[Amerigomag]

Why didn't Arnold ... make California's deficit just disappear?

Because he didn't want to.

He could have stopped the deficit dead in its tracks without violating any constitutional provisions or running afoul of legilstive formulas. He simply chose not to cut spending to match revenues.

He did the opposite. He proposed and approved double digit increases in state spending, even in the face of insufficient revenue and ... only weeks after saddling the General Fund with $4B in increased operating expenses.

[goldstategop]

Because of the politics. People like spending but no one likes cuts. Otherwise politicians would be for getting spending under control. Its not rocket science what's happening in the California election. They're for what's popular instead of what's needed for California's future.

(No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo! )