State Budget

By Gabriella Holt

Balancing the books without debt

The budget process in Sacramento is inadequate to meet the needs of Californians who are dependent upon public services and to taxpayers who pay for these services. Expenditures continue to rise above revenues and legislators continue to fail to exercise fiscal responsibility with respect to spending priorities.

In order to balance our budget, below are some fundamental reforms that are necessary that I will support and champion as your elected representative to the State Assembly:

• End the practice of imposing new taxes on our citizens by disguising them as fees. New taxes and fees will further destabilize the economy, slowdown economic recovery, reduce state revenue and make it more difficult for small businesses to obtain capital, expand operations, and employ more workers;
• Review existing programs, reports of fraud, out-of-control spending and lower priority projects + taxpayers deserve better management of public funds through a systematic, comprehensive review of the spending base for cost-benefits as well as demonstrated usefulness and effectiveness of public programs and services;
• Audit the financial condition and management operations of every state agency for effectiveness and to make sure public money is not wasted on outdated or unnecessary programs.
• Place a strict limit on how much state government spending can grow and take action to stabilize the state's financing system. Government spending should not be allowed to grow faster than the rate of inflation and population growth.
• Ensure our state debt does not climb above 6% of the state's general fund in order to protect taxpayers from higher interest rates.
• Borrowing should only be used to pay for projects that will last the life of the debt.
• Revenue bonds should be emphasized over general obligation bonds.