January 11, 2004
MCCLINTOCKIAN:
Sword and sorcery: The governor's first budget contains welcome spending cuts and no new taxes. Getting it past the Legislature may take some epic magic. (JOHN SEILER, January, 11, 2004, OC Register)
There were no new taxes in the proposed state budget unveiled by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday. It's music to my ears, especially after recalled Gov. Gray Davis' dissonant tax increases of the past two years.Schwarzenegger still isn't Mozart, his fellow Austrian. For that kind of fiscal music he would have needed much larger cuts in the state's still immensely wasteful budget of $99 billion ($76 billion general fund) for fiscal year 2004-05, which begins July 1.
And the harmony should have been not just no new taxes, but cuts in existing taxes and tax restructuring to once again make California a financially safe place in which to work and do business.
But unlike his predecessor, the governor at least understands the nature of taxation. "We will not raise taxes," he said at his Friday press conference. "Higher taxes will punish working families. [They] will kill jobs and drive businesses away. [They] will stall the recovery we need to pay for essential programs."
This comes as a relief after five years - actually, 13 years, because Republican Gov. Pete Wilson raised taxes, too - of governors who didn't understand that when you raise taxes on businesses and jobs, you get less of them.
"Overall he did a pretty good job of balancing this mess we had," Assemblyman John Campbell, R-Irvine, told me; he's a member of the Assembly budget committee. "This is the January budget. The full budget will come out in May. He's saying, 'These are some things I'm going to try to get.' Unlike Davis, he wasn't owned by special interests, in many cases a union, that didn't want to reduce their greed."
"He stuck with his 'no new taxes' promise," Sen. Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, told me. "He's trying to put a lid on spending. He's made significant cuts and is trying to cut down on duplication of services. He's more serious than other governors about cuts. Overall, I'm happy with it, although I'd like to see more cuts."
Mr. Schwarzenegger continues to do the things the Right said he wouldn't and the Left said he couldn't. Posted by Orrin Judd at January 11, 2004 3:17 PM
The right's concern's over Arnie were never just about his fiscal/economic veiws.
Having said that,you're right.After all,he repealed that obscene driver's license bill for illegals.
Posted by: M. at January 11, 2004 3:49 PMThis was one where the boys at the Weekly Standard got it right (endorsed him) while those at the National Review did not.
Posted by: MG at January 11, 2004 5:31 PMSpeaking of NR, they've become unreadable the last few days as they have blown a gasket over the immigration issue.
Posted by: AWW at January 11, 2004 5:34 PMArnold knows he can't be president, so he's not distracted and can concentrate on California. He can't be flattered, nor bribed, nor really be tempted by anything the left have to offer. He has plenty of money and has been in the limelight all his life.
Not much of a chance his head will be turned by being governor. Bush could do worse than to invite him to introduce him at the convention. Of course, keep the news away from the media so it would be a complete surprise. It would bring down the house.
The Gov will be great and things will change. Business as usual is over in the Golden State and it's about time.
If the Democrats do try and block Schwarzenegger's plans, then the 2004 election in California becomes a referendum on them and their effort to forstall any reforms. If you're Barbara Boxer or the eventual Democratic presidential nominee, that's not good news given Arnold's margin of victory in the recall vote.
Posted by: John at January 11, 2004 11:43 PMAnybody remember the 1993 movie Demolition Man, set in the late 21rst century:
Stallone: "Hold it! The Schwarzenegger Library?"
Bullock: "Yes, the Schwarzenegger Presidential Library. Wasn't he an actor?"
Stallone: "Stop! He was President?"
Bullock: "Yes. Even though he was not born in this country, his popularity at the time caused the 61st Amendment..."