About half of California’s general fund revenue comes from personal income taxes, and the sales taxes add another third. As the economy falters, these two revenue sources that account for 80% of the state budget fall precipitously.
As a conservative legislator, I would hope that putting the economy back on track, and bringing long sought-after jobs to California, are the year’s legislative priorities. They are certainly the surest ways to right the state’s budget woes. Sadly, the relationship between jobs and revenue is so frequently overlooked in Sacramento that many policies ultimately hurt business. In an attempt to stem the outflow of jobs and businesses to other states, I have introduced Senate Bill 954, the Jobs Protection Act.
What SB 954 will do is send legislation deemed to have an adverse impact on business to a “suspense file,” where it will be considered in a special hearing with other measures that add burdens to the state’s business community. This is the so-called reality check liberal do-gooders need to actually understand the practical impact lofty policies ideas can have on jobs and communities.
The global recession is a convenient scapegoat for California’s economic ills — and certainly a factor — but overregulation has been driving businesses out of for years, and taking the good jobs with them. A recent study by the Milken Institute attributes the loss of 79,000 manufacturing jobs to high taxes and overregulation between 2003 and 2007 alone.
