Villines on budget gap
California must live within it means. Over the last 4 years, revenues have grown by 40%, but spending has grown by 44% in the same time period. We can not continue to spend more money than we bring in. Our state clearly has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Our budget crisis was not caused by a lack of revenues, but years of overspending. Every day, California families are forced to live within a budget and find ways to reduce spending when times get tight, so should their government. Tax increases are not the answer. At a time when the price of gas and groceries is up and home values are down, the last thing people need is higher taxes. We can close the gap by making the tough decisions to reduce spending and live within our means. That should be coupled with meaningful budget reform that will prevent us from getting into budget crisis like this in the future.
We must work together, Republicans and Democrats, to reduce wasteful government spending and get California back on track.