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Sac Bee ^ | 12/17/03 | Op/Ed

[NormsRevenge]

It's always nice when the denizens of the state Capitol, divided by partisanship and handicapped as they are by two-thirds vote requirements, can find a way to act. So we won't begrudge Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators the victory cigars they smoked last week after passing measures to place $15 billion worth of pass-the-buck bonds and a budget reform measure on the March 2 ballot.

[NormsRevenge]

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[Amerigomag]

I ask you Norm, how could a fiscal conservative have done worse? As the article points out, even a continued policy of conservative obstructionism would have had better results.

I'm to the point that I'm beginning to sincerley believe that defaulting on the current bonds in June would be a positive start to an economic epiphany on the part of the electorate and the political elite.

[heleny]

Lawmakers also agreed with the governor on a budget reserve that will add little stability to the state's finances and is less stringent that the reserve already contained in Proposition 56 on the March ballot.

The author may be referencing the budget reserve promised in Prop 58, but I haven't compared their levels because both 56 and 58 are awful.

Prop 56 lowers the threshold for passing the budget from about 67% to 55%. Bad budgets will be easier to pass, and taxes will be easier to raise.

Prop 58 suspends the state's constitutional protection against paying for current general spending by borrowing from the future.