I planned to write today’s commentary on the state budget, but then I read Assemblyman Chuck Devore’s e-mail to his supporters that Nicholas Romero posted yesterday afternoon and realized that there wasn’t much to say beyond what DeVore wrote (or the San Diego U-T or the OC Register).
But I do have a few thoughts on the matter.
While the Legislature and the Governor can campaign this year as having passed and signed the state budget into law before July 1 as required by the state’s constiution, no one should be throwing a party.
Sure, this year’s budget is not disastrous for the state. But neither is it responsible. How can any legislative body approve a budget that runs a deficit in a year when the state had an unexpected windfall of money?
I must say that the Republicans in the Legislature did the best they could–without the help of any major muscle flexing by the governor, a fellow member of the GOP. One can’t help wondering what the budget might have been like if Gov. Schwarzenegger had participated in the budget negotiations before the Legislature voted (it makes this Republican think fondly on the days when Iron Duke was in charge!). Although after Schwarznegger’s remarks last year about Big Five sessions, it’s no surprise. ("I’ve never reached any kind of agreement, or accomplished anything, in a Big Five meeting," he told reporters.)
**There is more – click the link**
June 30th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Cathy Carlson from Thousand Oaks here: I read the Flash Report every day. See what’s going on in Ventura County regarding the backlash against public education. The story is listed in today’s Flash Report under State Budget, Ventura County Star. There were 9 posts today, some of them scathing! I started off by exposing the corruption in the west part of the county by the very same superintendent that the Star’s political editor was trying to promote! Read the juicy details of the arrests and the civil rights case that arose from buttons saying “Ya Basta” or enough is enough. Now the schools are trying to spin this phrase into something new–that it is directed toward Arnold. The consensus is that more state money thrown at the failing schools will only be stolen by the administrators, and will not trickle down to the kids.
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_4809974,00.html