He also reneged on Pete Wilson’s (as Republican as you get) promise to raise car registration fees if there was a budget deficit, especially on gas-guzzlers.

Ben’s right – we get the government we deserve. Until Californians stop trying to push their problems into the future, like with the housing bubble, things won’t get better.

Arnold is trying to use shock doctrine techniques and free market economic theory on California. California is preparing itself to become a US version of Bolivia from the 90s. Gray Davis would have sucked, but Gray Davis would be hard pressed to be doing worse than Arnold. Arnold and the minority Republicans are in lock step with the power of the veto to prevent anything other than ONLY budget cuts to solve the budget problems.

Watch the following video to see where Arnold gets his economic foundation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKbHA76-Hi0&

I would write more, but instead I found someone that wrote what I was thinking on the talk of the nation page yesterday. Talk of the nation had a segment on California and I was pissed when Neil Conan flatly accepted Arnold’s line that the special election was a referendum on taxes. I think I actually switched to listening to music when he did. Here is the quote:

“I find it amazing that the Governor has managed to sell the election results as, “California voters chose spending cuts over tax increases,” and the hosts of the NPR and KQED shows that I listen to appear to have accepted this story blindly.

I invite Neal Conan and my fellow commenters to read the initiatives we were given to vote on: http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/.

ONE initiative (1A) included tax extensions, FOUR initiatives (1B-1E) involved services cuts, and one initiative (1F) would ding legislators if they failed to pass a budget on time.

Only 1F passed. All the others went down roughly 70-30.

So California voters said NO to spending cuts four times, and NO to tax extensions once. How was this election about affirming spending cuts over raising taxes?

Also, check out who signed on to the argument in favor of proposition 1A: TERESA CASAZZA, President California Taxpayers’ Association. This organization is devoted to limiting taxes, its Web site (http://www.caltax.org/) cheers for prop 13, and yet, the ONLY initiative that would have expanded tax revenues received this organization’s backing.”

I’m not happy about the state park closures. I’m outraged that we’re handing out 10% pay cuts to state workers like candy. The only reasonable solution is to pay for the services we want and give up those we don’t. The imbalance is that the first part takes 2/3 and the second part only takes 1/2.