[lbo-talk] California Collapsing: What Would Reagan Do

michael perelman michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Sat Nov 21 21:45:04 PST 2009


When he was in office, Ronald Reagan looked bad. Now, by today's standards, he looks like a progressive.

Reagan, Ronald. 1973. "On Spending and the Nature of Government." National Review (7 December).

"When I took office in 1967, we discovered that the promise of "no tax increases" could not be carried out. California was virtually insolvent, the precious administration having changed that state's system of budgetary bookkeeping in a way that allowed the spending of 15 months' revenue in twelve months' time, thus avoiding a major tax increase in election year 1966. The state government was spending $1 million a day more than it was collecting."

"California, unlike the Federal Government, cannot print more money or pile up deficits. The governor is required to submit a balanced budget, and if any additional taxes are needed to balance revenues with spending, the constitution requires the governor to propose higher taxes."

"So our first major lesson in government was painful: for the taxpayers and for us. We had to increase taxes by some $800 million to balance the unbalanced budget we inherited." -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929

530 898 5321 fax 530 898 5901 http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com



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