The Los Angeles Times reports that Governor Schwarzenegger has released his proposed plan to deal with California's steep budget deficit. The plan, the Times ominously reports, "proposes tax hikes" and "steep cuts" as a harsh bit of medicine for the profligacy that put California in the place it is today.

Legend in Sacramento holds that during Gov. Jerry Brown's tenure in the late 1970s-80s, a delay in the state budget and an impasse between then-Gov. Brown and the state Legislature led to some creative negotiating.

Because pressure from the capital's press corps made it tough to parse actual negotiations from posturing, Brown proposed that legislative leaders bypass normal channels and meet instead at the Virgin Sturgeon, a watering hole and restaurant five miles away from the capitol, on the Sacramento River.

GovernorSchwarzenegger's continued persistence in the face of Democraticdemands for higher taxes is, as already mentioned, one of the morerisky moves of the governor's political career.

As California courts resume sessions for the new year, they'll face another round of tough cases on the question of religion.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

The California Independent Voter Project wishes everyone a safe and happy new year. On this New Year's Day, we pledge to continue our pursuit of exceptional analysis from both sides of the political spectrum on all things politics in this great state.

With 2008 behind us, let us look forward to a bright future and work together to make those hours of great adversity that made up the end of last year a distant memory.

Happy New Year California!

While legislatorstussle over how to fix the current gap in the state’s budgetdeficit, at least they addressed last summer’s budget deficit.

Right?

Maybe wrong.

As part of thecompromise that closed that gap – then at around $17 billion –legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to put a ballotmeasure before voters sometime in 2009 that would borrow againstfuture lottery revenues, with the understanding voters had to givethe okay to overhaul the lottery in such a way as to increase itsrevenues for the state.

In an attempt to reach new audiences to get the word out about California's budget deficit, the governor's office has created a new online widget that marks how many days the Legislature has gone without passing a new budget and displays the amount of money the state is losing by the second.

Last week, President-elect Barack Obama nominated Hilda Solis

to the position of Labor Secretary. This marks yet another time when

Obama has turned to the Golden State for guidance in his cabinet, as Solis is the representative of California's 32^nd district, and I am sure that those people who elected her to this position must be very proud.

I

am also sure that they must have very bad taste, for this is the second

The California Independent Voter Project would like to wish all of its supporters, their families, and their loved ones a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season. For the a-religious: we hope you are in good spirits. During these hard economic times, it is more important as ever to reflect on the invaluable presents those we love give us everyday. Many of us bought or made gifts that best represent our appreciation for them within the means we have to express them; a way to emphasize our appreciation for their honesty and respectfulness.

The last few days have seen a great deal of vitriol from all sides commenting on California's sad budget situation. Democrats and left leaning commentators railed against a Republican plan that proposed about $22 billion in budget "solutions" only to be followed by a similar right side hyperbolic rage against a "majority vote" Democratic plan that would have trimmed about $18 billion from the $40 billion or so 18 month cavern.