- HOME
- About
- Topics
- Angelides
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- California Attorney General Race
- California Congressional Races
- California Democratic Party
- California Governor Race 2010
- California Legislative Races
- California Lt. Governor Race
- California Secretary of State Race
- California State Budget
- California State Controller
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Campaigns
- Cell Phones
- Children and Families
- Consumer Rights
- Corporate Accountability
- Criminal Justice
- Death With Dignity
- Disaster Preparation
- Discrimination and Civil Rights
- Education
- Elections and Voting
- Electoral College
- Energy
- Environment
- Farm Animal Cruelty Ballot Measure
- Flood Control
- Food Safety
- Gas Prices
- Governor's Election Race
- Gun control
- Health Care
- Health Insurance
- Hiram Johnson's Corner
- Housing
- Human Rights
- Humor
- Immigration
- Infrastructure
- Initiative Reform
- Insurance Commissioner Race
- Labor
- Language and Politics
- Legal System
- Media and Communication
- Minimum Wage
- Open Government
- Pharmaceutical Companies
- Politics
- Preschool
- Presidential Election 2008
- Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act Prop
- Prison Reform
- Privacy
- Privitization
- Prop 11-Redistricting/Reapportionment
- Prop 1A--High Speed Rail
- Prop 2--Treatment of Farm Animals
- Prop 3-Children's Hospital Bonds
- Prop 4 Waiting Period and Parental Notification
- Prop 5--Non-violent drug offenses
- Prop 7 and 10-Alternative Fuel and Energy Bond
- Prop 8 and-Marriage Equality
- Prop 85 Parental Notification
- Prop 86 Tobacco Tax
- Prop 87--Alternative Energy
- Prop 9 Parole
- Prop 90
- Prop 91--Transportation Funding
- Prop 92- Community Colleges
- Prop 93--Term Limits
- Props 94-97--Tribal Gaming
- Props 98 and 99
- Racial Disparities
- Responsible Lending
- Retirement Benefits
- Site of the Day
- Solar Initiative
- Structure of California Government
- Taxes
- Toxic Chemicals
- Transportation/Transit
- Water
- Westly
- Workers' Compensation
- Stories
- Cavala: A Constitutional Convention for California?
- Eight Years From Bush v. Gore to Palin: The Bridge to Nowhere
- California Proposition 11: Redistricting Commission – YES
- What Does a Republican Running in an Increasingly Democratic District Do? Why Aghazarian Wants to Make Legislative Races Non-Partisan
- Prop 1A and High Speed Rail's Role in Fighting Dependence on Oil and Sprawl in California
- Schwarzenegger Vetoes Bill Recommended By Autism Commission
- Governor Schwarzenegger Can Put a Dent in Auto Repair Fraud and Protect Consumers by Signing AB 2825
- California Assembly District 26: Republican Refuses to Debate Eisenhut in Close Race Democrats May Pick Up
- Bankruptcy Relief and the Bailout
- A Renewed Call for Mortgage Reform in California
- Preschool Legislation Aimed at Closing the Achievement Gap in California Becomes Law
- Debate: Opening Advantage Obama
- Directory
- Donate
- Contact Us
RSS Advertise Here
Deliver your message to thousands of readers every day.
Our readers are influential opinion makers - politicians, journalists and activists.
Our latest headlines
- Arnold's Freedom to Choose: Subprime Lending Regulation and the Bubble in California
- California and the Nation’s Financial Mess: It’s About Transparency
- Conservatives Should Be Appalled by the Iraq War and the Administration’s Other Self-Destructive Policies on Terror
- Regarding California’s Deadliest Train Collision: What Was Learned and Done Thus Far and What May Lay Ahead
- Three Overlapping Seats Winnable in Central California Blue Wave: Congress, State Senate, and Assembly
- Taking a Close Look at Prop 4, Californians Will Vote No—As They Have Two Times When Similar Measures Were on the Ballot
- Stuck in Traffic? Think a Moment on How Important High Speed Rail is to California
About Us
The California Progress Report is published by Frank D. Russo, a longtime observer of and participant in California politics.
About Frank Russo.
About California Progress Report.
Got a news tip? Want to write a guest column? Contact Frank here.
Sponsors
Books
Californians Criticize Arnold for Not Reaching Budget Deal
By Robert Cruickshank
Wouldn't that make an excellent headline? Instead the SacBee offers Schwarzenegger criticizes lawmakers for not reaching budget deal - Arnold kicks it in his smoking tent, or idly speculating about a post in the Obama administration on national TV while the Legislature remains divided on the budget. Here are the damning paragraphs from the article:
“Schwarzenegger ramped up criticism of lawmakers this week, but he so far has refrained from using harsh tactics such as visiting lawmakers' districts and cajoling them, as he did during a late budget in 2004.
“The Republican governor has been meeting with leaders individually, though he said he "didn't really want to interfere with their process." The parties remain divided over whether the state should use tax increases to bridge the gap, as majority Democrats have proposed.”
In other words, Arnold is reluctant to himself exercise the leadership that he claims is lacking in the Legislature.
His statements on specific proposals have been vague to the point of uselessness:
“The governor attacked tax proposals in previous years, but he did not do so Wednesday. "I think this is their way of looking at it, and I'm sure they have their reasons," he said of Democratic tax proposals. "And I think this is what makes the world go around. People have different ideas for how to solve a problem."
The contrast with previous governors is stark. In 1991-92 Pete Wilson proposed tax increases and budget cuts himself and took a very active role in getting legislators on board with a plan to close the deficit without destroying state government. Whatever we think of Wilson's governorship overall, he did not hesitate from exercising leadership to solve a much worse budget crisis.
Instead Arnold continues the trend that has defined his failed terms as our governor: playing to the media while ignoring the basic work of government.
But to leave it there would be letting him off lightly. We must not forget that much of this budget deficit is Arnold's own fault. He came to power in the 2003 recall by promising a long-term budget solution. Instead he made matters worse by cutting $6 billion in revenue from the vehicle license fee, which is actually a $12 billion swing since the state spends $6 billion a year to pay local governments what they would have received with a restored VLF. He then insisted on borrowing to close the last big budget gap, causing ongoing budget costs of $3-$4 billion a year.
It seems more and more likely that when we historians assess the seven years Arnold was our governor, the ultimate conclusion will be that he made the rest of the state cover up for his failures so he could play a governor on TV.
Robert Cruickshank is a historian, activist, and teacher living in Monterey. He is a contributing editor at Calitics.com and works for the Courage Campaign, in addition to teaching political science at Monterey Peninsula College. Currently he is completing his Ph.D. dissertation in US history, on progressive politics in San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s. A native Californian, he was raised in Orange County and educated at UC Berkeley.
Comments
Comrade Cruickshank,
The Legislature (a majority of which is Democrats who also fill key leadership/chair positions) is elected by the voters and is RESPONSIBLE for the budget, which once again is now late, to pass up to the Governor. There are alleged to be a lot of smart folks in these positions whereas Arnold is only one person...
For the ENTIRE legislative year, the legislature's democrats have avoided their own "fix" for the budget, that being a increase in taxes. Sure, that nasty concept of tax increases is now being bandied about, but where was the call for that in January/February by the dems? A lack of political courage or leadership perhaps?
In that vein, lets play word games with the Vehicle License "Fee" which is in reality a nice way to TAX the electorate without calling it so. Does it really cost $400 to register your car, a paperwork drill, annually? Get real...
Comrade, you are also in conflict with yourself: You don't like the lack of fiscal responsibility you portray the Governor with here, yet you do support a $9 BILLION DOLLAR state bond initiative, equal to 1/2 the current state budget deficit, to support High Speed Rail (HSR), which theoretically would "release" a near matching amount of Federal matching funds, aka MORE taxpayer cash.
And all for a program that has merit BUT is being executed in such a slipshod fashion that the taxpayers of the state (and nation) will take a soaking similar to my "namesake" in the 19th Century did all courtesy of "progress via railroads".
Don't misunderstand, I am no longer a supporter of Arnold. But he tried and failed with his special election initiatives to change the states political direction at the hand of special interests, and failed. So California continues on it's socialist-special interest path of decay and Arnold now follows that lead.
Posted by: Jay Gould at July 18, 2008 09:36 AM
Post a comment
Get Email Updates
Want the California Progress Report by email? Once a week, we'll send you the latest and greatest headlines.
© 2008 California Progress Report Our copyright and fair use policy.
Powered by Mandate Media. Logo design by Jane Norling.
