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.
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