Posted on 04/08/2009 8:46:59 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WOODLAND HILLS - As he launched a radio ad campaign Tuesday for his budget measures on the May 19 ballot, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said failure to approve the package would worsen the state's already-dire fiscal crisis.
"If they don't pass, we will be facing a $50 billion problem," Schwarzenegger said at a meeting with Daily News editors and reporters. "It will mean massive cuts in education, hospitals, prisons. These are things people don't want to see cut."
Schwarzenegger's campaign committee, Budget Reform Now, began its advertising campaign Tuesday for the six ballot measures - Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 1F - with a radio ad that highlights the impact of the budget crisis on state services.
The campaign has raised more than $6 million so far, officials said, to finance the print, radio and television campaign. The governor has also held public appearances and town town hall meetings around the state to rally voter support.
"When we are able to explain to the people, they get it," Schwarzenegger said. "We know people are furious. But once we explain to them what we are trying to do, they support it."
Schwarzenegger said the proposals are similar to ones that past governors have sought to limit state spending.
"None of us like raising taxes," Schwarzenegger said. "(But) anyone who says you can solve this without raising taxes is hallucinating, is on drugs or has a math problem."
The measures were part of a compromise developed by the governor and lawmakers to pass the budget this year.
The package enacts a wide range of budget reforms including extending tax increases, creating a bigger rainy day fund, borrowing against future lottery earnings and capping raises of top state officials when the state is facing a deficit.
Most of the attention and opposition has been generated against Proposition 1A, which extends new tax increases for up to two years to balance the budget, generating about $16 billion.
Some public unions oppose the measure partly because of concern it would limit growth and salary increases for the state work force.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has come out against Proposition 1A, saying it's a tax increase that does nothing to rein in spending.
"It has a built-in loophole allowing them to increase spending if they get more revenue," said Jon Coupal, president of the organization.
"This is just another shot of heroin for addicts. Until there is a realization that the taxpayer capacity to pay is limited, they will continue to overtax and say the sky is falling. We just don't buy it."
But the governor argued the measure also includes provisions to establish a rainy-day fund - which sets aside revenues in boom years to cover the extra costs in down years. Schwarzenegger said it also contains a cap on spending.
"When you get extra money, they will always spend it," the governor said of the Legislature. "That's the way it's always been. It's just human nature. That's why this budget reform is historic."
Joel Fox, a Republican consultant and former president of the Jarvis association who accompanied Schwarzenegger at the meeting, supports the measures.
"This is a flexible cap that will survive," Fox said. "None of us like taxes. But, if you look back, all our taxes have been raised to fund existing programs, not pay for new programs."
One option the governor says is not on the table is allowing the state to collapse.
"The cost of inaction is letting California go off the cliff. We still have all those contracts to honor and a federal receiver could come in, and no one wants that," said Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines, R-Fresno.
Despite bipartisan agreement in Sacramento over the measures, a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California released in March found that all but the one limiting public officials' raises have an approval rating under 50 percent.
Schwarzenegger said he also felt he has a responsibility as governor to make sure that services - from education to health care - continue to be offered.
"When I was running, I opposed taxes. I despise taxes," Schwarzenegger said. "But when you get in this office, you see things differently. You realize how important these services are to the people."
Also, he said, the need for government services has increased as the economy has declined.
Schwarzenegger said he has held town hall-style meetings where he asks people where they would cut funding, and everyone wants to save services like schools, hospitals and prisons. Tax increases, in such cases, become the only option.
Schwarzenegger also rejected proposals to raise money by legalizing and taxing marijuana or selling state assets such as San Quentin prison.
"You hear those ideas all the time, you could make maybe $1 billion and we have a $50 billion problem," Schwarzenegger said. "When you get down to it and people say we should legalize marijuana, allow oil drilling or sell San Quentin, it is a ridiculous notion."
The governor said he also is aware of voter anger and frustration, but he hopes the campaign can appeal to voter reason.
He said he was prepared to stand up for legislators - primarily Republicans - who support the package and face threats of recall or serious opposition in their re-election.
I think that's where we're going.
Yeah, Arnold's sick charade ended long ago. Anybody who still considers Arnold a "Republican" has their head up their behind.
Listen, I’m not an Arnie apologist. I despise the guy as much as I do any witless, destructive, liberal politician.
You and I just have differing recalls about what he attempted to accomplish in his first days in office.
From what I recall, he started off with every intention of bringing some sanity back to Sacramento, but soon caved in to the non-stop pressures of the leftist moonbat establishment.
He’s now fully re-aligned as little more than a liberal Democrat governor with an R behind his name. Arnold is worse than a failure. He’s a disaster.
Not to mention that their pension and health benefits are better than mine! They get to bank all of their unused sick time and apply it towards their pension calculation whereas I lose whatever I don’t use. And they get every stinkin’ holiday off that the gov’t so gratiously affords them. Having at one time when the kids were younger make me take days off of my job to stay home with my kids so they can enjoy their holiday.
I have no love left to give!
Not that I think the feds can do a better job, but can receivership really be any worse than things are now? The best option would be for the state to go the way of Vallejo, CA, and declare bankruptcy, but under Chapter 9, I think only municipalities, counties, etc. can declare BK, not the state itself. Of course that's not going to happen. If CA does go into federal receivership would the receiver have the ability to break the union contracts and cut spending on state services to more reasonable levels?
Yep! That’s a pretty good summary of the planned path to destruction.
I haven’t looked at the numbers, but I think the State backing bonds issued by local governments is also going to play into the implosion. If just one county goes belly, it makes the problem worse and spreads the blame.
Of course, Milken and his boys raiding CalPERS is an obvious contributor, too.
Whatever.
If you could recall anything other than "they were good props" I would happy to refute your assertion that they would have made anything better, point by point. Unfortunately, you cannot/will not do that so there is little reason to discuss the issue.
Hes now fully re-aligned as little more than a liberal Democrat governor with an R behind his name.
If you looked at his actions, going all the way back to Prop 49 (before he was elected), his environmental platform (published before he was elected), his public comments about his father-in-law, and many other things, you would find that he was always aligned with the liberal Democrats. Now he is just more honest about it -- but still refuses to remove the "R" from next to his name.
Arnold is worse than a failure. Hes a disaster.
Agreed.
Yep. Been there too. It'll be analogous to carving up the old Soviet Union.
What is the basis of the "federal receiver" theory?
What happens when a State goes bankrupt? The creditors sue, in Federal court. Are there laws regarding the procedure? If there aren't Chris Dodd et al. will produce one in a heartbeat. Whether a judge will be assigned or a board convened, it will be Obama who picks the people to pick the carcass. That's all I'm saying.
Accordingly, I'm making the point that the standard wish, that the State goes insolvent to stop its spending spree, will carry a nasty backlash because all of the parties involved in the "restructuring" will want more. It's a bottomless pit. Doesn't that suck?
That was the pitch. He was lying.
Shrugging works. In my case, my customers can't come up with money or contracts. I'm considering alternative employment that pays almost $40K less annually to keep the bills paid. It's not an act of voluntary shrugging. Just a survival tactic.
Thanks. I also noticed (after posting) that Villines is quoted in the article mentioning federal receivership. Has any State gone completely belly-up before? I know NY got a massive bailout/Loan a few years back. But Schwarzenegger has taken us beyond a cash crisis -- he's literally bled every artery dry.
It's a bottomless pit. Doesn't that suck?
Yep. Is it SW that talks of sucking "canal water" In this case, I'm thinking "sewer."
Part of the reason that Arnold was elected, is that most California conservatives and Republicans had never paid close attention to his politics prior to the recall election, and had scant data about his actual record on the issues.
Like most conservatives in the state, I felt squeezed between wanting a real conservative for governor (Tom McClintock), and fearing a win by the liberal lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, so I reluctantly gave my vote to Arnold.
I learned a valuable lesson in that election, in that when faced with the pressure to give your vote to a RINO, or lose an election to a committed liberal, it's probably better to vote your conscience and go down swinging.
If the RINO wins, he or she will likely do the same damage as the liberal, but our side will be (rightfully) blamed for it. The people still won't become educated to the fact that it's liberal policies that don't work. Even worse, they'll be more likely to vote in a liberal in the next election to "fix" the damage caused by "that Republican".
In many ways, George Bush is responsible for Obama winning the Presidency because he did not govern conservatively. If he had, the Democrats would never have taken Congress in 2006, and they wouldn't have stood a chance at re-taking the White House in 2008.
You can substitute any number of names for "Bush," including his father, Nixon-Ford, Wilson, Eisenhower... ALL of whom were followed by Democrats.
Many canals used to be used for sewage and still are in Tijuana!!!
You're going to equate drilling for oil with selling San Quentin and leaglizing marijuana? You dumb*ss!
Drilling for oil would pretty much make CA solvent again w/o raising taxes. But ohhh noooo, we have to make the "greenies" happy and bankrupt the state. What a maroon!
Oh yeah....me? I'm voting no on all of 'em!
And likewise, Democrat Presidents have often been followed by Republican Presidents.
But - isn't it interesting that a Republican President was elected after the eight years of conservative leadership of Ronald Reagan?
When did a Democrat President ever produce that level of confidence among the American people?
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