What Dan Walters Said?? Restoring the VLF.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

I can't believe I am writing this. I've not hidden my general distrust of Dan Walters. But, he makes a good point yesterday, and so...what Dan Walters said:

Rescinding the car tax cut would be both the easiest way for Schwarzenegger to close the budget gap because it wouldn't require a legislative vote and, politically, the most difficult, given his vociferous advocacy during his 2003 campaign for governor.

He is, as the old saying goes, hoisted on his own petard - which literally translates into being hurt by his own gaseous emissions.(SacBee 12/9/07)

Of course, most of us understand that if the VLF had not been eliminated back in the day, we wouldn't be dealing with a budget "crisis" today. It's just that simple.  But, given his harsh rhetoric, it would be challenging for Arnold to pursue such a course.  But a bold course it would be. But let's back up a minute:

Schwarzenegger has indicated in private conversations with budget stakeholders that new revenue would be considered in return for spending cuts. The conventional wisdom is that new taxes are politically impossible because Republican legislators would never supply enough votes to meet the required two-thirds margin.

Whoa, while Walters generally veers in bizarre directions on his analysis, his information is generally solid. So, at least the germ of considering increasing revenue is in his head. That's a start.  But, it's also true that Republicans in the Legislature will have nothing to do with increasing revenue.

The interesting thing about the VLF is that there is no vote required. You see, it was never really a tax cut, it's a state backfill to local governments. And if the governor declares that we can no longer afford that backfill, municipalities can resume collection of the VLF.  And the state can hold on to their billions of backfill.  See, one stroke of the pen killed the VLF, and one stroke can bring it back.

The only question here: Does the action hero have the courage to look past his past bravado and see what's best for the state. I wouldn't hold my breath on this one, though.