I got angry when I saw the photo of the governor and legislative leaders smiling as they announced a budget agreement last night. They shouldn't be smiling. They should be ashamed. Their inability to balance the budget drove the spending gap to $26 billion and caused more pain for Californians than the downturn in the economy warranted.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg should have been apologizing to California residents for the inept way they have governed the state in recent years.
The question I have is how much of this agreement is based on accounting gimmicks that will force lawmakers back to the negotiating table when the holes in the budget are exposed. Remember that in February they announced a budget agreement that "solved" the spending problem, only to having to admit later that their budget numbers were phony.
It took them five more months to get to Monday night's agreement. I have a feeling that this isn't the lat we har of this budget deficit.
Shame on them!
Where is the shared suffering?
Take it out on students, workers and let the big wine growers (like they are not going to sell that bottle of wine if it has $.05 more on the bottle....) more oil drilling and we are still the only state without a real oil severence package?
Shattered dreams float accross the state of California today.
Oh look at them. Aren't they cute all smiling because they did their job. Looks to me kinda like standing in front of a building that burned down with a bucket full of water all proud that they worked together to fill the bucket.
That is funny about the bucket of water. I am guessing what Schwarzenegger is grinning about:
"See! We got them suckers again!"
"Are you sure?" Asks the lady next to him.
Yea they did their job finally but at no cost to theirselves and wat to late. The city governments are gonna suffer and the people in all the 130 cities in Calif. Students always suffer making it difficult for many to finish their degrees or even start on one leaving us with more uneducated people to lead us in the future and more people needing public assistance. Schools need top stsrt shopping around for better prices on books and other supplies. It can't be business as usual. Soon they will have tro lay off all teachers and all kids will have to be self taught online.
Jackie: Sorry but I disagree with you. Once again they have not done their jobs based on what it appears is happening at this point and time. They still have not balanced their expenditures with revenue. They are using accounting tricks, betting on future revenue, and borrowing from cash strapped cities and counties to do a patch again.
The League of Cities will certainly file a suit if this borrowing occurs. I think they have a good chance of winning, and one way or the other in as soon as two months and no longer then 6 they will be right back at it again.
I agree with you Jim they tried to look like they did their job by not sharing their caniving tricks with us. I hope the League of cities wins. Is there a point in which someone else steps in and takes care of business or are we stuck with these idiots?
Jackie: Outside of a recall, which I would not encourage because of the difficulties and the additional expense, I feel we are stuck until they are up for election again. I would hope the electorate would have enough sense to vote most of them out but based on past performance, I would not bet on it.
I understand that the governor got into trouble brandishing a knife over the budget...remember this:
Bart Turnipseed | May 3, 2009 12:52 AM | Reply
I think career Sacramento poiticians are loathing the outcome of this set of propositions because it is going to open the whole stinking mess right up again, the way it should. Everything is going to get laid out on the table in daylight this time and d-partyers are going to learn how to use a knife.
Budget deal will cause significant pain to some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, including the poor, aged and the disabled.
This budget deal includes some serious reductions to schools, colleges, health care and public assistance.