LOS ANGELES, CA - California State Treasurer and Democratic nominee for Governor Phil Angelides and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner today held a town hall meeting in Los Angeles. At the town hall, Angelides and Warner discussed Angelides' plan to renew the promise of California and put the state back on the side of middle class families.
"It's time for a Governor who stands up for middle class families, not the special interests," said Angelides. "As Governor, I'll give a break to students and hard-working, middle class families for a change. I'll cut taxes for middle class families and small businesses and I'll roll back Governor Schwarzenegger's tuition and fee increases."
Angelides' plan, Renewing the Promise of California: The Angelides Plan to Build a Better Future for California and Middle Class Families, includes investments in education, infrastructure and renewable energy; expanded lending and lower taxes for small businesses, and $788 million of tax relief for hard working middle class families earning less than $100,000 a year.
"When I took office as Governor of Virginia in 2001, my state was facing many of the same struggles that California faces now," said Governor Warner. "We had inherited budget deficits that eventually totaled $6 billion, the state was unable to meet its commitments to schools, health care, and other core services, and Wall Street was about to downgrade our Triple A bond rating, which saddles our children with more debt. We made tough cuts, smart reforms, and our tax code fairer--and Californians can too under the leadership of Phil Angelides."
Angelides also discussed the Bush/Schwarzenegger index which contrasts the higher taxes paid by an average middle class family of four with one child attending a California State University with the record profits earned by oil companies, HMOs and drug companies. Since Arnold Schwarzenegger took office, the average family pays $4,422 more per year due to increased college, healthcare and fuel costs. At the same time, HMOs, drug and oil companies earn $556 million a day.
"Washington and California have both been in fiscal meltdown, and aren't meeting their commitments to our people," Governor Warner added. "I think it's time for a change, and I know Phil Angelides is the person who can lead California in a new direction."
View a PDF highlighting the plan here.
