On Wednesday evening, just after dinner, we sat down with the 2012 California Budget Challenge, worked our way through the detailed income and expense options provided, and balanced the state budget, with a $4.2 billion surplus, in about 20 minutes.
I just balanced the budget, all by myself, right now. Heck, I balanced it with a $6 billion surplus. Of course, I didn't have to negotiate with anyone or win any votes. All I had to do was take the California Budget Challenge, put together by the nonprofit Next 10.
A majority of California voters (52 percent) back an equal mix of spending cuts and tax increases in order to balance the state’s budget shortfall, which stands at more than $9 billion, according to a recent survey paid for by the nonpartisan organization Next 10 and conducted by the Field Research Corporation.
With our state currently facing a more than $9 billion budget shortfall, most Californians say a solution that mixes spending cuts and tax hikes strikes the right balance. According to a new poll commissioned by Next 10 and conducted by Field Research Corporation, 52 percent favor this kind of even-handed approach -- making up half the difference by shrinking spending, and the other half by boosting taxes.
Next 10, a nonpartisan policy organization based in San Francisco, has released an online simulator where residents can try their hand at balancing the state budget. Users decide how much to spend on education, prisons and healthcare, then they choose whether to raise or lower taxes.
A recent poll commissioned by Next 10 and conducted by the Field Research Corporation found 52 percent of Californians would use a mix of spending cuts and tax increases to close the state’s $9 billion budget gap.
The Alameda Budget Challenge, launched in partnership with Next 10, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, is live online now. Use it to cut or increase spending to key departments including police, fire, recreation and parks, public works and library. Raise taxes: sales, utility or hotel.
