Dan Walters: Scare tactics or the day of reckoning?

Sacramento Bee ^ | 5/15/9 | Dan Walters

[SmithL]

Has California's day of fiscal reckoning, postponed for years by political tricks and hide-the-pea financial schemes, finally arrived?

It might seem so, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Thursday that the recession has taken a huge bite out of the state budget, overwhelming the new taxes that he and the Legislature enacted just three months ago to close an already immense deficit.

There are a couple of ways of looking at Schwarzenegger's declaration that the 2009-10 deficit had jumped from supposedly zero just three months ago to as much as $21.3 billion if voters don't suddenly change their minds and approve a package of ballot measures next week.

One is, as Schwarzenegger insisted, it's a realistic projection of the growing fiscal crisis that California must confront. "Californians have a right to know the truth about the size of the problem our state is facing and the steps we will take to solve our deficit," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

Another is that it's a doomsday scenario aimed at scaring voters into approving the measures, three of which would tap now- restricted funds for about $6 billion to ease the 2009-10 problem. That's what the measures' opponents on the right and left are saying.

Schwarzenegger's motives for the pre-election appraisal of the budget are probably both, plus creating political cover for the painful fiscal maneuvers that lie ahead, regardless of the election's outcome.

[SmithL]

Walters has strayed from his usual "taxes-good Prop 13-bad" mantra, and has offered a good analysis of California's budget dilemma. It's worth reading.

[wny]

here's what CA needs to do (not that ANY of it will happen):

get rid of 10% of all government employees...

10% paycuts for all remaining employees, except those paid more than $100,000 annually. cut these to $100,000.

cut all taxes 25% - income, property, business, etc.

eliminate all asinine government programs. Isn't CA the state with government subsidies for tatoo removal?

cut all state departmental budgets by 10%

auction off leases for off shore drilling

raise taxes on all Hollywood liberals to 90%, for no other reason to piss em off and expose thier hypocracy

control illegal immigration

California would be back in 5 years

[Terabitten]

In all fairness to California, I don’t get it. Finance at the state level is no different than at the personal level. When you are spending more than you make, you have three options: spend less, earn more, or both. You can always affect the first option immediately. The second and third take more time. Why can’t governments learn that?

If you’re spending more than you make, STOP SPENDING!!!

[AnOldCowhand]

control illegal immigration

That would be the job of an equally ineffectual Federal Government. Other than that, I can't argue with you.

[SmithL]

Being in the business of spending other people’s money gives them a completely different perspective.

[Uncle Hal]

Saying Arnold has been a disappointment is an understatement. He has morphed into just another liberal.