Create Private Sector Jobs
Three-Point Plan for Reviving our Economy
Creating an atmosphere for private sector job growth should be the number one priority of our state legislature. However, our elected representatives have been more concerned with returning favors to public employee unions and other special interests than the well being of their constituents and this once great state.
The state of California has an unemployment rate of 11% which is the highest since the Great Depression and in some of our local communities it exceeds 30%.
To correct this dire situation we must implement a three point action plan.
1. Cut Government Spending
Our incompetent state legislature is poised to spend about $25 billion more this year than the tax revenue they take in. Over the last ten years California taxpayers have paid a whopping 71% increase in taxes to the state government – and yet it is not enough. During the same time frame the state has spent an additional 80% on non- education expenditures. In fact, over the last ten years, welfare costs have increased 107% and corrections' costs have increased 125%.
Specifically:
State Employee Compensation- We must renegotiate public employee contracts to achieve a minimum of a 15% reduction in compensation. This would save the taxpayers $2.79 billion and put government workers compensation more in alignment with economic reality. The alternative is to furlough 15% of the state employees.
Welfare- We have 12% of the nation’s population, but 30% of the nation’s welfare recipients. In fact we have three times the national average of welfare recipients. We must impose a lifetime welfare limit of 5 years that other states have adopted. We must enforce the welfare work requirements because only 22% of California welfare recipients are in compliance. Further, $3 billion per year is lost due to fraud in the Food Stamps, Medi-Cal and Cal WORKS programs. More than 42% of California’s taxpayer- funded, Medi-Cal births are to illegal immigrant mothers. Every month, $37 million in welfare and food stamps goes to illegal immigrants in Los Angeles alone.
Prisons- We could save $5 billion per year if California ran its prisons like other states. An inmate in California costs the taxpayer $49,000 which is twice the cost in other states. Annual health care costs for a prisoner have increased from $2,700 in 1995 to over $11,000 today for the state’s 171,000 inmates. Other states spend an average of $6,000 per inmate on healthcare. Another, $1 billion a year could be saved if illegal immigrant prisoners were not in our prisons.
2. Eliminate Stifling Regulations
Ridiculous regulations are strangling private sector job creation. A prime example is the regulatory assault on our local oil and agriculture industries.
The man-made drought is caused by unrealistic environmental regulations and a rogue judicial ruling concerning the 3” delta smelt bait fish which is trampling the ability of farmers to plant and hire employees. The oil industry could be drilling from existing platforms off the Santa Barbara coast if it were not for overzealous environmentalists. This restriction is a job killer and prevents the state from collecting $100 million in new tax revenue.
Other examples:
Workers’ Compensation- If California laws were the same as Arizona’s laws we could save $2.5 billion a year.
Tort Reform- A cap on non-economic damages which is 24% of all lawsuit costs would provide a more predicable lawsuit environment and not run employers out of the state.
Prevailing Wage- If California had its prevailing wage in conformance with the federal Davis-Bacon Act on state construction projects instead of inflated by 30%, we could save $1 billion per year.
Labor Reform- California should align its labor laws to allow employers to negotiate with their employees for flexible schedules and align workplace rules with national standards.
3. Reduce Punitive Taxes
Californians pay among the highest taxes in the country and more taxes is not the answer. The latest tax proposal entitled the Oil Severance Tax is a sure job killer here in Kern County. Any accelerating of business and income tax quarterly payments will also make California unattractive for new jobs.
We need a reduction in the tax burden across the board. Personal income taxes, sales taxes and the corporate tax rates should all be reduced.
To make California a job generator rather than a job killer we need to embrace a limited government model and drastically cut government spending, eliminate stifling regulations, and reduce punitive taxation.
Upon election to the State Assembly I will view all proposed legislation through this 3- point prism. There is no greater priority in these current economic times, than restoring the fiscal health of the world's eighth largest economy, reversing incredibly damaging regulations on businesses and putting individuals back to work. The enormous debt burden we have placed on our children and grandchildren must be addressed and eliminated. Anything short of that intense focus is failure by our generation.
