Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

There is an inherent ironyin the fact that four-years after Arnold Schwarzenegger was swept intothe governorship, in part due to the dysfunction of the budget process,the budget is now in worse shape than ever, due in part to Arnold's ownpolicies, writes Dan Walters in today's Sacramento Bee. It's emblematicof some of larger problems in Schwarzenegger's tenure—grandiosegestures that sell well politically (like cutting the car tax) but havesevere policy implications (a larger than ever debt).

The combination of impasse in Washington over the State Children'sHealth Insurance Fund and projected shortfalls in Sacramento could place health coverage for thousands of California children in jeopardy,according to the Bee. Even if the Governor and Democratic leaders reachagreement on a health care plan for the state, it would not kick inuntil 2010, so some interim funding is needed.

The former director of the state Department of Motor Vehicles has spent thousands of dollars in legal fees to make a point about $5,000in unemployment benefits, arguing that former Gov. Gray Davis was sucha micromanager that he hardly had the chance to do his job, the Beereports. For the record though, it was Schwarzenegger who actuallyfired the guy.

There's more...

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.