Posted on 01/12/2011 2:27:21 PM PST by SmithL
The state's legislative analyst credits Gov. Jerry Brown for taking aim at California's fiscal crisis with serious proposals to cut programs and shift responsibilities to local governments in the budget he introduced this week.
But Mac Taylor, the legislative analyst, warned in a report released today that Brown's budget carries some risky assumptions and "optimistic savings assumptions."
"We believe the governor's proposal is a good starting point for legislative deliberations," the Legislative Analyst's Office summary said. But, he added, "there is significant work ahead to fill in the details of some of the governor's ambitious, complex proposals, particularly given his proposed accelerated timeline for budget deliberations and a June special election concerning extensions of tax increases."
The LAO took a subtle shot at some of the assumptions, saying that as much as $1 billion in savings are questionable.
Proposed savings in corrections, the state employee health plans and In-Home-Supportive Services (IHSS) may be overstated. And the budget does not provide enough detail on how it would save $200 million in "efficiency" reductions to state operations.
"Historically, such lack of detail often has been associated with budget actions that fail to produce the desired level of savings," the report said.
Most, but not all assumptions are scored "reasonably," the report said.
The LAO had previously recommended several of Brown's tax provisions, including adoption of a mandatory single sales factor taxation for multistate and multinational firms, elimination of enterprise zone tax credits, reduction of the dependent exemption credit to $99 from $300, and adoption of a vehicle license rate of around 1 percent.
The extension of the personal income tax and sales tax increases pose "problems," the LAO said, given that they are among the highest in the nation and would have an impact on investment decisions of firms and individuals.
(Excerpt) Read more at contracostatimes.com ...
Translation: “We like the tax increases, but we don’t think it’s a good idea to cut spending.”
“optimistic savings assumptions” = Brown budget full of lies
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.