Boy, Gov. Gray Davis is quite a man.
Faced with a looming budget crisis in stark contrast to the halcyon days at the beginning of his term, Davis is setting his teeth and getting ready to make the hard decisions.
According to Davis, desperate times call for desperate measures, and we all have to pitch in. Look, he seems to say, I’m even jeopardizing my political future by calling for tax hikes! Look how much I love California!
However, it is increasingly clear that his “”desperate measures”” are not only ill conceived and insufficient, but in fact motivated by political strategizing in the face of November’s election.
It’s a strange logic, but it goes like this: Davis gambles that voters will see him as a guy with tough stuff, willing to do something unpopular like raise taxes — in an election year! a close one, too! — because it’s the “”right thing to do.”” In fact, Davis’ tax hikes are a bandage on the gushing cuts he’s making to some of California’s most necessary programs.
I’m not talking about sweet, liberal causes such as arts funding — which I favor, but can bear to part with in hard times. His plan calls for deep cuts to state health care for poor Californians, and, while it doesn’t take any cash from K-12 education, and cuts to higher education are slim, maintaining spending at or around current levels isn’t going to pull us up at all.
Health care and education in this state are already in the dumpster, consistently lagging at the back of the national pack.
If we want to improve the long-term prospects for California’s economy, it’s going to take money. We can’t rely on tobacco settlements to get us through this crunch: Taxes must be raised.
It’s a truism that education is the key to ensuring a qualified workforce for the future, but that’s not all.
A state that wants and needs to be business-friendly also has to be employee-friendly. What parent wants to live and work in a state with terrible schools? Sure, some poor families whose children are in the very worst schools don’t have the option of leaving the state for greener pastures, but they may make the sacrifice if California’s cost of living keeps rising while wages stay low; and middle class families feeling the pinch from the economic downturn may head east as well.
Public schools need more money for more teachers, better facilities and flexible funding for innovative programs like the ones being tested with great success at UCSD’s own Preuss School, the budget of which Davis has cut into deeply.
You want vouchers? They’re worth a try, but they aren’t free, either. And don’t forget about all those remedial classes you’re going to have to give kids who attended private schools that don’t adhere to instructional standards.
Then there are California’s health care woes. Davis’ budget cuts will take away state-sponsored health insurance from 500,000 Californians and prevents the implementation of Davis’ much-needed Healthy Families plan, which would benefit 300,000 working poor adults.
If the idea of all those men, women and children having no recourse in the case of illness or injury doesn’t convince you because you’re not one of them and you don’t know anyone who is, consider this: What do you think uninsured poor people do when they get sick?
First of all, they call in sick to work, which negatively impacts California’s economy. That’s lost productivity.
Secondly, and more importantly, they don’t just lie around their houses sniffling. They visit the emergency room. They come when they have bronchitis, when they need stitches in their hands and when their babies have a mild fever. They do this because they don’t have anywhere else to go.
The last thing anyone in this state needs is more bodies in our already-overtaxed emergency rooms.
I believe that Sacramento lawmakers feel the same way. But, because of well-reasoned political beliefs or fear at the prospect of upcoming elections, they are unwilling to do what needs to be done: Take a deep breath and raise taxes.
I have great respect for fiscal conservatives who believe in a smaller government. I agree with them — in principle. However, the reality I see is one in which California is in serious trouble, and we need the government’s help for the time being. That can’t happen unless we’re all willing to make sacrifices to keep things up and running until times improve.
Currently, Davis wants to raise vehicle-licensing fees to around the level they were at when he took office. That would more than double the fees paid by average Californians from $64 annually to $148 annually. Also, he wants to increase cigarette taxes by 50 cents per pack. These hikes would bring in around $1.7 billion for the state next year and are a good idea.
Sure, smokers complain that they’re being unfairly burdened with these ever-increasing excise taxes, but their habit costs the state quite a pretty penny in medical costs — and we can only hope that higher costs will lead to less tobacco use, leading to a healthier California. Sure, no one wants to pay more at the DMV, but we’ve all got to tighten our belts wherever possible if this state is going to stay afloat.
In short, this is a good start. More, however, has to be done. The programs that Davis is cutting are valuable. The programs Davis is maintaining at current, paltry levels need more. Davis has to exercise some leadership (which is not his strong suit, to be sure) and guide Californians through a painful, but necessary, process.
Is it the divinely decreed duty of government to take care of all this? Essentially, no, but who else has the wherewithal to accomplish it? How else will it get done? And if you can honestly say that you don’t care — that hard-working people who can’t afford to see a doctor, overtaxed emergency rooms and failing schools don’t bother you — then head to a different country, one where government isn’t willing to step up to the plate and make things better for its citizens. Send me a postcard when you’re ready to come home. I’ll save a place in my mailbox.
I wish I were an economics major and could tell Davis how to begin raising taxes. Something tells me, though, that he has a stable of analysts with plans already hatched and waiting; Davis, however, is afraid to listen because of a threat called Bill Simon — a highly electable threat who opposes tax hikes, just like everybody who’s ever written a check to the IRS or winced while making a big-ticket purchase.
But don’t think taking a middle road of complacency will keep you in office, Davis. Democrats are starting to see through your game, and we’re thinking of taking our votes elsewhere, because you’re not really willing to take the tough stands a governor needs to make.
And if Davis is losing the vote of a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat like me, how can he ever hope to win in November?
