California governor vetoes state budget
LOS ANGELES, CA (BDCi) – Governor Jerry Brown vetoed on Thursday (16) a democratic budget plan and insisted that the state choose between extending tax hikes or making deep spending cuts to solve long-term fiscal problems.
“California is facing a fiscal crisis and very strong medicine must be taken,” Brown said in a video address explaining later that the state needed to address a “wall of debt”.
Brown, 73, returned to lead the state three decades after his first stint as governor and is fond of saying that “breakdown” can pave the way for “breakthrough” in politics.
“Today I have vetoed the California state budget. I do so reluctantly but with clear purpose. For a decade the can has been kicked down the road and debt has piled up,” Brown said in a video posted on YouTube.
Brown’s position has been that tax hikes should be extended for a few years or spending would have to be slashed. He urged Republicans to allow a state-wide vote on extending tax hikes.
Senate Republicans had been negotiating with Brown on his preferred plan, which would include a fall election on higher taxes. They want pension changes and a limit on future state spending in return for their support, and Brown has said he is willing to go along. But the Republicans say they have not met with the governor for more than a week.
By: Adrianna Lobo Source: Reuters & LA Times Photo: Reuters
June 16, 2011