"Unless something takes a dramatic turn or Secretary of State Shelley tells us there is a new deadline to give us more time
the governor plans to proceed to the ballot box as he said he would," Stutzman said.
------------------------------------------------------------
Democrats, who offered up an alternative spending cap tied to revenue growth, criticized the governor's plan on grounds it gave him too much power to make mid-year budget cuts and would lead to cuts in funding for important social programs.
A man of his word, our Governor Arnold.
The Golden State, From Red to Black - Donna Arduin
WSJ - Thursday, December 4, 2003
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--For the past five years, California government has spent $23 billion more than it has taken in. Over the past five years, while revenues have increased by 25%, state expenditures have risen by 43%. If government had simply spent at the same rate that California's economy has grown, the state's budget would be balanced today. Instead of resolving imbalances, the previous administration and the Legislature chose to borrow $25 billion from future state budgets in order to create or expand programs that the state couldn't afford. In health and human services alone, significant program expansions have totaled $1.3 billion.
The combined result of this overspending is stark. California faces massive budget deficits and has run out of places to borrow. And if we do not get our fiscal house in order, we will not be able to refinance the $14 billion of debt that matures in June, or be able to pay our bills.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did not create this crisis. But he is proposing a way to help lead California out of it. First, the governor is asking the Legislature to send to the voters a constitutional spending limit that will significantly curtail spending next year.
Second, he is asking the Legislature to send to the voters authorization for a general obligation bond--but only if the spending limit is approved--in order to reduce the cost of currently contemplated borrowing.
Third, he is asking the Legislature to start curtailing overspending--and start now. In order to balance the current year's budget and begin to gain control of our fiscal situation, Gov. Schwarzenegger has said that he would ask the Legislature to enact roughly $2 billion in current-year spending reductions.
Let me discuss each of these steps in detail...
(snipped)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1033721/posts?page=1