California small business owners saw a mixed bag in Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent release of his 2018-2019 budget proposal in January.
The $190 billion spending proposal features a boost for the Rainy-Day Fund to the constitutional maximum.
“In 2011, we faced ‘a tough budget for tough times,’” Gov. Brown wrote in a Jan. 10 letter to the Senate and Assembly of the California Legislature, according to the Signal Tribune. “We cut spending, the economy recovered and voters approved tax increases. The $27-billion deficit became a solid surplus. In recent years, I have warned of an inevitable recession lurking in our future, which thankfully has not yet arrived. Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant and not let rosy statistics lull us into believing that economic downturns are a relic of the past. Fiscal restraints are needed more than ever as California approaches the peak of the business cycle.”
While the Rainy-Day Fund boost is welcome, according to NFIB California Policy & Communications Director Shawn Lewis, the proposal does little else for small business owners.
“Gov. Brown proposed a record-setting $190-billion budget while offering no reforms or relief for small-business owners,” wrote NFIB California Policy & Communications Director Shawn Lewis. “While we applaud the governor for investing additional dollars into our Rainy-Day Fund, much more can be done immediately to support struggling small businesses and the working families who operate them.”
