COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:

In September, the California Legislature passed a “get out of town” budget following a record-breaking impasse. Long-term budget reform offered up by Republicans was disregarded by the majority party in favor of one-time solutions. Now, three months later, it is estimated that our budget deficit has grown to as much as $27 billion over the next 18 months. Permanent solutions are needed and failure to act is simply not an option if we want to save California from bankruptcy. So, where do we go from here?

To begin with, the Legislature must reduce spending. That is why earlier this week I introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1. A first step in my efforts to get our budget under control this coming year, ACA 1 will require any measure costing the state more than $150,000 to muster a two-thirds vote of the Legislature for approval. This higher vote threshold will make it more difficult for legislators to spend tax dollars, forcing lawmakers to prioritize how the state’s money is spent.

But it has become increasingly clear that Democrats in the Legislature, along with the governor, would rather raise taxes. Undeterred by the economic meltdown, Gov. Schwarzenegger is once again calling for tax increases as a part of the solution — $4.7 billion, to be exact. Cheered by Democrats, these new taxes include a 1.5% sales tax increase, a new oil production tax, and slapping the sales tax on various services like appliance and furniture repair, vehicle repair and veterinary services.

History has shown that higher taxes never bring in the revenue promised, and actually result in less tax revenue because of the damaging effect tax increases have on the economy. Higher taxes could be the last straw for many companies teetering on the edge, forcing some to shut down, downsize or move to other states. We should be focusing on job creation and economic growth.

What we must do is better prioritize spending to meet our citizen’s needs, go through the budget line by line to eliminate wasteful government spending and suspend new programs that we cannot afford. We must act now to find savings limit spending, while safeguarding education dollars and acting responsibly and with compassion for those who rely on government for essential services.

JIM SILVA is the assemblyman for the 67th district, which includes Huntington Beach.