To the editor: I am concerned about Governor Gavin Newsom's plan to tap into the state's emergency fund to help close the projected $37.9 billion budget shortfall. We need this fund for natural disasters or recessions, not a standard drop in income.
While I am in favor of our wealthiest residents paying high taxes, we need other reliable sources of income when taxes from investments decline.
A tax on services is the best option to level out our tax revenues. I'm quite willing to pay an additional tax when I get a haircut, consult a lawyer or tax accountant, and even when I take my beloved dog to the vet.
I know these taxes would not be popular, but they are progressive in the sense that people with higher incomes are more likely to use these services than people struggling paycheck to paycheck. The current alternatives of cutting human services and raiding the emergency fund are irresponsible.
Bruce Hirsch, Culver City
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To the editor: As a concerned physician, I heard no specific mention of the benefits the new budget has for seniors who are becoming homeless faster than any other age group. Additionally, rising out-of-pocket costs for healthcare and medications are rapidly shrinking seniors' pockets.
One solution could be to impose a severance tax, as many other states have done, on companies that extract natural resources such as oil or natural gas. A small number of states do not impose this tax and California is one of them.
Many legislative attempts have been made over the decades, but they have been defeated at the behest of corporate lobbyists. Maybe it's time we try again.
Gene Dorio, Saugus
