Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Perspective : December 2007

NEXT MONTH The STA Draft II Vision Plan will be presented to the membership at the January 17th, 2008 General Board meeting. If you want to know what STA is doing, and plans to do in the future, you'll want to attend this meeting. If unable to attend, you may request a copy to be mailed to you (after January 10th). REVENUES ARE NOT THE PROBLEM By Assemblyman Roger Niello The cries for tax increases have already begun. Sunday's Sacramento Bee editorial section gave us this latest quip: "Given the [State budget] uncertainties, Californians should brace for severe cuts in public services. But they should also demand that the pain be distributed equally. That will mean higher taxes, user fees and elimination of tax credits benefiting certain industries." Other than the fact that it has been consistently demonstrated that new taxes will never bring in the revenues that are projected because taxes do indeed alter behavior, the real issue is not that California suffers from a lack of revenues, it's that it suffers from overspending. This fact couldn't be more clear in last week's Fiscal Outlook presentation by Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill. It's true that revenues are falling short of predictions. Due to the housing market and other factors, the State is not collecting the revenue that it was forecast to last May when the budget's economic and revenue forecasts were put together. But this fact doesn't tell the whole story. While revenue projections are down this year, the fact remains that the State's year over year revenue growth remains consistent. Under the revised projections, California is expected to bring in nearly $99 billion in 2007-08, a 3.5% increase in total revenue over the $95.5 billion that we will take in in 2006-07. If you think carefully for a minute about the fact that 10 years ago, our total revenues were not quite $55 billion, you can clearly see that revenues are not the problem. It only takes a quick look at the other side of the ledger to see the actual problem. While California enjoys consistent revenue growth, those revenues are quickly swallowed up by spending. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, "…General Fund expenditures will grow from $104.2 billion in 2007-08 to $111.4 billion in 2008-09, an increase of 7 percent, far outpacing any revenue gains we make during this same period. And while revenue growth over the next five years pencils out at 5.6%, many State budget programs continue to grow beyond this level. For example, during this same five-year period, in home support services (IHSS) grows at a rate of 7.2%, funding for developmental disabilities grows at an 8.9% clip, and our debt service on the infrastructure bonds grows at a whopping rate of 12.2%. We cannot continue to sustain these levels of spending growth. Spending has to be brought in-line with revenues-not the other way around. In fact, work must begin immediately to address this year's projected $1.9 billion shortfall. My Assembly Republican colleagues and I stand ready to begin this work and in the meantime will not support a budget that does not address our long-term spending addiction. WATCHDOG GROUPS RELEASE ANNUAL "CALIFORNIA PIGLET BOOK" (Washington, D.C., 11-14-07) - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation (HJTF) today released the fifth annual California Piglet Book, the definitive guide for reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the State government. The waste, fraud and abuse listed in the 2007 California Piglet Book totals more than $3 billion and include egregious examples such as: A hospital wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on extravagant, unneeded luxuries while falling deeper into debt; Berkeley Housing Authority subsidizing rent for dead tenants; Southern California Metropolitan Water District ratepayers spending millions to subsidize a local "Water Museum," then seeing rates increase; Non-functioning automated toilets flushing away millions of taxpayer dollars; Benefits given to a dead water district employee; "Trees for a Green L.A." taking 3 ½ years to plant a third of its goal for one year, at double the cost; An L.A. housing project bringing in a Zen priest to help with conflict management; Ineligible prison inmates receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in state and federal benefits; Shasta County offering 'pet care benefits' to employees; and The President of Mira Costa College spending six figures to investigate the theft of a $300 tree. The billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse mentioned in this year's Piglet is simply further evidence of the continued need for additional transparency on all levels of government. This scrutiny will be especially important this year as California deals with a potential $10 billion budget deficit and additional billions worth of unfunded pension liabilities," said HJTF President Jon Coupal. "California should adopt a Funding Accountability and Transparency Act-legislation that would create a Google-like search engine and database to track State grants, contracts, and earmarks," said CAGW President Tom Schatz. "With private sector expertise and the help of nonprofit organizations such as the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation, citizens could analyze every nook and cranny of the California budget to ensure that every tax dollar is accounted for and follow-up to make sure the waste is eliminated." The California Piglet Book combines elements of two perennial CAGW publications, the Congressional Pig Book and Prime Cuts, with HJTF's knowledge of the California State budget. The report exposes areas in the State budget where wasteful spending can be eliminated, providing a valuable resource to legislators and taxpayers. The report is available online at www.cagw.org and www.hjta.org. For answers to further questions, to schedule an interview, or to order a hard copy, please contact Alexa Moutevelis (202-467-5318, amoutevelis@cagw.org) or David Wolfe (916-444-9950, david@hjta.org). Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation is dedicated to the protection of Proposition 13 and promoting taxpayers' rights. LETTERS TO THE ASSOCIATION We seek “Letters to the League” from Members concerning projects and issues on which we are working, along with recommendations on those we should look at. Letters may be edited and republished in any format, primarily in the interest of available space. Send letters, faxes, or e-mail to the Sacramento Taxpayers Association. Our e-mail is info@sactax.org, our telephone number is 916 399-5600, and our address is: 1620 35th Ave. Suite K Sacramento, CA 95822 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE WE'VE MOVED…….. Effective December 1st, 2007, the Sacramento Taxpayers Association (STA) has relocated to larger quarters in a different part of the City. The STA had been in a small, one room office in the Point West area for two decades or so. Now the STA is located in a three room office with twice the space (but 35% cheaper per square foot), and easy access to coffee, food, and public transit. Plus, we're right across the street from the City Fire and Police administrative center. The new information is as follows: 1620 35th Avenue, Suite 'K' (across the street from the northern end of the Executive Airport, and behind the Jack-in-the-Box parking lot). 399-5600 Telephone/Fax (we were unable to keep the same phone number, due to the distance of the move). Email remains the same. CHEERS To the Texas-Mexican Restaurant on 8th Street near 'K', which re-opened earlier this month. Restaurant owner Griselda Barajas was evicted by the City from this same location over a year ago-but is back now, bigger and better than ever. The grand opening ceremony included Assemblyman Dave Jones, Councilmen Rob Fong and Kevin McCarthy, the heads of the Asian and Hispanic Chambers, and the Secretary of the Central Labor Council-plus very large crowds. Congratulations to Griselda, and husband Mike Keolanui, for proving that you can fight City Hall and come out okay. JEERS To the City of Sacramento, for not following the advice of a respected Supreme Court Judge, and then suing downtown landowner Moe Mohanna over a land exchange on 'K' Street. Then, after an appeal is filed, the City loses that too. With the already described multi-million dollar budget deficit for next year, and the proposal to use $222 million in City funds and redevelopment monies for the Railyards project, taxpayers can't help but wonder where all the money for this lawsuit is going to come from. Actually, I think we already know..........................! Bob Blymyer

<< Back to Index

Home | History and Purpose | Current Taxpayer Issues | Monthly Newsletter | Monthly Meetings Association Committees | Association Archives | Association Directors | Resources | Membership