LEGISLATOR-BACKED TAX INCREASES WON'T SOLVE STATE'S WOES.

Byline: Jon Coupal Local View

ON Tuesday, Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, became the first Republican legislator to propose tax increases to ``solve'' the current budget crisis.

Taxpayers have a right to be disappointed.

Along with Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla, D-Martinez, Richman is proposing a five-year sales-tax increase as well as conceding an increase in the dreaded car tax, also known as the Vehicle License Fee.

The good news is that only these two legislators support the proposal, and it is unlikely to garner any support from other Republican members, who are serious about their ``no tax increase'' pledge.

There will be some who will rush to praise the ``courage'' of these lawmakers who have stepped forward, in contradiction of their party leaders, to offer a compromise.

After all, Richman has said that it is the ``extremes'' of both parties that are driving the current budget debate.

However, the self-congratulatory air of Richman and Canciamilla ignores a very basic fact: It is lawmakers themselves, who, with considerable help from the governor, put the state in dire straits, and it is the citizens of California who are being coerced into paying for the Legislature's deliberate and irresponsible actions.

Rather than being a noble compromise, this proposal is more like the homeowner who, upon catching a burglar going out the window, allows the criminal to keep half the swag.

Ultimately, the Richman/Canciamilla plan, and any other proposal that raises taxes, hits taxpayers who are already reeling from the declining state economy.

Any plan that raises taxes ignores the fact that state government spent its way through $28 billion in surpluses in the first three years of the Davis administration.

Those who make these tax increase proposals forget that government has less because taxpayers have less.

But even if the taxpayers' plight were not a part of the equation, there is an even more ominous underlying threat posed by any increase in taxes.

If Sacramento develops new sources of revenue, this will reduce the need for immediate fiscal discipline.

If lawmakers come to believe that they will be bailed out, no matter how extravagant their spending, the incentive to reform will be eliminated.

Think things can't get any worse? Just try raising the limit on Sacramento's credit card and see what you get.

Already, the state enjoys the nation's lowest credit rating. If the trend continues, state bonds will soon achieve junk status.

There is a simple and direct solution to California's fiscal problem, although it too will result in pain for the state's residents.

In February, 43 prominent California economists signed a letter recommending spending restraint and the implementation of policies yielding enhanced economic growth and a larger tax base.

Tax increases are counterproductive, they said, and the tax burden, over the long term, must be reduced.

State representatives would be wise to listen to this advice. This will take real courage.