Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to allocate a total package of $10 billion into affordable and clean cars, trucks and buses leaves at least one category of voters unimpressed.
“We should not disparage or eliminate our focus on a responsible way to take advantage of petroleum and gas usage,” said John Kabateck, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) California state director. “There's a way to do it that's clean and responsible but we should not completely pivot away from such ample reserves that have been helping business communities and public service. Let's just find a more responsible way to do it.”
Gov. Newsom announced his proposed 2022-2023 state budget on Monday.
“Our Sacramento politicians have never met a tax dollar they didn't like,” Kabateck told the Southern California Record. “We have constantly seen irresponsible, reckless, if not illegal, methods of diverting tax dollars to special projects. The state government coffers in their eyes can never be fat enough and, unfortunately, small businesses and working families are the ones that feed that.”
The proposed budget, also known as the California Blueprint, includes $2 billion for mental health housing and services and clearing encampments, according to a press release, and repaying unemployment insurance debt.
“The commitment to paying down the interest of the unemployment insurance, which is about $146 million dollars, and committing $3 billion a year in succession over multiple years to help pay this down is a great step but we still believe that the most important thing we can do is pay that off as soon as possible because ultimately that does result in a hit to workers and small business payrolls,” Kabateck said. “So, the sooner they can get that behind us, the less reliant they will be on raising taxes.”
The independent Legislative Analyst's Office estimates the state has a $31 billion surplus, according to media reports, and with such a surplus, the NFIB would like to see more earmarked to pay down the unemployment insurance debt, according to Kabateck.
“We still have a long way to go and with our coffers so flush, we think they could have made a bigger commitment,” he said. “We believe they have the opportunity to make a bigger commitment.”
Kabateck lauded Gov. Newsom for allocating funds for small business technical assistance and COVID relief.
The budget proposal includes $2.7 billion to respond to COVID-19 of which $1.4 billion is earmarked to boost testing, accelerate vaccination, support frontline workers and battle disinformation.