Gov. Newsom’s phony budget

If it’s January it must be budget time in California, or so it would seem. Gov. Gavin Newsom held a press briefing to unveil his proposed budget and it certainly looked official. Mainstream media have variously reported that the governor’s budget proposal is “austere,” “fiscally responsible” and even “conservative” as the state tries to close a projected $22.5 billion deficit. But there are things taxpayers should know before breaking out the champagne to celebrate the governor’s handling of what he has called a “modest shortfall.”

A spending problem, not a revenue problem

The governor’s proposed $297 billion budget is only about 3.6% smaller than last year’s recordsetting budget of $308 billion. The state has long spent beyond its means, but it has kicked it into overdrive in recent years. In just the last three years alone, spending has increased by almost $100 billion despite warnings from economists, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and many others that the state was spending beyond sustainable revenue levels.

This is not the real budget

They may call this a budget, but it is just a wish list. It is a way for the governor to signal his priorities to the Legislature as budget negotiations begin and legislators from the governor’s own party have already been critical of the cuts he is proposing.

We also do not know what the actual dollar amount will be yet. In November the budget shortfall was estimated to be around $24 billion. The governor now says it is $22.5 billion. We will have a better idea of where the state stands financially when the governor does his May Revise of the budget.

That is not the real budget either

The May Revise is also not the budget, it is just another step in the negotiation process. It gives us a better idea of what the actual numbers are and the governor will adjust his wish list accordingly, but it is the Legislature that passes the budget and members have until June 15 to do it.

That is not really the budget either

While the Legislature will pass a “budget” by June 15, it also is not really the budget. That is because Proposition 25, entitled the On-Time Budget Act of 2010, states legislators forfeit their pay if they do not pass the budget “on time.” The problem with that is, the courts have ruled it is the Legislature itself that defines what is and is not the budget.

What we will get then is not a true annual spending plan for the state but a 1,000-page sham, drafted largely in secret and full of blanks to be filled in later through hundreds of “budget trailer bills” after substantial provisions of the budget are negotiated behind closed doors among just three n See Coupal, page A5

Belltower

Letters To The Editor

The gun violence problem

EDITOR:

We have had a horrific start to 2023 here in California, with two mass murders in two days. And as sure as day follows night, the politicians stepped up to tell you that California has the most gun control laws of any state and that they are working.

One wonders by what measure they can claim that they are working, given recent events. Perhaps it is because on a per capita basis, Sacramento’s gun homicide rate is only 80% of that of Chicago. They go on to say we just need more gun laws to end the “gun violence problem.”

First up is universal background checks. They don’t mention that in virtually every case, the shooter passed a background test or obtained the gun illegally. Which brings up the one massive loophole in California’s universal background checks — and I challenge our politicians to pass and enforce a law to close it. Require all criminals to pass background checks before stealing guns or buying them from each other.

Next up is banning “assault rifles,” despite the fact that of the more than 10,000 gun homicides annually, only about 300 are with long guns of any sort. Smoke screen. n See letters, page A5

But do we really have a “gun violence problem” or is it a “people violence problem?” In my 40-plus career as a professional engineer, I found that the first step toward solving a problem is to accurately identify the problem. Otherwise any solution is doomed to failure.

Australia had a horrible mass murder in the 1990s and set out to solve their “gun violence problem,” even though that incident was a total aberration. There hadn’t been a case of more than five people killed in over 100 years other than massacres of or by Aboriginals. They confiscated a vast number of firearms from their law-abiding citizens, a model that Hilary Clinton said in 2016 she would consider.

What was the result? I looked at the data and found that in a comparable time period before and after the incident, the number of mass murders with guns (five or more killed) had been reduced by twothirds. But what about the total number of all mass murders? Virtually unchanged. Of the two-thirds reduction, one-third was replaced by killings with knives and the other one-third with arson. In the latter case, the body count went up and with it the total body count.

Odds & ends about WWII, Vietnam and white horses

World War II’s Battle of the Bulge began Dec. 16, 1944, and ended Jan. 25, 1945. Also, on Jan. 12, 1945, the Soviet Union launched a new offensive, taking Warsaw and Krakow and liberating the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

I’ve written previously about the Battle of the Bulge and Gen. Patton’s relief of Bastogne, which had been under siege by the Germans.

• •

•

Jan. 27, 1973, the Paris Peace accords were signed, ending the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War saw 58,000 Americans killed in action. Twice that number die every year in America from fentanyl poisoning.

On a more upbeat note, my daughter gave birth to her second boy in five years Jan. 23, the first one already is in kindergarten.

My daughter and son-in-law named both starting with the letter L — Leo, 5, and Lorenzo, 1 week. The new baby was 9 pounds and 20 inches long. He may be a tall one like his uncle Wolfgang, who was a 10 pounder and 22 inches.

They have been taking Leo to youth basketball games for 5-year-olds. He is second tallest in his kindergarten class.

• • •

In the English countryside, specifically Uffington and Wiltshire, there are seven white horses carved into hills. The Uffington horse is the oldest, carved on the side of an ancient earthwork called Uffington

The Vietnam War saw 58,000 Americans killed in action. Twice that number die every year in America from fentanyl poisoning.

Castle. A white horse has been documented for the past 900 years.

Traditional stories have it beginning with Hengeist, the Saxon leader who had a white horse on his standard, according to a brochure, or it might have been a memorial to King Alfred’s victory over the Danes at Ashdon in 871. However, more recent research indicates it may be older than those two references, with the horse appearing on Iron Age coins.

Other white horses are more contemporary. One was made in 1785 but redesigned in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI in 1937. Another was made in 1812 at the expense of Mr. Robert Pile of Manor Farm.

The oldest horse in Wiltshire was again traditionally attributed to King Alfred’s victory over the Danes, this time at Ethandun in 878. The original horse was regarded by Lord Abingdon as a bad imitation, so he destroyed the original and had his steward, Mr. Gee, cut a new one in 1778. It was given a facelift in 1873. of Transportation) and Highway Patrol about road conditions to monitor and delay travel until safe,” said Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority President and CEO Carol Chaplin. “When the roads have been cleared and it’s safe and easier to get here, winter enthusiasts have been enjoying the powder-filled conditions.”

Another horse in Wiltshire is not in any way ancient but was made in 1780. An additional new horse was made in 1837 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Victoria. The final white horse in Wiltshire was carved by schoolboys in 1804. That sounds like a fun bunch of schoolboys.

Michael Raffety is a retired editor of the Mountain Democrat and a resident of the Placerville area.

Although the visitor authority does not have formal statistics compiled for South Lake Tahoe, they’ve communicated with the lodging, dining and attractions in the area and understand that while peak periods were temporarily impacted, there has been a surge during the post-holidays due to snow creating ideal conditions on the mountains.

“There was a temporary hit while the storm was here,” said President and Chief Strategist of SMG Consulting Carl Ribaudo. “Typically (tourism is) impacted while we’re getting pounded by snow and digging out and all that. But I think it helps over the long run of the winter. People know we have terrific outdoor recreation conditions, so it’s a short-term hit. But you hope that you can make it up over the course of the winter season.”

The upsides of heavier winter snowfall are longer winter seasons for outdoor recreation.

“It’s a balance,” said Ribaudo. “We don’t really have a choice.”

There are many looking forward to a longer ski season this winter.

“We believe the outlook is so positive for a longer ski season, we’re placing our bets on it,” said Director of Sustainable Tourism for Visit Truckee-Tahoe Siobhan Kenney. “Antidotally, we know from past big winters that when ski areas stay open longer, it has a positive revenue impact on Truckee’s local shops, retailers and restaurants.”

The tourism group announced a “midweek spring skiing lodging offer” last week.

Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar are all reporting that staffing isn’t a problem currently at their resorts, but Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau President and CEO Andy Chapman said that some places are still trying to find their footing with their teams.

“There’s definitely still issues with labor and getting workforce,” said Chapman. “But I think businesses are very adaptable. They are looking at different ways of how they are scheduling and doing common days off where the business might have historically been open seven days a week, and now maybe they’re only open six or five days a week … The storms help drive that economic engine here in the wintertime for Tahoe.”

Tourism in the Tahoe Basin is always a topic of conversation and was especially after Lake Tahoe was added to Fodor’s “No List” for 2023 travel, due to an overcrowding problem. While the list gives the impression tourists shouldn’t visit the area, Chapman reinforced that rather than telling visitors to stay away, it’s important to teach people how to visit responsibly.

“We are always making sure we’re pushing out realtime, accurate information about what’s going on up here,” said Chapman. “We post on our social channels and our websites about any kind of storm warnings that are coming and links to road reports, because it’s critical that our guests both coming from a drive … as well as our fly market guests are aware of what’s happening.”

Along with providing accurate information for tourists, Chapman and other travel agencies in the Tahoe Basin urge travelers to use the free, public transportation options, including TART and TART

Connect on the north shore, Lake Link in the South Shore and Mountaineer in Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows.

Being a steward also means leaving Lake Tahoe better than it was found by properly disposing of trash, choosing reusable products over single-use plastic and being mindful and respectful of the environment. For more information about traveling to Lake Tahoe visit visitlaketahoe. com/destinationupdate or gotahoenorth.com/sustainable-travelpledge.

Coupal Continued from A4 people: the two Democratic legislative leaders and Gov. Newsom.

On Jan. 18, 121 of these budget-related bills were introduced in the state Legislature, completely blank except for a line of placeholder text expressing the “intent” to fill them in later. They are numbered SB 100 through SB 220. You can “read” them for yourself at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

Eventually, those budget-related bills will spring to life with new language replacing the placeholder text. Then they sail through the process without hearings or amendments or debate.

A balanced budget in name only

The state Constitution requires a balanced budget. And it is … if you don’t the count the trillions the state owes to pensioners, financiers, the federal government and others. What the law requires and what the government delivers are two different things.

So much for fiscal responsibility.

Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Letters Continued from A4

No gun control laws can stop violent people from committing violent crimes. They will find a way. So maybe it is time, rather than fighting endlessly over gun control, that we focus all our energies in solving our “people violence problem.” COLTON MEYER Somerset

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