California suffering through driest three years ever recorded, with no relief in sight.
What does that have to do with the state Senate’s debate over Proposition 30, which would generate billions of dollars in bond revenue to help local governments face critical budget problems? Plenty, apparently.
For months, the Proposition 30 campaign has been painting the California drought as a “national crisis,” which is a far cry from the reality.
“This drought is a natural disaster that is going to affect everyone in California,” said Mark DeSantis, president of the California League of Conservation Voters, which filed a letter to the state Senate urging passage of the proposed bond measure by the end of the month. The letter urged the legislature to pass the bonds without delay.
But the bond will add to the state’s already mounting debt, which is already projected to double its estimated $43.3 billion worth this year to more than $88 billion by 2049.
And that’s just the beginning. After Prop. 30 has its full effect through 2049, it will have to be paid off, according to the California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. These two largest funds are in danger of running out of money by the end of this year.
That could cost the state tens of billions of dollars more in unfunded liabilities than the $10 billion in Proposition 30 taxes.
So the state should be willing to use its full measure of its power as a sovereign state, to fix a problem that threatens to destroy our state, destroy our state’s economy, and destroy many, many lives and businesses across California. And we must keep in mind that this is a debt issue that will require us to borrow money from our children, grandchildren, and our children and grandchildren. We need to keep in mind that as a state, we have the power to borrow our way out of debt.
The reason that our state is going through a severe fiscal crunch is simple: We have the ability to fund our state’s operating budget with our own money. We do not have to borrow from any outside power. We can use our own money, and
