Gov. Brown Makes YouTube Announcement On Doubled Deficit
SACRAMENTO (KCBS)— In a YouTube message delivered Saturday, California Governor Jerry Brown discussed how the state's budget deficit has nearly doubled since January. The dismal economic recovery from the worldwide recession and its negative effects on the state's tax revenue were to blame.
"The result is that we're now facing a $16 billion hole, not the $9 billion we thought in January," Brown said.
Brown continued, saying that part of the solution lies within his tax increase measure on the November ballot. That plan includes a quarter-cent sales-tax increase that would last four years and a seven-year hike on those with incomes of $250,000 or more.
"What I'm proposing is not a panacea, but it goes a long way towards cleaning up the state budget mess," Brown said in the YouTube statement.
KCBS' Mark Seelig Reports:
Sacramento Political Consultant Leo McElroy said both the budget and the election are on the horizon and that the budget has to be dealt with first.
"We're not sure either of those is a lifeboat or an iceberg," he said.
He believes Californians are probably close to embracing tax increases as a way to deal with chronic deficit, but it's still a tough sell considering there are competing measures on the ballot.
The governor will lay out a revised spending plan for the coming fiscal year on Monday.
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