A bit surprised to see this story in the Huffington Puffington Post: Brown's Tax and Spending Spree http://t.co/CAA6VLIIkW via @HuffPostLA
— Jon Coupal (@joncoupal) October 17, 2014◼ Cato Institute's 12th biennial edition of its "Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors" assigns grades of "A" to "F" to the governors based on their efforts to restrain government. Not only did Governor Brown receive an "F" in this year's report card, he received the worst score of any governor. - Nicole Kaeding/Huffington Post
...So, why did Governor Brown score so poorly?
To start, Brown has pushed for several large tax increases. In 2012 he championed a plan to increase annual tax revenues by $6 billion a year. That increase, which passed on a November 2012 ballot, included a hike in the top individual income tax rate to 13.3 percent.
...Brown's follies are not limited to tax policy. He, also, scores poorly on spending for substantially increasing the size of California's budget. Over the last three years, Brown has proposed general fund spending increases averaging 6.8 percent annually, more than twice the national average over that period. California's general fund spending has grown from $86 billion in 2012 to Brown's proposed spending for 2015 of $107 billion. Brown recently called his 2015 budget one of "restraint and prudence," a laughable claim.
Even worse, California has $340 billion in unfunded pension and health care liabilities to current and future state retirees and state debt, according to the state's Legislative Analyst Office. These may represent even higher taxes in the future, unless California gets its spending under control....
With the largest state-local tax burdens of any state and one of the worst business climates, many businesses are choosing to leave California for more economically friendly states like Texas....
Lower taxes and less government spending allows the economy to flourish. That means more jobs, more opportunities, and more freedom for individuals to pursue their passions. Governor Brown's policies are moving California in the wrong direction.
◼ Census Bureau: California still has highest U.S. poverty rate - Dan Walters/Sacramento Bee
Tom Del Beccaro: This should be the #1 story in California this election cycle - it should be relentlessly pursued by the Media. It is a total failure of CA gov't policy that has driven away jobs. Instead - silence. One party rule does that.
