Legislative Analyst: Across the Board Cuts Mistake
The State’s non-partisan legislative analyst has weighed in on Governor Schwarzenegger’s 141 billion dollar budget proposal. And she says his plan to cut spending across the board is a mistake.
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(Sacramento, CA)
Monday, January 14, 2008
Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill says the idea of cutting most programs equally may appear fair, but it doesn’t set state priorities. She advises a different tactic:
“We first suggest that the legislature take an approach to identify high priority and low priority programs supported by the state of California so as to minimize harm to high-priority programs.”
She uses the analogy of a homeowner forced to make a 10 percent cut to his overall budget. She says the entire mortgage would probably be paid, while dining out might be cut significantly. Hill also says new revenues ought to be considered such as user fees or eliminating tax credits.