Unwarranted Shot at Republicans Hides the Deficit Truth

Imagine strolling up to claim your bags at the airport only to find that someone had stolen them. To make matters worse, imagine that the person who stole them told the security guys to watch out for you, because you were a troublemaker.

You now have some idea how Republican legislators throughout California feel.

State Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo) shares his educational system wish list for 1999 with Times readers Jan. 10 (“Three Reforms to Keep California Schools on a Quality Track”). Sadly, he thought it was necessary to take an unwarranted shot at Republicans first--as if to plant the seed that they alone are responsible for a projected $1-billion budget deficit in 1999.

He (and certainly Democrats throughout the state) obviously feels that trying to push improved preparation, certification and continuing education for teachers might give some the idea that he had (gasp) turned conservative on them. After all, those proposals, as well as holding schools accountable for students’ shortcomings or rewarding them for successes, are baggage for which California Republicans have been pummeled by the education lobby and unions for more than a decade.

No reason other than portraying conservatives as obstacles to the process before bringing their ideology to the forefront can explain Sen. O’Connell’s opening remarks.

A different perspective on the vehicle tax reduction suggests that Republican legislators were trying to reward taxpayers for supplying the state with more revenue than even it could spend. But spend it did--at record levels.

Beginning with the 1995-’96 fiscal year, the state’s budget has climbed at a double-digit yearly average. Except for a lull between the ‘93-’94 and ‘94-’95 fiscal years, the budget had risen at a straight-line 9% since 1984. The thing to realize in all this is that the “lull” took place during the only two years Republicans constituted the majority in the Assembly (controlling the checkbook) since 1970; they have never controlled the Senate.

So, no matter what Sen. O’Connell would like to have constituents think, the reality is that the baggage the Democrats carry has always kept deficit spending just a few dollars away, and always will. When taxpayers contribute $2 billion more than the state can spend, only to have it come up a billion short the next year (with no measurable improvement of services), it’s obviously not the fault of the Legislature’s minority party.

Perhaps this is why Sen. O’Connell would like to see the supermajority threshold on local school bonds eliminated. Because virtually every top government position is going to be occupied by a Democrat for the next two years, there is a good chance localities are going to be targets for future tax increases that Democrats in and around Sacramento will not want to impose themselves.

In the meantime, without the check and balance Californians have enjoyed for the past 16 years (a Republican governor to scale down the budget), conservative legislators can only sit back and wait to see how they are at fault this time.