All other things are not equal in California

California’s ongoing budget problem brings with it an endless supply of commentary and proposed fixes. Not long ago, I wrote that California now has a revenue problem. Long before that, I wrote The New Conservative Paradigm that suggested that we need a true part-time legislature, 2 year budget cycles, a true budget cap, pension reform, sun setting of programs, zero based funding and cost/benefit analyses for all spending programs – to name just a few necessary reforms.
The tax issue, as readers of my columns well know, is of particular concern to me. Simply stated, the California tax burden is too high – which, when combined with the national tax burden, the 2nd highest in our history – ensures that the California economy will be slow for years to come.
In light of that, I took great interest in Dan Walters’ column in yesterday’s Sacramento Bee entitled: Are California taxes too high or too low? Walters cites a study which says that California had the 6th highest state tax burden in 2008. Of course, that means California is not the worst. But Walters’ column does not tell the whole story that we need to know. Here is why: