Brown pitches budget plan, tax hikes to businesses
Published: Thursday, June 2, 2011 11:36 PDT© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
SACRAMENTO -
Gov. Jerry Brown said Thursday that he thinks he can find a "zone of agreement" on the gridlocked state budget that will be good for both conservative-leaning business leaders and Democrats who want to spend more on California's schools and social programs, despite the natural tension between the two sides.
Brown told about 1,200 business leaders from around California that he is pushing back against fellow Democrats who want to spend freely without considering the state's financial woes. But he also urged conservative-leaning business leaders to consider those who rely on state-funded social welfare programs.
"I have to tell my Democratic friends that yes, business has to create the wealth. We have to get real here, that every ill can't be matched with a trial attorney seeking benefits and fees. ... And on the other hand, we have to tell business that we're all in it together, and we're all Californians," Brown told a crowd at the Chamber of Commerce's annual Host Breakfast in Sacramento.
Brown is pushing his proposal for a special election on extending temporary increases in the state's sales, income and vehicle taxes. He needs two Republican votes in each house of the state Legislature, and so far has been unable to persuade enough GOP members.
The governor has signed into law about $11.2 billion in cuts and fund transfers approved by the Legislature, but the state still faces a $9.6 billion budget shortfall through June 2012.
"There is a zone of potential agreement, and that's what I'm looking for," Brown said. "And I have to tell you, pushing back the Republicans is just about as difficult as pushing back the Democrats. I'm glad that I've come here in my declining years to give it the college try."
The governor joked that he was surprised by supportive comments from the chairman of the board of the GOP-leaning chamber.
"I'm a little unused to this `We're getting behind Gov. Brown,'" he joked. "I don't quite believe it yet."
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