LA Times
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined the anti-tax Republicans in the Legislature -- that is, all of them -- in declaring, "You can't tax your way" out of the state's budget deficit problem. But, in fact, you can. California governors have been doing that for the last 40 years, and the most spectacularly successful were Republicans -- Ronald Reagan and Pete Wilson.
Anti-tax sentiment has become so deeply ingrained since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 that any GOP legislator who dares vote for a tax or fee increase is all but assured of losing the next primary election to a more ardent anti-tax candidate. Political ideology -- and the public's knee-jerk response -- trumps good public policy.
In earlier days, the governor and lawmakers determined the state's priorities first and then raised the revenue to pay for them. But now it's all cuts. ...
But how high is enough? The level of state and local taxes paid by Californians is just about the same as it was in 1970: 11.5% of income now, compared with 11.1%. ...
Reagan ended up approving a $1-billion tax increase on a $6-billion annual budget, which was, proportionately, the biggest tax increase in state history. It left a fat treasury for his successor, Jerry Brown, but much of that was doled out to cities and counties to make up for property taxes slashed by Proposition 13. ...
Wilson took office in early 1991, just in time for a recession that hit California hard. Before long, Wilson and lawmakers were facing a $14-billion state budget deficit on a proposed budget of $56 billion. Today's deficit, estimated at $16 billion, is close to that, but the budget is about twice what it was in 1991.........
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