There is a new name for the Governor’s marketing of his proposed plan to increase taxes, which is commented on by Fox & Hounds.
An excerpt.
“Governor Brown unveiled a new theme on Monday to sell his budget solution: the Wall of Debt.
“This approach targets Republicans and other voters skeptical of the need for tax extensions.
"• The Governor specifically calls out the nearly $35 billion in borrowing and gimmicks devised by previous Administrations and Legislatures to paper over earlier deficits. The subliminal message: “Never again.”
"• The debt retirement theme provides a landing zone for Republican legislators who might agree to tax extensions in return for a spending cap, where any revenues above the cap could be used to retire budgetary borrowing. The Governor expressed his support yesterday for an undefined spending cap.
"• Raising the debt issue also provides a platform from which the Governor could insist on aggressive reforms in state and local pension obligations. Actuaries peg the unfunded liabilities of the two big state pension systems north of $150 billion. This off-budget debt was recently noted by Standard and Poor’s as a further threat to California’s anemic credit rating."
