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Joan Buchanan (D-15) is happy with Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State speech and happy overall with his budget proposal.
“It’s refreshing that we have a budget that doesn’t have inflated numbers from the federal government, and that does not rely on accounting gimmicks or inflated revenue projections,” Buchanan said.
She also backs Brown’s plan to send a five-year tax extension to the voters to let them –not legislators — decide.
“I’m hoping we are able to do that. One of the things he said was that ‘There is more polarization between the parties than I’ve seen in my lifetime'” Buchanan said.
Brown put Republicans on the spot, saying, “it would be unconscionable” for legislators to block a special election.
“When democratic ideals and calls for the right to vote are stirring the imagination of young people in Egypt and Tunisia and other parts of the world, we in California can’t say now is the time to block a vote of the people,” he told the legislators.
Most Republicans, however, have signed a pledge not to increase taxes, and count the idea of putting the tax extension on the ballot in June as counter to that pledge.
But Buchanan said she thinks there’s support to get the ballot measure to voters. It requires a two-thirds majority to pass both the State Assembly and the Senate, but then will require a simple majority of voters.
“I think we’ll get it done,” she said.
In addition to the tax extension, Brown has proposed $12.5 billion in budget cuts, temporary extension of current taxes and a historical realignment of government.
Yep, all the budget depends on is a 12 billion dollar tax INCREASE. Don’t let them fool you when they say it’s not a tax increase – they’re calling it a tax E-X-T-E-N-S-I-O-N.
Here’s how to tell the difference. If, at the end of the year, you have paid more taxes than you would have without the “extension” it’s a tax INCREASE. Whenever you end up paying more taxes, it’s a tax increase. Simple, huh?
Of course she likes his budget plan. She is a long time teachers union advocate, and she fell for his real plan to get the teachers union to do his dirty work and try to get voter approval for his tax increases, so the teachers union does not take a hit. Politics as usual, putting her special interest of the teachers union above the interest of all her constitutents.
Joan Buchannan is a tax & spend Democrat. The more you give, the more they will spend. If you give more money now, they will be back to ask for more after they spend it. It is a never ending cycle feeding out-of-control government growth and taxpayer impoverishment.
Only the taxpayers of this state can put a stop to this nonsense …. but how many understand that CA is already one of the most highly taxed states in the US? It is time to get back to basics in our state government. If they want more money, they have to show that they can balance the budget first.
There is very little difference between Brown’s budget proposals and previous budgets, because Brown’s budget is master-minded by the oil industry. There is no provision for closing corporate and commercial tax loopholes, no oil extraction tax and no oil corporation, windfall-profits tax. Californians pay the highest price for gasoline in the nation. Brown’s budget is the same, because again, it picks on the most vulnerable. Jerry appears to be working for Big Oil and not for the Californians who voted for him.
So, Joan… I have a question for you. If you think it’s a great idea to let voters decide on the tax issue rather than requiring legislators to do their job, would you also endorse allowing voters to decide the fate of Obamacare at the ballot box? Uhhhhh… didn’t think so.
why is it when arnold tried this she fought it? didnt the tax increase get shot down last election? why no mention of pension reform? somebody mentioned big oil but nothing about the unions strangle hold on the dem party?
can we get some real and solid solutions? step up joan and lets do whats right for everybody!
The state budget needs to include pension reform, lots of spending cuts, eliminating duplication of services by different state agencies, extension of the taxes for another 5 years AND PENSION REFORM. And did I mention pension reform? What’s wrong with 401Ks like most of us have? Are public employees so special that they can’t plan like the rest of us have to?
I can’t understand why voters re-elect Buchanan. Here is a woman who isn’t satisfied being an assemblymember, so she decides to run for Congress, loses, and burns $800,000 in the process. Here is a woman, while on the San Ramon Valley Unified School District board, allows double taxation on a school parcel tax and says nothing about it until an astute Danville resident uncovers it. Here is a woman who panders to the teacher’s union to obtain campaign contributions and support while using students as pawns in her political aspirations. Then, ask yourself why the voters keep re-electing this woman. Inquiring minds want to know…..
Dan, I too am baffled by how these people get elected. It seems that more people who want a handout vote than those who are handing out (taxed). If we have a special election to “extend” or increase taxes then the freeloaders which include everyone who pays no taxes (the poor who all have cell phones and cable TV) and the union thugs will outnumber the sensible taxpayers and we’ll get the shaft again. I can see it now, all the teachers will convince the soft headed gullible parents that little Johnny will not get recess because we have to fire the teachers aide or the school band won’t have a tuba this year and we can’t have that so we have to vote for this tax extension. I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.
Dear Joan and the rest of the Big Spenders:
Your regulatory policies and highest state tax rates are chasing the taxpayers out of the state! Implementation of AB32 will make energy costs even higher, forcing any business looking to locate in California to run the other way, a current example example of which is Northrop’s decision to move out of our lovely state. Real budget reform will require reducing the cost of public employees: from the total number employed, their current rate of pay and their retirement and medical benefits. This can be accomplished by reducing the number of state agencies and bureaucrats employed within them. For example, just looking at the duplication within a small set of agencies we find that there is Cal EPA, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Regional Water Control Board, Solid Waste Management Board, multiple California Air Resources Boards, all of which do the job of the Federal EPA. Within each agency, there are numerous highly compensated Board members, huge numbers of staff, offices, cars, expenses, a retinue of lawyers, the list goes on! And the governor proposes cutting cell phones and calls that reform? Give me a break! Please, get serious and reform this bloated government. Save our beloved public safety workers, our parks and our schools: the things the elected officials always threaten to cut first while never addressing the real need for change.
There are probably only handful of contributors to this site who post and re-post (sometimes in response to their own posts) under different names to keep the conversation thread going.
Since most of us ignore these pointless puerile rants!
Like the one just above…
The public schools in Danville send out to the parents e-mails each week about events at the school…I just received one of these official school e-mails, in which the school stated how Governor Brown’s budget is great because he is not going to cut the schools, as long as we all vote for his tax increases, and then it list the names and phone numbers of our elected officials, and tells us to make sure we contact them and let them know we support his tax increases…This is another attempt by the teachers union to take over the political process, and it seems highly unethical that our tax dollars are being used to pay school employees and pay for school computer equipment that is used to advocate a position on political issues to a captive audience of parents and voters.
Here is a women who has a son coaching at Monte Vista… is by far the worst coach the schools got. Arrogant disconnected from the kids…. clueless on coaching
Why hasn’t Joan responded to all these posts here on the Danville Weekly online forum? Some representative SHE is!
Brown’s game plan to protect his public employee union benefactors is pretty clear:
– pitch his tax increase ballot measure as a “let the people decide” (of course, there won’t be a ballot measure on public employee pension reform).
– Once on the ballot, then the dire warnings begin. The litany on the cuts that will be needed IF the ballot measure fails will be all about “the children”, and starving the homeless, etc.
– He also intends to use the fear of crime as a lever. Brown is proposing to turn over all monitoring of parolees to the counties. He will also “provide” funding to the counties to cover this added expense, but the funding will be contingent on the tax increase passing. Implied message – no tax increase, we let a bunch of ex-cons do whatever they want…. (Turning this function over to the individual counties is a problem in itself, as it now becomes easier for a parolee to “get lost” by going to a new county.)
Make no mistake – the new “tell it like it is” Jerry Brown is still completely beholden to the various public employee unions who financed his election. Protecting the gravy train is his top priority.