As a candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to make government more efficient, but in reality the General Fund spending has increased 44% since he took over.
While the private sector has been doing a good job supporting the economy, the same cannot be said for our local, state, and federal officials. Previously I addressed the massive unfunded obligations that the federal government has amassed. But the mismanagement of taxpayer’s money isn’t isolated to our Congress Critters in Washington. Our city, county, and state politicians have also forgot who pays the bills. Now I’ll address the fiscal dilemma facing the states.
An analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has revealed that 13 states face shortfalls in the next fiscal year and another 11 states expect budget problems within the next two years. For example: Florida is forecasting a $1 billion shortfall, New York is projecting a $4 billion deficit, but that pales in comparison to the $14 billion deficit projected in California. But California’s problem isn’t the lack of income. California State Senator Dick Ackerman said, “Our problem is we've just been spending too much. Our income has gone up every year, but the rate of spending has gone up greater than the income.” This is probably true with most of the cities, counties, and states facing a budget shortfall.
Since California leads the pack in fiscal mismanagement, it can be used as an example of what not to do. The California voters staged a coup several years ago by recalling the sitting Governor, Gray Davis. Davis had inherited a budget surplus but yielded to a spend-happy legislature and the state began to run up massive deficits. As a result, Davis was dumped and Arnold Schwarzenegger (the Govenator) was elected to restore fiscal discipline to the state.
But replacing the governor did not replace all the spend-happy legislators.
Shortly after taking office, Schwarzenegger proposed several ballot propositions to solve the fiscal crisis. One was a Constitutional Amendment to limit spending and another was a Constitutional Amendment to control the budget. Unfortunately the politicians, bureaucrats, and unions spent millions to defeat the measures.
Why would anyone oppose fiscal stability? The answer is simple. The proposed spending cuts would cut off the pork and these special interest groups would no longer be able to feed at the public trough. When the votes were counted, the special interest money defeated fiscal sanity. After the humiliating defeat, the Govenator was reduced to a political ‘girlie man’ and began to sign the budget-busting spending legislation. As a candidate Schwarzenegger promised to make government more efficient, but in reality the General Fund spending has increased 44% since he took over.
Currently, California is spending $400 million to $600 million more each month than it is collecting in revenues. Most families would recognize this as a problem, but big-spending politicians are oblivious to such trivia. But Schwarzenegger woke-up from his ‘girlie man’ slumber and signaled – the Governator was back. Governor Schwarzenegger said: “We do not have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem.” To address the chronic boom-and-bust budget cycle and spending problem he proposed the ‘Budget Stabilization Act’ as a long-term solution; and massive cuts to reduce the deficit as a short-term solution. But on cue, the politicians, bureaucrats, and unions opposed the spending cuts and efforts that would restore California to a sound fiscal footing. For these big spending politicians, cutting spending is like sunlight to a vampire.
But this political melodrama wouldn’t be complete without an ironic twist. The same politicians who spent California into debt now want to modify the existing term limits requirement with Proposition 93. This clever sleight of hand proposition would nullify the existing term limit requirement and allow these irresponsible politicians to remain in office for several more years. The justification for this charade is that if the proposition isn’t passed California would ‘lose’ all that experience. Remember, these are the same clowns who created the $14 billion deficit. California cannot afford that kind of experience.
But California isn’t unique. Fiscal irresponsibility is an affliction that has infected most Progressive politicians. Spending someone else’s money and living the high life of a political big shot gives them a feeling of entitlement. Taxpayers need to pay attention to California and make sure that your state doesn’t follow the same path.
quixote@covad.net
Read more articles by Jack Ward
Yet more evidence that California is the worlds largest outdoor insane asylum…
Comment by weeedley | February 15, 2008
Fiscal irresponsibility is an affliction that has infected most Progressive politicians.
Fiscal irresponsibility has become the watchword of all politicians since Ronald Reagan proved that voters are ignorant enough or indifferent enough to think that the deficits don't matter. Until thne, the Republicans were the deficit hawks, but now that the Republicans remade themselves as the tax-and-borrow party, no one seems to care.
Comment by freelunch | February 18, 2008
I’m never sure what essays of this type are meant to accomplish other than “we’re really jealous of your climate because it’s way nicer than our own state so we feel better emotionally by calling you wackjobs ”. Actually, we’re not - all wackjobs that is - and if you want to see what a pluralistic, multi-cultural America will look like in a few decades, visit California (and we’d also appreciate your tourist money if you promise to return home once it’s spent).
California is exactly like a grocery basket jammed full of cans, fruits, vegetables, paper towels, hamburger buns, etc. – separate products but all crammed together in close, if not happy, harmony. People from all over the world come to California, fall in love with the climate and the lifestyle and then refuse to leave. As a resident of California, you generally don’t have a majority of friends who are native to the state – Californians are like families within an airport terminal – many separate groups from somewhere else just hanging out together for a while: After all, no one is actually born and grows up within an airport terminal. And, no one feels much loyalty or concern for those strangers sharing your floor space.
I have a friend, a Russian Jew, who escaped the old Soviet Union. He chose the United States over Israel and was initially sent to Newark, New Jersey to live under the care of a Jewish relief organization. Upon being given a bus tour of Newark, he commented it was just like being back in the Soviet Union, only more depressing. But California was an entirely different matter – he made his way out to the Promised Land eventually and is now on his way to becoming a real estate mogul. Another friend is from Egypt, a Muslim and all around good guy. Another friend is from the Philippines and another is an ex-patriot white Brit, still loyal to Queen and country, chock full of criticisms of America but very reluctant to return to jolly old England.
I’m a legal immigrant from the United States (born in a midwestern state bordering the Great Lakes) or what we call a “documented worker” out here. I understand and relate best to those friends and acquaintances from Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, etc. – everyone here gets nostalgic for folks who sound like back home. I do have one native Californian friend, a first generation man whose family immigrated from Hawaii (yes, many Hawaiians get tired of their island paradise and dream of relocating to the mainland). The point is I’m a very typical Californian and don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a rainbow coalition of friends originally from someplace else.
When your population consists of people hailing from everywhere else, speaking different languages, praying to different gods, celebrating different holidays, honoring different cultures, you invariably have unique problems. Nobody has anything in common which causes social friction to heat up and sometimes sparks fly. To deal with this, you develop elaborate rules of behavior that reduces the friction.
No one here is considered a minority and everyone is equal. The so-called American ideal in action. But, the American ideal comes at a steep price. And that price is government, lots and lots of state and local government. The government keeps a close eye on us reputed wackjobs and enforces the rules of equality and proper social behavior. What other Americans consider bizarre practices are really just a way to keep everyone happy and working together, although we’re not “together” in any real sense.
We’re a separate-country, nation-state owned and operated by the Democratic Party – we have far left moonbeam Democrats – check out the Berkeley City Council trying to kick out the Marine Corps’ recruiting office. We have Asian, black and Hispanic Democrats – all with their hands out clamoring for government help, or at the least “a level playing field”. We have white anglo Democrats (it’s ok to be Italian or Greek and still be an anglo), guilt-ridden, wealthy, apologetic for their advantages but still running the economic show and determined to remain so.
Conservatives, voting for the Republican Party or “other”, generally keep a low profile if they know what’s good for them. Small government, fiscally responsible government and all those other time honored and beloved conservative principles are on their way to extinction in the Golden State – can you say “Dodo bird”?
We vote for guys like Schwarzenegger because we see him as sort of ethnically neutral – he’s larger than life, a celebrity and we deliberately confuse his movie image with his real life persona. But, The Governator has no awesome powers in real life to “terminate” the Democrats and the various special interest groups who ensure their continuing reign. In fact, everyone in California is a “special interest” in some sense and we have no collective power or collective will to resist the Democrats and their expensive government. Having nothing in common, we’re powerless to form a majority with a shared vision and the wisdom to fight back. In a way, we’re like the Eloi from the H. G. Wells novel “The Time Machine”. The Democrats and their special interest Morlocks provide an idyllic life but every so often someone gets eaten.
Take a good look at us Californians because, with our current federal immigration policies, in a generation or two your descendents will be “wackjobs” also and the Democrats and those few Republicans allowed a seat on their bench will be running the entire country unopposed. But, as long as Hollywood keeps cranking out movie stars, we count on a ready supply of “action heroes and heroines” to rule us.
Comment by Pat Skurka | February 19, 2008