Schwarzenegger has pledged to launch a 60-day independent audit to uncover waste if he is elected. Outlining cuts before then, he argues, would be premature.He also has appointed a 20-member economic advisory committee headed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett and former Secretary of State George Shultz.
"The public doesn't care about figures," Schwarzenegger said. "They've heard figures for the last five years -- figures and graphs and percentages and all of those kind of things. What the people want to hear is, are you willing to make the changes, are you tough enough to go in there and provide leadership."
Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, begs to differ.
'There is no line item for waste in the budget," Ross said.
"If you want to close a gap of $8 billion-plus without raising taxes, it will take a lot of tough decisions, and the voters deserve to know the priorities of any candidate who believes he or she should be governor. The voters of California deserve a very specific proposal."