Budget for a better California

The state budget is the most powerful tool California has in

fighting poverty and improving the lives of our people.

It provides a framework for us to strengthen the middle class.

As chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, it is a priority

for me to make state government more accessible to

you. That is why I am hosting a budget Town Hall Meeting

in our community where you have the power to vote on budget

priorities and to see how spending decisions are made

before the state budget is inked.

Please join me at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 11, at the

County Fair Building (Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way) in Golden Gate Park.

Headlines from Washington D.C. are daily reminders that

we live in strange and scary times. But our state budget is a

great way for us to show our power, fight back and preserve

our values. This was the basic approach I took when releasing

my state budget blueprint last December. It focuses on

protecting California’s finances from new threats coming

from Washington while aspiring to build a more prosperous

and inclusive state by fighting poverty with an

Earned Income Tax Credit expansion and moving towards

debt-free college.

Our budget boils down to this; we must protect our state

and its people from discriminatory, harmful policies as we

persist onward with ambitious, progressive investments in our

values. Our job is to show the nation that another, better way

of governing is possible.

California has so much to be proud of. We have the sixth

largest economy in the world, we invest in the success and

security of our people, and we have a balanced budget with

strong reserves. This didn’t happen by accident. It took

hard work from all of us.

Consider these state budget milestones since the end of the

recent recession. We have invested 50 percent more in education,

created scholarships to cut tuition costs up to 40 percent

at our public universities, increased the minimum wage

and put it on a path to $15 per hour, and expanded access to

child care for working families.

We have also brought health care to millions of

Californians through implementing Obamacare.

Now, Republicans seek to repeal Obamacare and cause

millions of Americans to lose their health care. Whatever

happens in Washington, we need a plan to move this state

forward. We can’t govern by asking a Magic 8 Ball to predict

Washington’s off-the-wall actions.

Voters sent a clear message last November when approving

three taxes on the state ballot. They want more investment

in education, health care and infrastructure. Over the next few months,

as the legislature concludes the budget by June 15, my focus

will be on investing in infrastructure and job creation,

fighting poverty and homelessness, and increasing access to education.

I look forward to hearing from you about how to fit

these pieces of the budget together and send a message.

California is not backing down. We are leading the way

forward on our values. We will protect what we have and persist

onward.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District.