Dear Taxpayer: Please Send More Money

By Bob Dutton

In case you missed it, this piece was published exclusively in the San Bernardino Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. I thought those of you who subscribe to The Dutton Report might also find this interesting.

The state of California has a $14.5 billion bill that it doesn’t know how to pay.

That bill in question is the now projected $14.5 billion budget deficit that has become so significant that Governor Schwarzenegger has called a special session of the legislature to deal with the growing issue.

However, if it’s left up to some in the California Legislature, their solution to this unpaid bill is to raise taxes on every California resident.

While the tax increase wouldn’t actually be in the form of a tax bill, here’s what it might look like if it was a bill in the form of a letter.

Dear California taxpayer,

Enclosed you will find a$1,600 bill for your family of four ($400 per person) to cover the $14.5 billion deficit we have run up on your behalf.

Despite revenues increasing by nearly $27 billion to the state’s general fund over the last five years, we have spent far beyond our means and believe the only way to solve this problem is to ask you to foot the bill.

We realize that most families and businesses in the same situation would tighten their financial belt and trim some of the excess spending from their budgets to align revenues with spending. While the governor and others are calling on everyone to find a way to cut their budgets, we feel the easiest way to solve this problem is simply to ask you to pay the bill.

Never mind the state of California pays billions of dollars a year to educate, provide health care and incarcerate those in this country illegally. Forget that cutting fraud, waste and abuse in state government by even 1 percent would result in a savings of more than $1 billion to the state’s general fund. Don’t pay attention to the significant spending increases to most areas of state government over the last five years, including a 76 percent increase to the State Resources Agency, nearly $5 billion more for Health and Human Services and more than $3 billion more for corrections.

We could find a way to reign in our out of control spending but we would rather choose to send you this modest bill of $1,600.

We would ask that you send the money as soon as possible as we need to fund these and other programs your tax dollars support.

Sincerely,

The State of California

P.S. Unless the California Legislature and governor brings it’s spending under control, this will be an annual bill with modest increases (possibly hundreds of dollars more a year) to help fund the programs outlined above and others.

As ludicrous as the above letter might sound, the examples listed are completely accurate. That’s why I’ve always believed California has a spending, not a revenue problem.

I don’t believe the answer is finding ways to tax every California resident an additional $400 a year to pay for this state’s spending problem.

I applaud the governor for calling a Special Session of the Legislature to begin dealing with this issue now. Taxing our way out of this problem has never worked in the past and isn’t the solution now!