NE Sacramento News

Today, legislative Democrats passed a budget package criticized for being unbalanced, unsustainable, and not reflective of the needs of everyday Californians.

The budget was crafted last week during closed-door meetings with the governor and a select few Democrat legislators. Critics argue it continues fiscal mismanagement of taxpayer dollars.

“This budget package is nominally balanced but not sustainable. It fails to reign in the past decade of irresponsible growth in government spending,” said Senator Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. “It relies on budget gimmicks, draws down our savings, and saddles future generations with debt.”

The budget package includes deficits for upcoming years, new taxes on businesses, and increased spending on projects like high-speed rail. To fund these priorities, critics claim the budget diverts funds from services for the developmentally disabled, withdraws money from education reserves, and spends billions from the state’s rainy-day fund.

“Rather than being responsible with California’s checkbook, Democrats chose to play shadow games with accounting,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego). “They shifted, swept and shuffled money around, stealing it from disabled kids and taking money from a host of necessary services to fund unneeded social experiments and pet projects. It’s unfathomable. But it’s real.”