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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated
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To: LindyBill who wrote (32964)3/4/2004 2:01:39 PM
From: LindyBill  Read Replies (1) of 793964
 
I think Weintraub has a great idea here.

California Insider
A Weblog by
Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub
March 03, 2004
A way out
A confrontation between Schwarzenegger and the Democrats in the Legislature over spending cuts versus tax increases is all but inevitable this spring. Schwarzenegger would be smart to call the Democrats’ bluff sooner rather than later. How? He could offer to get together with them and produce a budget that includes most of his proposed spending cuts but sets aside $3 billion worth of the most objectionable reductions.

Then he would offer to sign a bill that puts their favorite tax increase - probably higher rates for the wealthy - on the November ballot. He wouldn’t have to endorse the tax increase, just stand aside and allow the Democrats to make their case for it. The two packages would be offered as a choice to the people: pass the tax increase or implement the governor’s cuts immediately. Schwarzenegger would be meeting the Democrats half way. He would be keeping faith with his pledge not to raise taxes to balance this budget. And he would be triggering a serious and healthy public discussion about the trade-offs at the heart of his budget plan. A cop-out? Perhaps, but also a way to avoid the kind of partisan stalemate that the public hates, and a way to head off the kind of mushy compromise that neither cuts spending nor raises revenue and leaves the state even deeper in debt. As an added twist, Schwarzenegger could give the Democrats carte blanche to match any selection of his spending cuts with their choice of tax increases to put into the ballot measure. That way, they would have to decide where the break point was: the higher the total value of spending cuts they chose to defer, the more difficult it would be to pass the tax hike.
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