What is Arnie Actually Going to Do to Fix California?

[a_unique_person]

California's huge deficit is a political nightmare for the new Governor, writes Gerard Wright in Los Angeles.

After the euphoria, Arnold Schwarzenegger was quickly facing reality - confronting massive public expectations that he will be able to overcome the financial crisis afflicting the world's fifth largest economy.

............

Mr Schwarzenegger's campaign mantra that he would balance the state budget will be immediately tested by his pledge to repeal a 300 per cent increase in car registration fees, worth $US4 billion.

Also confronting the neophyte governor will be the relics of past voter revolts and the laws they forced on their representatives. Under these laws, much of the state budget is already committed to specific programs such as education, which must receive a minimum of 40 per cent of the budget total. Revenue from petrol taxes can only be spent on transport.

Also confronting the neophyte governor will be the relics of past voter revolts and the laws they forced on their representatives.
In all, 80 per cent of budget spending - which this year will be $US100 billion - is compulsorily allocated.

I was wondering why Davis hadn't or couldn't do what Arnie says he will. It appears to me that it is Californians themselves that have dug their own grave. A state budget that has 80% that cannot be changed because of requirements forced by those same voters. They have been trying to have their cake and eat it too.

One change that I think makes perfect sense, tripling the cost of registering a motor vehicle will be rescinded.

The 'mob rule' that the Federal Constitution was designed to prevent for the country seems to be alive and kicking in California.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/09/1065676094490.html

 

[Iamme]

A_Unique_Person---Good question. Yes. What did Davis actually cause, and what did the constiuents choose to pay for?

It be nice to hear from posters who live in California.

 

[Earthborn]

What is Arnie Actually Going to Do to Fix California?

I think it is very obvious what he's going to do:

• Kill all the baddies
• Start the Californian Fixing Machine left by the Ancients
• Get the girl

That's how he usually fixes things, and it never failed.

 

[reprise]

Holy crap. Forty % of the state's budget is spent on education. California must have one kick-ass education system!

 

[Zep]

Well, "Movie Arnie" was never a stickler for "the rules" in a tense situation, so maybe he will just choose to ignore or reverse those he feels do not accord with his program of reform and reconstruction. Some noses might be put out of joint as a result...

Whatever. In real life, he's hardly the first or only "movie star" to have entered politics, and not all of the others have been complete boobs. So I'm happy to give him some time to come to grips with his problems and see how he goes, before giving him a complete bagging!

 

[a_unique_person]

Whatever. In real life, he's hardly the first or only "movie star" to have entered politics, and not all of the others have been complete boobs. So I'm happy to give him some time to come to grips with his problems and see how he goes, before giving him a complete bagging!

The whole point of the article is that there is nothing he can do. 80% of spending is already committed. He is not going to raise taxes. He is going to cut some existing taxes.

 

[EvilYeti]

I think it is very obvious what he's going to do:

• Kill all the baddies
• Start the Californian Fixing Machine left by the Ancients
• Get the girl

That's how he usually fixes things, and it never failed.

"Quaid, start the reactor. Free auto registration...."

 

[shuize]

Holy crap. Forty % of the state's budget is spent on education. California must have one kick-ass education system!

lol lol

No. California teachers are among the highest paid, but the Californian education system is far from kick-ass:

Recent rankings by state.

 

[peptoabysmal]

Holy crap. Forty % of the state's budget is spent on education. California must have one kick-ass education system!

The only one's ass who gets kicked by the California education system is the taxpayers. The lion's share goes to K - 12 education while higher education is suffering from an all time low budget crisis. The pedagogical success rate of California for K - 12 is one of the lowest ranked in the nation. It has basically become a baby-sitting service complete with free lunches for poor poeple until their children are old enough to drop out of school and get arrested.

 

[peptoabysmal]

I was wondering why Davis hadn't or couldn't do what Arnie says he will. It appears to me that it is Californians themselves that have dug their own grave. A state budget that has 80% that cannot be changed because of requirements forced by those same voters. They have been trying to have their cake and eat it too.

One change that I think makes perfect sense, tripling the cost of registering a motor vehicle will be rescinded.

The 'mob rule' that the Federal Constitution was designed to prevent for the country seems to be alive and kicking in California.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/09/1065676094490.html

Just because Arnold is a successful movie actor and businessman is no reason to think he would succeed as a governor. After all, Davis was a career bureaucrat with a record of nearly perfect incompetence and corruption. Think of the tremendous value of Davis' experience!

 

[peptoabysmal]

Arnold's Plan

I just had this argument with my father the other day. He voted for Davis. I come from a family of "yellow dog" Democrats and a yellow dog would have been an improvement over Davis.

Anyway, I was able to rattle off a lot more that Arnold was going to do than my dad was able to say that Davis was going to do. Dear old dad lost the argument and ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ Davis lost the election *boo hoo*.

Voting for Davis was the fear vote, resistance to change. Oh, my God, it's going to disrupt the state even more. Phooey, the state needs to be disrupted.

Arnold does have a plan and some very solid goals. You may not like his plan because it doesn't completely fit into the whiney liberal agenda, but he has as much of a plan laid out (IMO more of a plan laid out) as any other candidate did. Just read the stuff on the link.

 

[a_unique_person]

But I can't see where he is going to government spending. That is the crux of the whole thing.

 

[peptoabysmal]

But I can't see where he is going to government spending. That is the crux of the whole thing.

If you read his plan and you don't see where he is headed on that issue, I can only guess that the only solution your mind will allow you to see is heavy taxation.

He's going after bureaucratic agencies, welfare / medi-Cal fraud, education administrative overhead, price gouging etc. etc. etc.

 

[a_unique_person]

If you read his plan and you don't see where he is headed on that issue, I can only guess that the only solution your mind will allow you to see is heavy taxation.

He's going after bureaucratic agencies, welfare / medi-Cal fraud, education administrative overhead, price gouging etc. etc. etc.

That's what everyone says they will do for the past 100 years. It hasn't happened yet.

 

[reprise]

We're just used to policy statements being very specific on detail, and outlining precisely what cuts will be made in what areas, starting on what date and what the overall saving to the budget will be. Plus, any time someone starts throwing around projected figures related to their policies in Australia those figures get independently costed. Of course very often the legislation required to make the proposed changes is either amended or rejected by the parliament, so the projected increased revenue or decreased spending rarely matches the eventual reality.

I guess that we just find the lack of projected savings for each of the proposals Arnold is making a little odd.

 

[peptoabysmal]

That's what everyone says they will do for the past 100 years. It hasn't happened yet.

Most of the politicians who said they would do something about government waste were career bureaucrats feeding off of the very system they were criticizing. It's like mosquitos claiming they will do something to prevent malaria. That's what puts Arnold in a unique position to actually do something about the problem; he is his own man.

Maybe he will fail. That's part of the human condition. The only way to never fail is to never try to do anything.

First you say he has no plan, next you say his plan has been tried and failed for the last 100 years. Just admit you don't like Arnold and you are sad that your hero, Gray Davis, was publicly humiliated and get over it.

 

[peptoabysmal]

We're just used to policy statements being very specific on detail, and outlining precisely what cuts will be made in what areas, starting on what date and what the overall saving to the budget will be. Plus, any time someone starts throwing around projected figures related to their policies in Australia those figures get independently costed. Of course very often the legislation required to make the proposed changes is either amended or rejected by the parliament, so the projected increased revenue or decreased spending rarely matches the eventual reality.

I guess that we just find the lack of projected savings for each of the proposals Arnold is making a little odd.

One of the problems with American politics is that the books are not really open to the public. All you ever get is digested statistics. That was the first thing Arnold said that impressed me, was that he wanted the books open on California, so the public would have access to the raw information. There has been some very creative bookkeeping going on in California for a long, long time. It will take time for someone to really get to the bottom of it. I can't wait to see what private auditors will think of the state budget. They will probably burst a pocket protector or something.

 

[reprise]

One of the problems with American politics is that the books are not really open to the public.

That explains a lot about how the situation in California got so bad. Surely the legislature must hold all government departments accountable for their expenditure and their reports to the legislature are a part of the public record. Isn't there a government auditor of some sort?

There's still a fair bit of "creative accounting" goes on in Australian politics (yeah, SURE we believe that the government was "surprised" by a $7.5 billion dollar surplus when they'd only projected a surplus of $3.5 billion), but every proposed or actual budget is examined in minute detail by both opposing political parties and independent economic analysts.

 

[a_unique_person]

First you say he has no plan, next you say his plan has been tried and failed for the last 100 years. Just admit you don't like Arnold and you are sad that your hero, Gray Davis, was publicly humiliated and get over it.

A plan is not a bunch of 'ten point' platitudes.

I don't like Arnold, but I hardly hold Davis up as a hero. I just believe, as this article has confirmed to me, that the problems California faces go much deeper than anyone is prepared to admit or face up to.