With the propositions behind us, it’s official - the state is broke, billions of dollars in the red. So now what?
Here’s a thought – let’s not blame politicians anymore. Let’s not keep sending them back to Sacramento for more stalemates. Let’s not let ideology or party politics cause crisis after crisis.
We get the government we deserve, and we should deserve better.
The Bay Area has always led the state in innovation, in social and cultural progress and in business.
We’re problem solvers. We have big ideas. We get things done. We can solve this problem. We can fix our government.
But only if we take a hard look at serious constitutional reform and apply some Bay Area thinking to our Sacramento problem.
That’s what we think. What do you think?
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday he's heard "loud and clear" a voter message to take care of deficits through budget cuts alone, without passing additional costs along to them.
Voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected Schwarzenegger's package of budget-balancing measures that he promised would temporarily fix the state's financial crisis.
Instead, he now faces a $21.3 billion budget deficit.
Schwarzenegger said the state's residents have had to sell off motorcycles, second cars and hold garage sales to make ends meet in recent months. Now, they're telling state officials that the government has to shrink, too.
Local
"Don't to come to us for extra help. That was the message," Schwarzenegger said after a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "And you know something. I appreciate that when you hear that from the people. It gives us a chance to go and adjust, and say 'OK, we went in the wrong direction. Now lets go in the right direction and lets go do what the people want.' "
Still, Schwarzenegger said the budget cuts to come may be more painful than California voters realize. While they may not want to pay more for services, they can't say specifically which services they would pare, he said.
