Treasurer Bill Lockeyer issued a written statement today, and you can practically hear the tone in his voice: (h/t John Myers)
"With every passing day, the State's credit rating moves closer and closer to the junk pile. If the Governor and Legislature dump us on that pile, they will end indefinitely the State's financial ability to build schools, highways, levees -- all the critical public works we need to rebuild California. If our credit rating sinks to junk status, the State will find the door to the infrastructure bond market locked shut.
"If we're denied the ability to sell bonds, financing for infrastructure projects will cease. It won't slow. It will stop. Many thousands of California workers will lose their jobs. Thousands of businesses will lose billions of dollars in revenue. At the precise moment our best economic recovery effort is most needed, we will fail.
Now, you would think this is an equal castigation of all parties. And I think that is the spirit in which it was intended. However, Lockyer did dip into Arnold's bag of tricks on the question of dealing with non-budgeting issues.
I ask them to stop devoting energy to any issue that does not directly relate to closing this year's budget gap without adding to out-year liabilities. Give Californians and the world a pleasant surprise, for once: Balance the budget now, and get back to the work of getting our state back to work.
Note to Lockyer: there are 120 legislators. About 10-20% of those legislators are tied up full-time with budget stuff. There are other serious issues that need to be dealt with, ignoring them doesn't make them any less real. |
