Brown's Fiscal Restraint "Commendable" but Risks Remain
Published On : 1/15/2013 10:20 AM
By : Ben Adler
From : CCN
Categories : State, Local
Listen to the news story
California’s non-partisan legislative analyst is praising Governor Jerry Brown for the fiscal discipline he showed in his budget proposal.
But as Ben Adler reports from Sacramento, he’s not quite endorsing Brown’s proclamation last week that the state’s deficit has been erased.
Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor
Credit: Ben Adler
It’s not that Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor says the governor’s deficit projection is right or wrong. It’s that in the grand scheme of things these days, it doesn’t make much of a difference – because, Taylor says, the budget is “roughly in balance.”
“We’re in a very different situation than we have been the last 10, 12 years – when at this time, we would usually be sitting around and talking about $20, $25, $30 billion deficits and what are our differences in the numbers between the administration and us.”
So given that, Taylor says the fiscal restraint in the governor’s budget is “commendable.” And he thinks Brown’s proposed school funding overhaul deserves a good look. But he’s also concerned about parts of the budget – especially the way the governor wants to use money raised by the newly-approved Proposition 39. And he’s warning that external factors like the fiscal cliff in Washington could change everything.
Ben Adler, Capital Public Radio news.
