How Schwarzenegger and the G.O.P. Are Responsible for California’s Budget Mess

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

As long as Governor Schwarzenegger keeps his promise not to seek higher taxes to fix California’s budget deficit, he will have the support of Republican lawmakers.

As long as Republican lawmakers support the Governor’s budget program, the Democrats will be unable to gain media traction for any plan to mix in tax hikes with budget cuts.

The press corps will label any plan that lacks bipartisan support, “petty, partisan politics” (to paraphrase Pat Brown).

This ‘take’ by the press corps means it will be unlikely that public opinion can be mobilized against a “cuts only” solution to the budget. Republicans don’t care about public opinion in any case – just the opinion of the majority that dominates the primary elections in their district. But if there ever was a chance, the “free” media outlets have ended it.

To offset the blame that will follow from deep cuts in public education, freed felons and the like, the Governor has hit the stump with a proposed ‘reform’ package that is really warmed over ‘Wilsonism’ - a higher reserve plus seizing from the Legislature the authority to suspend state laws if cash looks tight.

Voters have twice rejected this plan – but it works to give the media something to say that distracts the public from the real issues. To sweeten the bait, Schwarzenegger includes “redistricting reform”. He knows nothing about redistricting except that the press doesn’t like it. But it serves his purpose in distracting them.

The poor Assembly Budget Chair is reduced to ‘blogging’ to make a fact-based case ignored in media coverage of the budget – or mentioned in graph 6 of a “partisan bicker” context. But his facts are clear and persuasive.

The car tax cut produced a hole in the budget. Borrowing to pay for that hole without
A new revenue source ‘covered’ the problem, but deepened the hole. The pre-school program put on the ballot by Schwarzenegger without a revenue source added to the hole’s depth. Those three things define our problem now. The Governor plans to cut education to fill the hole created by his tax cuts and unfunded spending.