Would Pete Wilson run for governor against Jerry Brown if term limits did not deny that opportunity? “Hell, yes,” the former California governor said firmly, when asked that question by Fox and Hounds Daily contributor Joe Mathews before an audience earlier in the week. Wilson is the only Republican to defeat Brown in a statewide contest when both ran for the United States Senate in 1982.
Wilson attended a Zocalo Public Square event moderated by Mathews at Santa Monica’s RAND Corporation on Monday. During the one-hour discussion, Wilson relived the difficult early days of his governorship, which are eerily similar to California’s current circumstances.
Dealing with a budget deficit that equaled about one-third of the entire budget, Wilson agreed to equally cut spending and raise taxes, although he said he warned Democratic leaders the taxes would not bring in the revenue expected from the tax increase. For three budget years following the tax increase, Wilson said, the revenue was lower than the previous year.
Wilson argued the only thing worse than raising taxes was deficit spending, which he refused to do, claiming such an action leads to utter irresponsibility.
Facing not only budget shortfalls, natural disasters and other crises of biblical proportions, Wilson led the state through trying times in the early 1990s. “Timing is everything,” he said, “and mine was rotten.”
Wilson continually returned to the notion of improving the business climate as a way for raising the needed revenue for government. He especially emphasized the role of small business. “Small business, collectively, is the major employer in the state,” he said.
Using the time of his governorship as a mirror for contemporary times, Wilson argued that raising taxes any more than what was done in the previous year would discourage economic growth, especially for small business. He would not do so after approving the initial tax increase and implied taxes should not be raised again now after the February tax increases.
The image of California as indifferent or hostile to business and job creation was a hurdle for Wilson that also exists today. He said he finally convinced some Democratic legislators of that notion when they heard from business people who were fleeing California’s tough business climate.
Wilson argued it took him six years to change the business environment but in the end that allowed him to leave office with a balanced budget in place.