Governor Jerry Brown and legislative leaders want to ask
voters to approve some kind of new revenue source in
November 2012. But tax supporters can't seem to find the
right combination yet - and time is running out.
Picking the right tax is a bit of a conundrum for Senate Budget Committee Chair Mark Leno:
Leno: "Those that would bring in the most money, of course, do attract the most resistance and opposition."
In fact, to many Democrats, it seems like every tax proposal has its downside. Sales and income taxes aren't popular with voters. Taxing oil companies and rich people are more popular, but neither would bring in enough money.
Vogel: "There is still a lot of - not really disagreement - it's just that everybody's pitching their own idea."
California Teachers Association President Dean Vogel says he's trying to get lawmakers and interest groups on the same page.
Vogel: "If we've got two or three different groups running two or three different initiatives, it's gonna be confusing, and people are gonna be uncertain about which one's the best avenue. And when people are uncertain, they typically just vote no."
Governor Brown has said finding $10 billion in additional taxes makes a lot of sense. But last week, he said he wasn't ready to discuss what they'd look like.
Brown: "I do have some ideas, but I want to think them through before just speaking off the top of my head without really thinking - what kind of revenue or what kind of taxes would make sense, and who would support it, who would oppose it, and what's the likelihood of it actually getting into place."
USC political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe says Democrats would benefit if the governor took a leading role in the tax discussion.
Bebitch Jeffe: "He is not using his bully pulpit one way or another to help determine the direction in which labor might go, in which he might be able to persuade the California electorate."
Revenue supporters will have to start the lengthy process of qualifying a ballot measure in the next several weeks.
Picking the right tax is a bit of a conundrum for Senate Budget Committee Chair Mark Leno:
Leno: "Those that would bring in the most money, of course, do attract the most resistance and opposition."
In fact, to many Democrats, it seems like every tax proposal has its downside. Sales and income taxes aren't popular with voters. Taxing oil companies and rich people are more popular, but neither would bring in enough money.
Vogel: "There is still a lot of - not really disagreement - it's just that everybody's pitching their own idea."
California Teachers Association President Dean Vogel says he's trying to get lawmakers and interest groups on the same page.
Vogel: "If we've got two or three different groups running two or three different initiatives, it's gonna be confusing, and people are gonna be uncertain about which one's the best avenue. And when people are uncertain, they typically just vote no."
Governor Brown has said finding $10 billion in additional taxes makes a lot of sense. But last week, he said he wasn't ready to discuss what they'd look like.
Brown: "I do have some ideas, but I want to think them through before just speaking off the top of my head without really thinking - what kind of revenue or what kind of taxes would make sense, and who would support it, who would oppose it, and what's the likelihood of it actually getting into place."
USC political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe says Democrats would benefit if the governor took a leading role in the tax discussion.
Bebitch Jeffe: "He is not using his bully pulpit one way or another to help determine the direction in which labor might go, in which he might be able to persuade the California electorate."
Revenue supporters will have to start the lengthy process of qualifying a ballot measure in the next several weeks.
