Small Business Reacts to Governor Brown’s Final State of the State
Disappointed by glaring omission of small business from speech
SACRAMENTO, Calif., January 25, 2018 – Following Governor Jerry Brown’s final State of the State address, NFIB California State Director John Kabateck issued the following statement on behalf of our 22,000 dues-paying small business members:
“With California being ranked the worst state in which to do business more than 10 years in a row, home to the nation’s highest income tax, sales tax, gas tax, and one of the most hostile legal climates, NFIB/CA was troubled to hear more about high-speed rail and the Governor’s commitment to do ‘everything in his power’ to protect the recent gas tax increase, while failing to mention small business even once in his speech.
“While we appreciate the Governor’s rhetoric and tone toward fiscal restraint and responsibility, we wish to see more policies to support these words, rather than more taxes and spending. Although the Governor’s final State of the State address left much to be desired for small business, we hope to provide the insights of our 22,000 small business members to the Governor and Legislature in the year ahead.”
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB has 325,000 dues-paying members nationally, with over 22,000 in California. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America's economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. To learn more visit www.NFIB.com/california
SENATOR GAINES RESPONDS TO GOVERNOR BROWN’S 2018 STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
SACRAMENTO – Senator Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado) today reacted to Governor Jerry Brown’s 2018 State of the State address, which he delivered to a joint session of the Legislature and the people of California this morning.
“I’m glad that the state’s revenues are still healthy, but that will mean nothing if we don’t get our spending priorities straight and cut spending overall. Any bit of fiscal news that sounds promising for the state completely ignores the massive, looming catastrophe that is our public pension system. Our unfunded liability could be half a trillion dollars – trillion, not billion. That money we owe won’t get us anything new – not another road or dam or officer patrolling the streets. It’s for services we’ve already consumed. This debt won’t go away by ignoring it, and the Governor should develop a concrete plan to pay it down and rein in runaway pension benefits.
“High Speed Rail is the first transportation system to run entirely on taxpayer money, a miracle fuel that Governor Brown imagines never runs out. The ‘train to nowhere’ is such a colossal waste of cash that could be used to repair our crumbling roads or invest in our universities or any one of a thousand other, better uses.
“California has the highest poverty rate in the nation because the state is so expensive. Taxpayers will foot the bill for High Speed Rail, but they also pay electricity rates that are almost 50-percent higher than the national average. Our gas taxes just shot up by twelve-cents a gallon with more major increases to come. Our absurd housing costs are unaffordable to vast swaths of people. Those costs are the results of policy decisions by liberal legislators and the Governor.
“The federal government cut taxes to put money back into families’ pockets. California is proposing to double the state corporate tax and creating gimmicky tax schemes to keep personal taxes high. It never ends. Maybe it’s time the Golden State takes a lesson from the new Washington, D.C.”
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Senator Ted Gaines represents the 1st Senate District, which includes all or parts of Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties. Follow him on Facebook.
Assembly Republican Leader Dahle Responds to State of the State
SACRAMENTO – Today, Assembly Republican Leader Brian Dahle (Bieber) released the following statement in response to Governor Brown’s State of the State Address:
“Five years ago, I came to the Legislature to make sure my family and friends could afford a better life in California. Today, while California is on the verge of becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, the state’s skyrocketing cost of living and highest-in-the-nation poverty rate prove that there is a lot of work left to do.
“Our leaders must remember that California is not just made of tech billionaires. We have to pay attention to the working-class people who are struggling to find the money for day-to-day necessities. We need to make California a state that ordinary people can afford.”
Assembly Republican Leader Brian Dahle serves the 1st district.
Assemblyman Harper Responds to
Governor’s State of the State Address
SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) issued the following statement in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address:
"I appreciated Governor Brown’s thanks to our first-responders. As California suffered last year from terrible natural disasters, including devastating forest fires and deadly mudslides, it was our police and firefighters who answered the call to protect others, even as their own homes were in the path of danger.
In his final State of the State address, I was hopeful that he would put the brakes on high-speed rail. With a price tag of more than $60 billion and no completion date in sight, it is time to focus on real transportation solutions. Californians are paying the highest gas prices in the nation and not seeing any improvements on our roads. We should use transportation funds to add lanes to reduce traffic on our congested freeways and make it easier for hard-working Californians to get to their jobs.
While Governor Brown painted the picture of California’s economic prosperity, most Californians are struggling to live here. My legislative priority for 2018 will be to lower taxes and support bills that streamline building regulations to help reduce housing costs. I look forward to working with the Governor to make California a more affordable place to live. ”
Assemblyman Matthew Harper represents the 74th Assembly District; he is the former Mayor of the City of Huntington Beach. The 74th Assembly District includes the cities of Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods & Laguna Beach.
Disappointed by glaring omission of small business from speech
SACRAMENTO, Calif., January 25, 2018 – Following Governor Jerry Brown’s final State of the State address, NFIB California State Director John Kabateck issued the following statement on behalf of our 22,000 dues-paying small business members:
“With California being ranked the worst state in which to do business more than 10 years in a row, home to the nation’s highest income tax, sales tax, gas tax, and one of the most hostile legal climates, NFIB/CA was troubled to hear more about high-speed rail and the Governor’s commitment to do ‘everything in his power’ to protect the recent gas tax increase, while failing to mention small business even once in his speech.
“While we appreciate the Governor’s rhetoric and tone toward fiscal restraint and responsibility, we wish to see more policies to support these words, rather than more taxes and spending. Although the Governor’s final State of the State address left much to be desired for small business, we hope to provide the insights of our 22,000 small business members to the Governor and Legislature in the year ahead.”
###
For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB has 325,000 dues-paying members nationally, with over 22,000 in California. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America's economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. To learn more visit www.NFIB.com/california
SENATOR GAINES RESPONDS TO GOVERNOR BROWN’S 2018 STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
SACRAMENTO – Senator Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado) today reacted to Governor Jerry Brown’s 2018 State of the State address, which he delivered to a joint session of the Legislature and the people of California this morning.
“I’m glad that the state’s revenues are still healthy, but that will mean nothing if we don’t get our spending priorities straight and cut spending overall. Any bit of fiscal news that sounds promising for the state completely ignores the massive, looming catastrophe that is our public pension system. Our unfunded liability could be half a trillion dollars – trillion, not billion. That money we owe won’t get us anything new – not another road or dam or officer patrolling the streets. It’s for services we’ve already consumed. This debt won’t go away by ignoring it, and the Governor should develop a concrete plan to pay it down and rein in runaway pension benefits.
“High Speed Rail is the first transportation system to run entirely on taxpayer money, a miracle fuel that Governor Brown imagines never runs out. The ‘train to nowhere’ is such a colossal waste of cash that could be used to repair our crumbling roads or invest in our universities or any one of a thousand other, better uses.
“California has the highest poverty rate in the nation because the state is so expensive. Taxpayers will foot the bill for High Speed Rail, but they also pay electricity rates that are almost 50-percent higher than the national average. Our gas taxes just shot up by twelve-cents a gallon with more major increases to come. Our absurd housing costs are unaffordable to vast swaths of people. Those costs are the results of policy decisions by liberal legislators and the Governor.
“The federal government cut taxes to put money back into families’ pockets. California is proposing to double the state corporate tax and creating gimmicky tax schemes to keep personal taxes high. It never ends. Maybe it’s time the Golden State takes a lesson from the new Washington, D.C.”
# # #
Senator Ted Gaines represents the 1st Senate District, which includes all or parts of Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties. Follow him on Facebook.
Assembly Republican Leader Dahle Responds to State of the State
SACRAMENTO – Today, Assembly Republican Leader Brian Dahle (Bieber) released the following statement in response to Governor Brown’s State of the State Address:
“Five years ago, I came to the Legislature to make sure my family and friends could afford a better life in California. Today, while California is on the verge of becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, the state’s skyrocketing cost of living and highest-in-the-nation poverty rate prove that there is a lot of work left to do.
“Our leaders must remember that California is not just made of tech billionaires. We have to pay attention to the working-class people who are struggling to find the money for day-to-day necessities. We need to make California a state that ordinary people can afford.”
Assembly Republican Leader Brian Dahle serves the 1st district.
Assemblyman Harper Responds to
Governor’s State of the State Address
SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) issued the following statement in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address:
"I appreciated Governor Brown’s thanks to our first-responders. As California suffered last year from terrible natural disasters, including devastating forest fires and deadly mudslides, it was our police and firefighters who answered the call to protect others, even as their own homes were in the path of danger.
In his final State of the State address, I was hopeful that he would put the brakes on high-speed rail. With a price tag of more than $60 billion and no completion date in sight, it is time to focus on real transportation solutions. Californians are paying the highest gas prices in the nation and not seeing any improvements on our roads. We should use transportation funds to add lanes to reduce traffic on our congested freeways and make it easier for hard-working Californians to get to their jobs.
While Governor Brown painted the picture of California’s economic prosperity, most Californians are struggling to live here. My legislative priority for 2018 will be to lower taxes and support bills that streamline building regulations to help reduce housing costs. I look forward to working with the Governor to make California a more affordable place to live. ”
Assemblyman Matthew Harper represents the 74th Assembly District; he is the former Mayor of the City of Huntington Beach. The 74th Assembly District includes the cities of Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods & Laguna Beach.
