Arnold's Grand Slam (Economic Policy Write-Up in the Wall St Journal)

Powerline ^ | 9/24/03 | Hindrocket

[NYC Republican]

Arnold Schwarzenegger's conservative fans have been waiting for Arnold the candidate to sound like Arnold the private citizen. Much of what he has been saying has no doubt been lost in the hubbub over the recall process, but he has not really emerged as the powerful spokesman for free enterprise and unlimited opportunity that we expected to hear.

Until now. In this morning's Wall Street Journal, Arnold knocks it out of the park with a ringing endorsement of Friedmanesque economics as applied to California governance:

"I have often said that the two people who have most profoundly impacted my thinking on economics are Milton Friedman and Adam Smith....What I learned from Messrs. Friedman and Smith is a lesson that every political leader should never forget: that when the heavy fist of government becomes too overbearing and intrusive, it stifles the unlimited wealth creation process of a free people operating under a free enterprise system.

"Over the past five years our state budget has grown nearly three times the pace of inflation. Our debt burden has risen by more than the other 49 states combined. The matrix of onerous regulations we impose on property owners and businesses has made the cost of doing business in California almost twice as high as in neighboring states. Our tax rates have become among the highest in the nation.

"It is self-evident to most taxpaying Californians that Gray Davis is not up to the task at hand. Gov. Davis is too beholden to moneyed special interest groups to pull us out of this ditch. The Cato Institute recently gave Mr. Davis a grade of "F" for his fiscal mismanagement and ranked him the second worst governor in America. The folks at the Small Business Survival Committee recently declared that thanks to Mr. Davis's anti-business rules, regulations, taxes, and litigation policies, California now ranks second to last among the 50 states in its receptivity to small businesses.

"Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Bustamante, Gov. Davis's aspiring successor, is promising Californians: 'Gray Davis--the Sequel.'...My plan to rescue the economy in California is based on the opposite set of values: I want to slash the cost of doing business in California; I want to unburden businesses from regulations that strangle economic growth; I want to bring taxes down to levels competitive with our neighboring states. Within three years, I want business groups to trumpet the fact that California is once again one of the best places in the country to do business."

The policy prescriptions that follow seem to me to be at just the right level of specificity for a campaign: lower taxes, cap spending growth--Arnold says he has asked the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to lead a task force to formulate spending-cap proposals--reform worker's compensation and education.

These are the right themes and the right issues. If Arnold sticks to them relentlessly--and he is nothing if not relentless--he will win.

[NYC Republican]

This is a VERY conservative site...

[DoctorZIn]

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[BibChr]

The article referred to can be read HERE.

Dan

[onyx]

Please use your ping lists!

[pogo101]

Bout time he threw us conservatives some red meat. I haven't heard any fiscal conservatism outta him since he publicly b*tch-slapped Warren Buffett with the situps joke.

[BibChr]

Pingomai

[Snuffington]

This is a VERY conservative site...

And one of the best researched blogs on the net.

[PhiKapMom]

I enjoyed reading this -- thanks for the ping! I cannot wait for the debate -- last one was pretty lifeless except for Huffington flirting with Cruz and vice versa. Would expect that Arnold will bring energy to the debate which was sorely lacking the last time I watched on TV!

[habs4ever]

He has said plenty of times how he feels about taxes and regulations, but those who won't listen demand to know where he stands on illegals.He can't get a break from many who probably don't even grasp what supply side economics is all about but are damned determined to say that he's no Reagan ;-)

[habs4ever]

It's highly ironic that what Arnie advocates is not Friedmanesque, but Reaganite.Miltie was never a tax cut advocator and after a lifetime of adhereing to monetarism, has finally repudiated his most cherished theories.I kinda wish conservatives would treat Friedman as a great political thinker, rather than a great economic thinker, when the best advice has to been to ignore his prescriptions.

Robert Mundell,Dale Jorgenson,Norman Ture and Ludwig Erhard ought to be the ones we pay most attention to now.

[EggsAckley]

PIIIING!!!

[Alberta's Child]

Arnold / WSJ bump.

[Southack]

[William Tell]

NYC Republican said: "...when the heavy fist of government becomes too overbearing and intrusive, it stifles the unlimited wealth creation process of a free people operating under a free enterprise system. "

What is Arnold's plan for keeping the heavy fist of government away from business people who run truck stops and gasoline filling stations?

These would be the most likely entrepreneurs to invest in hydrogen fueling. Instead, Arnold's plan seems to be to intrude into the free market and build stations with government money and the consequent government strings attached.

[South40]

But he's pro-choice! I'll NEVER vote for a candidate that is pro-choice!

So says the crowd who would rather elect bustamecha.

[kingu]

What is Arnold's plan for keeping the heavy fist of government away from business people who run truck stops and gasoline filling stations? These would be the most likely entrepreneurs to invest in hydrogen fueling. Instead, Arnold's plan seems to be to intrude into the free market and build stations with government money and the consequent government strings attached.

Liquified Petroleum Gas is available at stations across the state. These are not government run stations, but stations run by companies and individuals. LPG was thought to be the 'next energy choice' for California. Electric vehicle recharging stations are available at malls, stores, office buildings, etc throughout the state. The charging stations are also available at government offices across the state.

Methanol used to be available at many stations across the state, but has fallen out of favor and is no longer generally available. It is a twist that methanol has become the most common addiative to regular gasoline.

Hydrogen can be made with simple crackers that extract hydrogen from water. The largest independant owner gas station organization has called upon companies to design hydrogen production and storage systems that can be put into a space not much bigger than the standard underground storage gas storage tank. They see it as being the solution to the huge ground contamination problem that they see as their multi-billion industry liability.

The only question is if the auto industry can develop a reliable storage system for hydrogen gas in automobiles that will pass national highway safety standards.

[2iron]

Try reading some of Friedman's books before characterizing him. Tax cutting has always been central to his philosophy as the only method by which government's share of GDP is kept at reasonable levels.

[pnz1]

Did anyone see the quote from Alec Baldwin. He said something like if Arnold wins, he will run for President. That could be interesting!

[Cobra64]

Electric vehicle recharging stations are available at malls, stores, office buildings, etc throughout the state.

And what energy source is consummed to generate the electricity? Solar, petrochemical, hydro?

[habs4ever]

I have read his books, but his premise came from a political calculation, not an economic one.He wants tax cuts to starve gov't, when that has never happened when cutting marginal rates.He is a libertarian philosopher first, and a practical economist second.This is why he has repudiated monetarism finally.