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Posted on 11/17/2003 12:31:58 PM PST by South40
Arnold Schwarzenegger will take the oath of office today at one of the most trouble-filled moments in California's modern history.
In an unprecedented display of dissatisfaction, the voters have recalled the incumbent governor less than a year into his second term. The Legislature is incapacitated by partisan paralysis. The budget is submerged in red ink. Jobs are fleeing because of the high cost of doing business here, including a bloated workers' compensation system that threatens to bankrupt many small firms. And the state's economy is only beginning to show signs of rebounding from a prolonged slump.
Yet, the actor-turned-officeholder exudes an unyielding optimism that contrasts sharply with the conventional political view. Therein lies Schwarzenegger's strength – his unique capacity to articulate a brighter future for California and mobilize public support for an agenda to achieve it.
More than any governor in years, Schwarzenegger has an uncommon chance to carry out wholesale reform in Sacramento. One reason is that the electorate is demanding it. But another is that, unlike any governor since Ronald Reagan, Schwarzenegger has the ability to appeal directly to Californians, to go over the heads of legislators when necessary, and to whack through the partisan thicket that long has stymied progress in Sacramento.
Starting today, Gov. Schwarzenegger must deliver on his own call for "action, action, action, action."
The place to begin is by bridging the destructive chasm that divides Democrats and Republicans, not only in the Legislature but also among statewide constitutional officers. Schwarzenegger already has signaled, through bipartisan appointments to key positions in his administration, that he intends to reach across party lines. Democratic leaders who control the Senate and Assembly have an obligation to meet the new governor half-way, to work with him, not against him, in tackling the enormous problems confronting the state. The extreme political polarization of the last decade must end.
The first challenge to be addressed, of course, is the budget. In the special session Schwarzenegger is expected to call next week, a flurry of critical decisions must be made. The governor is moving toward asking voters next March to approve a bond issue of as much as $20 billion to carry the state through to economic recovery.
As stated in this space when Gray Davis still occupied the governor's office, our preference is to eschew bonding for normal operating expenses. But Democrats who now rail against such huge borrowing should be prepared to propose the very steep cuts in spending that are the only real alternative. Schwarzenegger has rightly made it clear he won't raise taxes except under emergency circumstances – and he is entirely correct that tax hikes are the worst possible response to a sluggish economy.
Despite the bleak circumstances that confront Sacramento, Arnold Schwarzenegger's inauguration offers a historic opportunity for a fresh start – one which Democrats and Republicans alike must make the most of.
Probably Ahnold himself.
I paid $179 last year for the Jeep and $459 this year.
Last year I paid $103 for my 1969 Ford truck. This year it was $108. Obviously, the state reamed me on the Jeep. The $5 increase on the truck I can't figure out.
Last year I paid $153 for my Chrysler 300M. This year they want $323. That's not near triple so it makes no sense to me. Sounds somewhat arbitrary, don't you think?
Yeah, they do. It means they have to move to a smaller mansion.
Shirly you jest.
May I call you Shirley?
Shirley Knott :)
It does, sort of. I’d bet they’re charging by symbol somehow.
Insurance companies used to do that for physical auto coverages. They began running into problems with SUVs due to the gazillion trim-levels that are within the same vehicle model.
Take the Ford Explorer for instance. You could have the low-end two wheel-drive Explorer or you could have the top-end Eddie Bauer 4WD V8 Explorer. At one time they’d both be assigned the same symbol because they were both Explorers. The low-end owners essentially paid the same comp/collision rates as people with vehicles that literally cost 2+ times more.
They (insurance companies) ended up going to a split symbol/trim-level system to correct it in about 1999.
I don’t know that it is the case with a Jeep Wrangler… it’s the only thing I can think of off-hand that makes any sense.
I wonder how they deal with a scenario in which I give you money to buy me a car then you sell it to me for $200. Well, it’s probably a stretch in that case, but I can easily see some old lady buying a Lincoln and “selling” it to her son for a token amount. I’d bet money they have something in place to deal that sort of thing. They’re not going to sit around while you’re paying $4 to register a current model year Lincoln. Or maybe they didn’t consider it.
Probably the same way they would deal with that scenario when they levy the sales tax. What that is I dont know, but surely we're not the first two people who have had this discussion.
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