Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature Should Meet in an Open and Public Process on the State Budget

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Democrats and Republicans Should Put Cards on the Table

Blaming the Legislature (Or the Governor) Helps No One

By Frank D. Russo

I am in a curmudgeonly mood this morning as I read charges and countercharges over the state budget. I fear we are going through the movie “Groundhog Day” again on the California state budget—what Governor Schwarzenegger likes to call a Kabuki dance.

There is a real disconnect here. And it’s not the kind that needs a constitutional amendment on spending or other distractions.

Here’s the problem. The Governor is jetting about to all sorts of staged events—he calls some of them townhall meetings—and appears before local Chambers of Commerce and the like. Throw in a few chats with the local newspaper editorial board. Avoid large crowds of ordinary Californians who you can’t control—and by all means don’t show up at community events where parents, teachers, school administrators, and ordinary citizens are talking about school budget cuts.

Depending on the mood he is in, the Governor will be charitable towards the legislature and say that none of them are irresponsible and want to spend money needlessly and that there will have to be real cuts that will be painful. Or he will insult them and say that they don’t know what they are doing and are a large part of the problem. Or he will say it’s the system, we need another constitutional amendment on spending, a rainy day fund set of rules, or some other panacea in the form of a ballot measure to be voted on by the people.

The Governor proposed the budget in January. He proposed mid year robo 10% cuts as well—with obvious non starters such as closure of many state parks and the like that were obviously done for political theater and had no chances of passage. He is roundly criticized by the Legislative Analyst, also known as the “budget nun” for abdicating any responsibility for making policy choices.