Budget Crisis Averted! California Democrats Propose More Spending. Again.

We couldn't believe this headline until we'd read the article the whole way through. We go on and on ad nauseum on this blog about how California needs to embrace drastic spending reductions as a way to avoid its semi-annual budget deficits. Indeed, this is one of our biggest reasons for opposing Jerry Brown's proposal to extend California's income, sales, and other taxes for five more years: there's simply no reason for anyone to believe that that money won't disappear down the rabbit hole just like all the other dollars we send to Sacramento. Well, right on cue, here are Sacramento's Democrats to prove our point.

Keeping in mind that (a) California's budget is still not balanced, (b) no deal is in place to pass tax extensions that would do so, and (c) there's no back-up plan for balancing the budget should that deal fall through, Democrats in the Assembly are already thinking of new ways to spend the $6.6 billion in unexpected tax revenues. Specifically, they want to use the money to reverse cuts they agreed to in March: one Assembly committee is already debating a proposal to reverse the $440 million cut to state-funded child care, and another has already voted to restore $86.3 million in welfare payments to children. Others want to direct $550 million more to K-12 schools and community colleges, even though their funding hasn't been cut as yet, and also hope to restore at least some of the $1 billion cut from welfare-to-work programs.

Just consider this today's little reminder that Sacramento has yet to take the state's fiscal crisis seriously.