Posted on 12/15/2008 8:12:39 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Reporting from Sacramento -- Gray Davis had just landed in Pennsylvania on a trip last June when he was struck by the differences between that state and the one whose voters drove him out of office early in his second term, blaming his leadership for state government failures that included deep debt and legislative paralysis.
Pennsylvania roads were clean. The state's budget was balanced. Lawmakers had socked enough away in a rainy-day fund to build what was then a decent surplus. Government seemed to run effectively.
"It's not like other people can't do this," the former governor said recently.
But California government is arguably more dysfunctional now than it was when Davis, a Democrat, got the boot. The budget deficit has grown so huge that a shutdown of government services looms. Partisan gridlock grips the Legislature, and lawmakers bicker as the state plunges into crisis.
"The recall absolutely hasn't helped at all," said Gary Jacobson, a professor of political science at UC San Diego.
The state's latest collision course with insolvency has renewed the question in the Capitol: Has California become ungovernable?
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ousted Davis with a campaign built on the premise that the state simply needed the right leader, said last week that there is only so much he can do to tame Sacramento.
"Look, I'm frustrated," the governor told reporters. "I'm sitting here and we have a system where we rely on the 120 legislators to make those decisions. I cannot make them stay here. I cannot lock them into the building. I don't have those kinds of powers. Believe me, I would do it otherwise."
The governor has no shortage of critics who say the fault lies with him. If he were a more effective, engaged leader, they charge, the lawmakers would follow.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Time to divide the State into three parts. Everything North of Modesto is Californicate. Between Modesto and Bakersfield is Sanity California. Everything south of Bakersfield is Mexifornia.
It’s not prop 13, it’s not term limits, it’s not the Gov (though he’s got problems), it’s not iniatives, and it’s not the 2/3rds reqt. for passing a budget in the legislature. Simply put (and I say this with sadness as a 3rd generation Californian and resident) Californians want more than they can pay for. No one wants to make the hard choices that are necessary, because then they’ll be blamed by the electorate. The children are running the house and the adults have gone on vacation. What should happen is that the schools and other non-essential public services should shut down until this mess is straightened out. Until something dramatic happens no politician will do the right thing. And raising taxes is not a viable option. The Democratic dominated legislature has made more promises than it can pay for and the Republicans are rightfully holding the line in tax increases.
Ultimately, you have to blame the voters.
The world's seventh largest economy teeters on the brink of insolvency. "Raise taxes," declare its intelligentsia in a paroxysm of mindless generosity. And then what? Do you think the politicians in Sacramento will suddenly become fiscally responsible? Will they agree that they have spent enough and NOW intend to live within their means? Or will they continue their spending spree until it's necessary to "Raise taxes" again? And again? And Again?
Anyone who points out the obvious is dismissed as uncaring or conservative or--worse--a Republican or--even worse, as far as the with-it crowd is concerned--unsophisticated!
The wise and honest among us know the importance of living within one's means, on a personal or global scale or anywhere in between.
We also know what happens to people who do not.
We also know that denial, self-deception, and hubris lead to tragedy.
Those who do not are fools. There are many among us.
In 1864, a state-splitting measure was placed on the ballot, approved by voters, signed by the Governor, and sent to Congress. Congress did not approve it.
I bet the Civil War between the north and the south had something to do with that.
“...happen is that the schools and other non-essential public services should shut down until this mess is straightened out. ..”
Agree. CA schools should be permanently shut, taxes returned to the citizens who will do a much better and more efficient job at allocating these funds to student education.
Remember: an education degree takes just about as much intellect as a journalism degree.
The current mess in CA is merely the result of electing incompetent fools to govern. There are plenty of highly intelligent folks in CA, but few are serving in govt.
Anyone who looked at the budget numbers back when Ahnuld took over saw this coming.
I wrote the CA GOP and told them way back when they were recalling Davis that they should leave him in office and then have the national GOP use California as a poster child for all that is wrong with the DNC. Every time the liberals propose some idiotic policy, we could have pointed to California and whipped them like a rented mule. We would not have lost anything (it isn’t as tho any GOP presidential candidate is going to get CA’s electoral votes), but we would have gained a very useful example of failed policy to show the rest of the nation.
But noooooooo.... the GOP decided that they wanted to own this intractable problem set. The GOP decided that it wasn’t enough to oppose a huge mess, they wanted to OWN the mess.
Morons.
Good old Congre$$. Too bad, this state could easily be split into 5 or 6 states, well, maybe not easily, but.. It might better serve its residents were it to do so. It certainly couldn’t do worse. ;-}
.. or we could just give the Indians back the North half and the Mexicans the bottom... and make san franciso international open space for freaks. Oh wait, it already is..
Four parts: Everything east of the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada is Nevada.
In a word, “yes.” You’ve got your finger squarely on the central issue. There’s lots of loony ideas that gain credibility in California that would be laughed out of town in most other state capitols.
The ballot initiative process is far too loose and easy, and some of the issues enshrined in the state constitution have no business being there. There should be a supermajority (67%) required on two successive votes in order to modify the state constitution, and spending increases must be more fully explained to the voters in terms of future impact. The amount of explanation allowed on the ballots now is laughable.
Yeah, but it was work 5k to me to watch Davis go down in disgrace...What a hoot that was.
Lets recall Schwarzenegger too.
Then lets change the law where the governor will be not only fired for not balancing the budget, but will be arrested, prosecuted and JAILED!
No deal. You have to take the western foothills too then!
But California government is arguably more dysfunctional now than it was when Davis, a Democrat, got the boot. The budget deficit has grown so huge that a shutdown of government services looms. Partisan gridlock grips the Legislature, and lawmakers bicker as the state plunges into crisis.
No, this is entirely false.
Here is an over-simplification from a government employee's perspective.
California was more dysfunctional under the latter stages of Mister Davis (not that Arnold is a pillar of courage).
What is happening now is that (due to collapse of Fan and Fred DEMOCRAT houses for votes schemes) allll those unqualified home "owners" became forclosees, real estate flippers got buried, and the ripple effect busted the chops of a vibrant state economy.
Since the DEMOCRATS always tax and spend as if good times will never ebb, the state (and local) govts found themselves in uber debt.
Since DEMOCRATS don't know where money comes from, they want to increase taxes to make up the short-fall.
Since REPUBLICANS know that increasing taxes will decrease revenues, and send many tax payers permanently out-of-state, they hold the line. To the naive writers at LAT, this brave confrontation qualifies as "bickering".
This is not "dysfunctionality" on the part of part-time Republican Arnold, this is a pitched battle between GOPers who want to make difficult choices to save the economically-battered state and the DEMS who have maxed our state Visa card and want to kite the balance onto a payday loan.
We nearly went bankrupt thanks to Mister Davis.
While Arnold has been marginally better, he must continually fight the majority party Dems whose rationalizations on the topic of economics threaten to turn California into a collectivist "Utopia".
.
Make your proposal. We might be able to come to an agreement here.
Good post.
Like a drunk who wakes up one afternoon in a dumpster, covered in his own urine and vomit, California needs to “hit bottom”, ie., go bankrupt, before it can truly rebuild. We can only hope that sane America doesn’t end up having to foot California’s bills.
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