Mac Taylor’s budget happy talk draws more fire — deservedly

Nov. 18, 2012

By Chris Reed

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor’s budget report does have plenty of caveats that his somewhat upbeat view of coming years may never come to pass. But Taylor’s opening statement about there being a “strong possibility of multibillion-dollar operating surpluses within a few years” is so Pollyannaish that it could do permanent damage to his reputation. What happened in 2006 is the template for legislative behavior whenever revenue grows: fresh demands quickly eat it up.

I made the case that Taylor ignored many warning signs Thursday in this U-T San Diego editorial.

Dan Borenstein makes a similar case in today’s Contra Costa Times.

What’s particularly aggravating about Taylor’s misleading forecast is that it will certainly embolden a lot of bad behavior both in Sacramento and at the local level in agencies like school districts that depend on state funding.

I know people who know Taylor and they say he prides himself on being a constructive force in a state capital without enough such people. What he did last week was far from constructive.


Tags assigned to this article:
Mac Taylorstate budgetChris ReedDan BorensteinLAO

Related Articles

PG&E may have violated its criminal probation from San Bruno disaster

Pacific Gas & Electric – the giant investor-owned utility that serves 16 million Californians – appears to be facing its gravest crisis

Govt. global warming hoax ‘hilarious incoherence’

“Global warming deniers,” we skeptics have been called. Much of our climate change skepticism stems from the government’s involvement and

The book of Jobs

Not sure if you’ve noticed lately, but everybody who’s ever been elected to office, from the lowly dogcatcher to the