What Should You Do If Anne Gust Brown Yells At You?

By Gene Maddaus Fri., Apr. 1 2011 at 12:07 PM

UPI / Aaron Kehoe

Anne Gust Brown and Gov. Jerry Brown

Sen. Bob Dutton, the Senate minority leader, complained yesterday that Gov. Jerry Brown's wife, Anne Gust Brown, yelled at him during closed-door budget meetings.

"I was yelled at more than I was talked to," Dutton said. "And mostly by Mrs. Brown, not even by the governor."

The reason for the yelling, presumably, was Dutton's seven-page list of demands -- which included things like hacking up CEQA and doing away with teacher seniority.

But whatever the reason, it raises an etiquette question: What should you do if the governor's wife yells at you?

Sen. Bob Dutton

Option 1: Call a press conference to complain about it. Upside: Good chance to vent. Downside: Looks like whining.

Option 2: Calmly and patiently explain why no commercial, residential or mixed-use project that can reasonably be characterized as "urban infill" should be subject to environmental review. Upside: Developers will love you. Downside: Not cathartic.

Option 3: Yell back. Upside: Catharsis! Downside: Might not get invited to the next soiree on the Delta King.

Option 4: Man up. Upside: It's what Reagan would have done. Downside: The world will never know your pain.

Tags:

Anne Gust Brown, Bob Dutton, budget, Jerry Brown

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Guest

No, we also have a tax problem: for instance, an individual who makes $999,000 per year pays the same state income tax rate as someone who makes $47,500. There is only one tax bracket for that entire range. You don't have to be on the far left to think that an individual making $999,000 per year should pay a somewhat higher percentage in taxes than someone making $47,500.

Also, the "everyone takes the same haircut" approach makes no sense. Some things that government does are more important than other things. Cutbacks should be targeted to the things that can be reduced with the fewest negative consequences. Brown seems to me to be trying to do exactly that.

Frequently overtaxed

A better question would be why does the highest tax rate kick in at a mere $47k? This clearly penalizes the average taxpayer who is struggling to make ends meet. Yes, by all means, revise the CA tax code so that the highest tax rate doesn't kick in at such a low level, and provide some tax relief for the average middle-class taxpayer. But clearly there is a spending problem, and many state programs need to be overhauled to provide accountability.

If the legislature and the governor continue to refuse to moderate the unions' demands and the taxpayer is mandated to make-up any shortfall in pension funds (as recently occurred), fiscal fiasco is destined to turn into fiscal tragedy and a complete breakdown of the California economy.

Unhappy taxpayer

If anyone deserves to be yelled at, it's Jerry Brown. He still doesn't get it. NO TAX EXTENSIONS, NO NEW TAXES, NO NEW PROGRAMS. We have a spending problem, not a tax problem. Everyone takes a haircut- 20% across the board- teachers, prison guards, nurses and other seiu union members, and all public pension programs. If you don't like it, move your butts out of the state and give the CA taxpayer real relief. Update 3/25/11, CA Unemployment rate: 12.2%!!!