear Stearns. Bear Stearns, of course, went bankrupt trying to profit off the subprime mortgage industry.”

“What I am most disturbed about with this budget, it is kind of ‘Hey California, you can have it all and now gaming interests and gaming revenues will pay for it: good schools, a health care system, public safety.’ It is not unlike Countrywide telling people you can have this house for no money down and interest-only payments. That’s where people crashed and burned, and that’s exactly, it seems to me, what we may be offering Californians here.”

“It’s not time to evade the problem. It’s time to rally and summon to us the very best the state has to offer.”

“The voters have figured it out . . . . They want to know: How do we make our schools better? How do we become more competitive not less competitive? How do we give your children a greater opportunity than I had growing up as a native Californian? I think what the Governor has offered is resignation. He is saying the glory days of California are behind us, that this is the best we can hope for.”

Democrats are not going to accept this budget. I reject its defeatism and its pessimism. This is not a bipartisan or post-partisan budget. It is a pale white flag being raised in the state of California. It is a eulogy, if you will, for the once great state.”

“We are going to work with our allies, we are going to work with our colleagues across the aisle and put together a more responsible budget that really looks at the history of this great state, the people of this great state, our resiliency and our strength. We can do better.”

“I am hopeful that as we begin to have these conversations with the Governor, that he will soon embrace the same philosophy with the same enthusiasm and energy and talk about rebuilding California by meeting the challenges that we have today.”