Raising Taxes Won’t Fix Bad Habits

It doesn’t take a financial expert to know that if your family repeatedly spends more money than it makes, you will quickly accumulate a huge debt. Continued poor spending habits and irresponsible choices lead to maxed out credit cards and with no other options in sight, the debt collector comes knocking at the door. Even an increase in revenue won’t fix a longtime overspending problem – it will only feed the addiction.

Common-sense tells us that something would have to change for the family who lives this way. Unfortunately, common-sense does not seem to apply to Democrats in the State Legislature. They have been overspending for decades and now that we have a massive budget shortfall and it’s time to pay the bill, they want to hold taxpayers responsible.

After years of out-of-control overspending, California faces a $14.5 billion deficit for one reason: we’ve spent way too much money, for too many years. In fact, over the past four years, revenue has grown by 40 percent, yet spending has grown by 44 percent. Every year we continue spending more than we bring in.

In early January, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency and called the Legislature into a special session to act promptly to find $3.3 billion in budget savings in the current budget year. The Legislature has just 45 days, or until February 23, to take action on a plan to trim the 2007-08 state budget and address our massive budget deficit.

Unfortunately, the majority still refuses to reign in their spending and wants to solve the problem by raising your taxes. Already this year, Democrats have proposed a $6 billion hike in the car tax and a $500 million tax increase on Internet purchases.

Out-of-touch with the thousands who are struggling to make their house payment each month, they have also suggested eliminating the state mortgage interest deduction, a $5.3 billion tax increase that will raise taxes on California homeowners by hundreds of dollars each year.

Even worse, some have suggested repealing Proposition 13, an important taxpayer protection that limits how much government can increase property tax bills each year. Doing so would force higher property taxes on thousands and cost many families to lose their homes altogether.

Taking more of your hard-earned money out of your wallet and putting it into the state’s hands will not fix years of bad spending habits. My Assembly Republican colleagues and I believe that you should not be punished for the repeated mistakes of Democrats in Sacramento. California has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

As difficult as the choices will be, this year the Legislature must cut wasteful spending and reassess our budget priorities. I believe that as a lawmaker, it is my duty to spend your tax dollars responsibly and take a hard look at what the state chooses to spend your money on. To address this budget disaster we must stop overspending, reject new programs we can’t afford and learn to live within our means.

The Legislature will have to cast a wide net to make a significant dent in our severe deficit, but I’m confident that working together, we will take California out of the red and into a brighter, healthier economic future.