Where Are the Grown-Ups?

Sometimes, when California really needs leadership, cooperation and a little good faith, all it gets is political jihad.

There was a glimmer of hope early last week that the Legislature might pass a barely workable last-ditch budget. Several Republican lawmakers hinted they might go along with a temporary half-cent increase in the sales tax to finance $11 billion in debt over five years, covering a fraction of the $38-million shortfall.

Hope for even that shred evaporated when Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga threatened those who might dare to vote for a tax hike by saying he would oppose them during the March 2004 GOP primary.

His colleagues got the message. There is almost no chance now that the Legislature will pass a reasonable budget by Sunday -- one that actually balances program cuts and tax increases. The June 15 deadline is when a budget should be ready for the governor. (Historically, it seldom is.) Democrats won’t accept even the budget cuts Davis proposed in May. And Republicans insist that the budget be balanced without any tax increase, though they have no practical plan for doing so. Davis, facing a possible recall vote, is holed up in his office instead of trying to persuade.

Democrats need at least eight GOP votes to pass a budget by a two-thirds vote. With legislators deadlocked, the real budget negotiating will have to be done by the governor and the two party leaders in each house, the final negotiating group known as the Big Five. Out of the public eye, there’s a slim chance they will stop posturing.

They can start by abolishing rhetoric, including Brulte’s unconvincing anger at Davis. The Legislature was as involved as Davis in bills to increase spending, primarily on education, health care and public safety, during the boom years. At the time, neither party foresaw the swift falloff of revenues from the high-tech bust and market plunge.

Then the five can consider reality: Prominent economists including Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz say a temporary tax increase will hurt the economy less than drastic cuts in the state budget. At a bare minimum, the state must enact the half-cent sales tax to finance a fraction of its multiyear debt. Either that or California loses its last bit of trust on Wall Street.

There is no public outcry against temporary tax increases, and outside of public employee unions, protest against program cuts has been muted. Politicians are crying in their Sacramento playpen while ordinary taxpayers take the grown-up role. Unless legislative leaders come up with a miracle budget by the end of the month, it’s also taxpayers who will take the fall when no one will lend the state more money.

To Take Action: Contact Gov. Gray Davis at (916) 445-2841 or e-mail governor @governor.ca.gov. Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, (916) 445-1412 or go to democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/burton and check “feedback” box. Senate Republican Leader Brulte at (916) 445-3688 or senator .brulte@sen.ca.gov. Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson at (916) 319-2047, e-mail assembly member.wesson@asm.ca.gov. Assembly Republican Leader Dave Cox, (916) 319-2005, assemblymember.cox@assembly.ca.gov.