Schwarzenegger Rhetoric Today on Budget Doesn’t Match Reality Including Republican Assembly Vote Against Closing Yacht Tax Loophole

In closing, Assemblymember John Laird, Chair of the Budget Committee said: “This is not a game…. It is no game for the people who lost their medical care from our vote on Friday. And it is no game to the educational institutions that lost hundreds of millions of dollars in that same vote. And what we are talking about is taking the principle of a bipartisan solution—that everybody has to give.”

The vote was 47 in favor, all Democrats and 19 opposed, with another 13 Assembly Republicans taking a powder on this one and not voting—far short of the 54 vote—the two-thirds vote needed for passage. This bodes very poorly for the chances of quick passage of a budget that needs two-thirds in both houses.

Afterwards, Laird said, ““It is unconscionable to not close the yacht tax loophole when we’re making cuts to public education and medical care. If California’s teachers and students, as well as those receiving medical care, can take cuts, so can California’s yacht owners.”

At another press conference earlier in the day, Senator Dean Florez, the Chair of the Senate’s Committee on Foodborne Illnesses, spoke of legislation he was authoring to reimburse local school districts who have had their cafeteria budgets devastated in losses in having to destroy recalled hamburger meat—part of the beef scandal. Schwarzenegger was asked about this and said, sarcastically, “When Senator Florez finds the money for it, I’ll be glad to support it.”

Florez is also proposing that the California step up its inspection of meat processing plants in the state in light of the scandalous lack of action by the US Department of Food and Agriculture—and to place digital cameras in slaughterhouses for monitoring. The Governor said that “the beef recall is horrendous and outrageous when you look at the footage on television of the ways those animals were treated.” He had he had already send the Federal government a letter saying the state was prepared to work with them and “do everything we can.”

Yet the Governor’s Budget Balancing Reduction Proposals made in January cuts the California meat inspection program: Page 879, according to the Governor’s Department of Finance, says:

“The proposed reduction will eliminate the National Animal Health Monitoring and Reporting Systems; biologics regulation; Animal Care Program; and aspects of the Meat Inspection Program….

“The reduction will reduce State animal health officials’ knowledge of both state and national disease trends, and may reduce federal funding for animal disease surveillance. It will eliminate State regulatory expertise related to humane and proper treatment of domestic farm animals.”

The Schwarzenegger budget talk today is nothing but cuts and more cuts. And he wants it done in a hurry. While there is vague talk from the Governor at today’s press conference about selling the lottery and “other ways of creating the extra revenue without raising taxes”—that sounds a bit to me like painless dentistry.

I should point out that the Governor is anticipating the Legislative Analyst report tomorrow indicating a greater budget deficit due to dropping state revenues—and a worsening California economy. He will not call it a recession. He wants quick action on cuts to deal with this and a budget passed before the May Revise—at record speed—but has not made any proposal whatsoever—since January--as to what those cuts should be. Passing a budget before the legally required May Revise is foolish enough—and passing it without knowing the April revenues or the possibilities of new court cases and liability for the state is also illusory.

All this speedup at the same time that there are rumors of the Governor’s office talking about delaying the May Revision from May 14 to May 21. And talk of a “hiring freeze” after he has made many new appointments since January with hundreds of thousands of dollars in new salaries.

I guess it’s Kabuki theater. The floors of this building don’t match up with what’s in other parts of it. We’ll become painfully aware of this—either on the Governor’s recklessly unrealistic timetable for only cuts—or as this plays out—but with specifics.