The L.A. Times reported Oct. 6 that the Fisher family — the heirs to right-wing power-broker Don Fisher’s GAP fortune — is set to get a $20 million tax break in the new state budget. It’s astonishing, and an example of how the backroom budget process is utterly corrupt.
From what I hear in Sacramento, the proposal came from the Republicans, although so far, nobody outside the small circle of budget dealmakers knows exactly which legislator or lobbyist pushed the issue. And it now appears, I’m told, that the tax break won’t be in the main budget; it will be addressed later in the week, as part of another bill.
But it’s not going to be easy to defeat — there are plenty of Democrats who support the deal, in part because the Fisher family is saving some old-growth redwoods.
But please: This is one of the richest families in America. These folks don’t need a $20 million handout from the state of California.