Here's my take on why we are unable to get out of the current pickle. Feel free to comment.
1. The voter proposition system is madness. We vote in new spending without accounting for new revenue. Some propositions say "no new taxes will be needed." But those new measures still compete with existing programs for funding. If I am correct, voter propositions are also responsible for California needing a 2/3 majority to pass a budget (insanity), and for it being virtually impossible to raise taxes when needed. (IMO taxes should be raised during a boom and cut during a bust, but in California it's almost impossible to raise them).
2. California politics is presently dominated by unions who do not have the overall health of the California economy at heart. Every time Arnold tries to cut spending, some liberal special interest group comes out of the woodwork and throws a hissy fit (and I'm a liberal, but I'm also pro-reality). The teachers union, the state employees union, the prison guard union, etc. OK, I get that nobody wants their pay cut, but Arnold seems to be the only guy in Sacramento who accepts a reality here - the money isn't there, something has to be cut.
1. The voter proposition system is madness. We vote in new spending without accounting for new revenue. Some propositions say "no new taxes will be needed." But those new measures still compete with existing programs for funding. If I am correct, voter propositions are also responsible for California needing a 2/3 majority to pass a budget (insanity), and for it being virtually impossible to raise taxes when needed. (IMO taxes should be raised during a boom and cut during a bust, but in California it's almost impossible to raise them).
2. California politics is presently dominated by unions who do not have the overall health of the California economy at heart. Every time Arnold tries to cut spending, some liberal special interest group comes out of the woodwork and throws a hissy fit (and I'm a liberal, but I'm also pro-reality). The teachers union, the state employees union, the prison guard union, etc. OK, I get that nobody wants their pay cut, but Arnold seems to be the only guy in Sacramento who accepts a reality here - the money isn't there, something has to be cut.
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