Posted on 01/14/2008 10:19:31 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces a lot of heat for proposing drastic budget cuts that slash services for children, the poor and the elderly while allowing thousands of criminals back on the streets to prey upon children, the poor and the elderly.
Some even question how the governor can so glibly suggest closing state parks while maintaining an increasingly costly and aggressive public relations operation to promote himself.
The governor surely has a lot to answer for in how he's handled the state budget, which has been filled to overflowing by years of booming property values.
But with his outlandish proposal for a 10 percent cut in public services, Schwarzenegger has provoked a long overdue debate on where our tax dollars go.
Is it in the public interest to shut state parks and empty prison cells? Do we no on longer need a strong educational system? Have the problems of the poor suddenly gone away?
Clearly, the governor shares a lot of the responsibility for bringing the state to the brink of this financial cliff. State government spending soared by 10 percent a year under his watch, and now that the economy is stalling, the state has a $14 billion hole to fill now and bigger deficits looming.
To his credit, Schwarzenegger tried to get voters to approve a series of changes that would have given him the power to control state spending while building a healthy reserve when the inevitable downturn came.
But voters - all too often easily misled or apathetic - rejected those reforms, and empowered the Democratic controlled Legislature to go on an unprecedented spending spree.
The bills have now come due, and the place to start cutting is in that part of the government that serves the government itself, not the people.
Let's see our politicians take the symbolic first step of trimming their own staffs, their own pay and their own perks by 10 percent or more before they start punishing college students, senior citizens and the poor.
Then, the hard work must begin. Schwarzenegger and legislators need not just to cut spending and raise taxes - or hide them in "fee" increases, as is the governor's way.
They need to substantially restructure government, including the way spending is managed and taxes and fees are handled. The governor's constitutional amendment for fast-financial fixes is a start.
This year will undoubtedly hurt. But if it's part of a healthy restructuring, it can be the good pain of healing rather than a chronic ache that recurs every year.
Old news
Beat me to it. (-:
The “GOOD” Tax Payer is packing his bags......
Ahnold the RINO. Now we have a GOP race with a whole herd of them.
Start enforcing the laws and requiring citizenship to receive freebies and watch that budget deficit drop like a rock!
And the LA Times cheered them on, every step of the way. NOW they complain!
Oh, Daily News. Well.
You Ca. Dems and RINO’s were deluded in thinking the Goose would keep laying the golden eggs indefinitely. Foolish morons... stop spending more $$ than you take in and stop taking so much taxpayer $$. Cut your salaries by 10%...I doubt it happens. Thanks Norm.
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!!
Senate President pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) today delivered the Democratic response to the Governor’s State of the State address. A transcript of Núñez’s and Perata’s address is below.
Núñez:
“The governor has declared a fiscal emergency.
“This will begin a long overdue conversation about the state budget and our state’s values.
“For too long the discussion has been dominated by those who only want to cut the services Californians depend on.
“As a result, we’ve been forced to cut and borrow our way out of deficit after deficit.
“And as the governor just noted, we’re facing even more cuts to our schools, to law enforcement and to our most vulnerable citizens.
“That’s not what the people of California want.
“We are calling on Governor Schwarzenegger and our Republican colleagues to join us in reshaping the conversation.
“It’s time that all of us in Sacramento show the courage to look at what really needs to be done to keep our fiscal house in order — not simply continue to dismantle vital services.
“For our part, in the Assembly, I am taking action today to reduce our expenditures by 10%.
“But, clearly, cuts alone won’t fix things.
“If there’s a $14 billion deficit, you could close every one of the state’s public universities and still be nowhere close.
“You could kick every Medi-Cal patient out of their nursing homes and still be nowhere close.
“You could shutter nutrition programs for every child that needs them and still be nowhere close.
“In fact, you could take all of those steps together and still face a serious budget gap.
“The conversation can’t just be about price, it has to be about priorities, too.
“We can get good value for our dollars and we can make sure our values are reflected in good budgets.
“As Democrats, we will fight tirelessly for the principles we share with the vast majority of Californians.
“Californians believe smaller classes for kids are more important than bigger breaks for yacht owners.
“Californians understand fixing the foreclosure mess is more important than subsidizing vacation homes.
“Californians want a decent quality of life for the elderly, blind and disabled who need only small assistance from their neighbors to maintain independence and dignity.
“Those are the values that must shape our debate and our direction.
“And no conversation about where the state should be headed can be complete without acknowledging the overwhelming need to fix the state’s broken health care system.
“California families face a fiscal emergency every time they struggle to pay for health care.
“And our overburdened emergency rooms face a fiscal crisis every day.
“The health care reform we negotiated with the governor takes a giant step toward the universal coverage that Californians want.
“And we wrote the plan specifically so it wouldn’t impact the state budget or add to any deficit.
“Seizing this historic opportunity can provide one of the bright spots on a tough road ahead.
“As we move down that road…as we lead a real conversation about our challenges and our choices… I take heart from the knowledge that courage when it counts and values that endure have seen California through time and again.”
Perata:
“Good afternoon.
“Without question, California faces another tough year.
“But this is no time to abandon the California Dream.
“And Democrats won’t.
“When first elected, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called California “The Golden Dream by the sea” — a shining example admired the world over.
“California is a brand name – just like our own Governor.
“Everyone has an image of our state.
“For generations, California has represented hope, opportunity and prosperity – a tomorrow better than yesterday.
“That’s why we are America’s largest and most dynamic state – and the window on all the promise and potential of the future.
“But the governor’s new vision is to make yesterday our future – to take California’s brand name and make it generic, like detergent or trash bags.
“The governor now proposes permanent, ongoing cuts to the state budget.
“In the governor’s plan for California, we will always be 43rd in the nation in education.
“In the governor’s plan, each year, fewer disabled and fewer seniors will have help in their homes.
“In the governor’s plan, fewer kids, regardless of how hard they work, will have a seat in our colleges.
“The governor is selling us on the excellence of mediocrity.
“Advocating automatic cuts but failing to establish priorities and how to fund them is political expediency at its best and political leadership at its worst.
“As Californians, we owe it to ourselves, and our children, to do better.
“That’s why our state is so great.
“Because everyone here — and everyone who comes here – strives to be the best and to do their best.
“California is the envy of the world.
“Let’s keep it that way.
“We’re up to the challenge.”
Any conservatives left here in California please turn all lights off as you leave the state.
And as I have repeatedly stated; since GWB won't do it then RINOld could solve prison overcrowding by calling out the CA NG and sending them to the border, then removing every illegal incarcerated swinging dick, put them on buses under armed guard and transporting them to the Mexican border to be released to Mexican authorities. And if the Mexican authorities won't take them; then they can go chase 'em after we release 'em at the border. At that point, not our problemo!
Why should CA taxpayers pay to incarcerate other countries’ criminals! By removing the incarcerated illegals, we not only lower prison costs but we automatically open up slots for AMERICAN criminals who are roaming about the state unabated!
It has gotten way past time to "take out the trash!"
We need an 1804 law here like the one in Oklahoma!!
That'll work. Let's rearrange these deck chairs and the ship will stop sinking.
I agree. Only I wouldn’t release them at the border. Until we get a fence (wall would be better) built, they’ll just walk right back across. I’d rather have the NG put them on a C130 and fly them into Mexico City (or wherever their country of origin is) and release them there. But I’d like to see that as a policy for ALL illegals, not just the currently incarcerated.
Wow, when I read all that, I couldn’t help but think: BOHICA
Okay, I give up, what is the “1804 law here like the one in Oklahoma?” LOL
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