As the hand-wringing over California's budget crisis inSacramento continues, the hard truth that the world's 8th economicpower is sliding into fiscal insolvency is finally starting to hit hometo rank and file Californians.
These same folks are realizing that theymay be receiving actual IOUs for their state tax refunds and that theirchildren are going to be packed like sardines into increasingly largerclasses as more teachers from one end of the state to the other arelaid-off. Cities and counties across the Golden State are preparing toseverely dial-back all kinds of state funded programs and services --the most critical of which involve public safety and health services.
California in recent years, sadly, hastaken on a tarnish that has diminished its fabled and iconicreputation. In the not so distant past, the state was at the top of thenational heap in terms of education, infrastructure and arts funding.Now, it ranks dead last or near it compared to the rest of the states.
As a general caveat, it's important torecognize that currently there are just too many demands of statefunding, programs and special services by the people that makeCalifornia the nation's most populous state. Generally speaking, morebudget cuts can and should be made.Unlike the glory years of the 1950s,1960s and 1970s, California finds itself in a new era of shrinkingresources. State residents must get used to doing more with less statesupport in their lives in the years ahead. Moreover, the state's fiscalhouse is a disaster. Besides battling an unprecedented, nation-leading$42 billion budget deficit, California is expected to be literallycashless within a matter of a few weeks.
The state must get back to theaforementioned basics: Public safety, education and health care must beSacramento's "pillar" concerns. But in order to restore those basicservices (and other programs we care about) we're going to have toraise and re-establish new sources revenues -- i.e. taxes and fees.Even our celebrity Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, agreesthat in order to save the state's fiscal backside, the re-establishmentof programs like the infamous vehicle license fee (VLF) and theimplementation of a temporary hike in the sales tax must occur.(And,yes, the VLF is ironically the very same blunt instrument thatSchwarzenegger used to chase former Gov. Gray Davis from office duringthe 2003 recall election.)
At the crux of California's current fiscaltroubles is a standoff -- on one side -- between Schwarzenegger, themajority statehouse Democrats and a small cadre of Republican lawmakerswho continue to play a dangerous ideological game that threatens tofiscally break the state's back. These legislators -- most all pledgedto national anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist -- wield power due to thearcane nature of the California Constitution, which requires statebudgets to be approved by a two-thirds margin, instead of a simple 50percent plus one majority like they are in most every other state inthe nation.
While state Republicans may be scoringpoints with their conservative constituents, they are holding the restof the state and its densely populated urban Democratic cores, hostage.They have gone from being hard-line ideologues to rogue obstructionistswho by their actions have arguably violated their oaths of office toserve and protect the state. After all, doesn't knowingly forcing thestate into insolvency represent some sort of intentional malfeasance ofoffice?
Then again, perhaps they should be allowedto just take California over the falls. Then voters could see exactlywho was responsible for making their already hard lives more difficult.However, the more likely scenario is that these Republican ideologues-- with their 'shrink government down until it's the size of somethingthat can be drowned in a bathtub' (Norquist's self-stated mantra) --will keep their boots on the necks of their fellow Californians for aslong as they can.
Only when a ballot measure is passed that amends the Constitution's budget voting requirements willtrue and fair 'majority rule' be restored to Sacramento.
