When Gov. Jerry Brown rolled out his new California budget last week, it was worse than anyone could imagine.
The deficit has grown to $15.7 billion, and the fear is it could continue to increase.
The original deficit estimate was $9.2 billion in January. But since then, the deficit has increased by 70 percent of what the governor predicted.
With the massive deficit there are a lot of cuts and taxes Brown will have to institute to balance the budget.
Not to the liking of the rich, Brown is proposing to raise taxes on those who make more than $1 million annually from 10.3 percent to 13.3 percent.
This new rate is the highest of any state, and should be a start to bringing down the deficit. It will at the same time, anger many millionaires.
However, it is a much-needed evil to balance the struggling state economy.
Also in Brown’s tax proposal, those making $250,000 or more will have a higher income tax rate as well, just not as large as the millionaire tax.
Brown also plans to raise the sales tax from 7.25 percent to 7.5 percent. Ultimately, no one is escaping tax hikes in this budget.
Besides taxes, there will be plenty of government spending cuts that will cut thousands of state jobs.
However, even with all the bad news, there is a slight silver lining to the budget proposal.
Fortunately, on the surface of the budget, there are no major cuts to an already anemic education system.
If the Brown’s tax iniative passes, this bodes well for students across California.
But of course, there is a catch.
If Brown’s plan does not succeed, there will be an automatic $5.5 billion cut to public and higher education. The Cal State University system would face a $250 million trigger cut.
Faculty and students who thought they were going to escape this budget unscathed, have to live with the unwavering fear that a $5.5 billion axe could come down on their neck.
With the discussion on cuts to education drawn to exhaustion in California, it is no surprise that more problems keep piling up.
It is unfair that students have to suffer the consequences for the mistakes made by adults.
If we are in such a financial crisis in this state, how are we ever supposed to keep up with the rest of the country if we keep making cuts to education. The greatest benefit to business is an educated workforce.
As unattractive as higher taxes are, it is important that we educate the next generation as much as possible while we can.
A bare bones education system will only prodcue individuals with bare bones knowledge.
It is reassuring that Brown has attempted to stop the cuts to education. It’s inevitable that cuts to education will be made, in this budget proposal or the next. Even higher taxes won’t fix the deficit we are in, many budget cuts and layoffs will be coming faster than anyone can imagine.
However, the more education can be sparred, the better place the state will be once we have dug ourselves out of this hole.
Chasen Doerr is a senior journalism major and the opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
