There are two items of California interest in today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail. A "Quote Of The Day" item, and John Fund writes on the broohaha on the CalChamber’s television advertisement taking on Jerry Brown, which they have now taken off the air…
"The state of California’s real unfunded pension debt clocks in at more than $500 billion, nearly eight times greater than officially reported. . . . To put that number in perspective, it’s almost seven times greater than all the outstanding voter-approved state general obligation bonds in California. For a glimpse of California’s budgetary future, look no further than the $5.5 billion diverted this year from higher education, transit, parks and other programs in order to pay just a tiny bit toward current unfunded pension and healthcare promises. . . . For decades — and without voter consent — state leaders have been issuing billions of dollars of debt in the form of unfunded pension and healthcare promises, then gaming accounting rules in order to understate the size of those promises" — David Crane, special economic adviser to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, writing in the Los Angeles Times on California’s government pension crisis.
The Iron Fist Behind the Moonbeam
Polls show that one of the biggest obstacles facing Jerry Brown in his comeback bid to become governor of California is the sour memory older voters have of his eight years in the job between 1975 and 1983. Mr. Brown is roughly tied with Republican businesswoman Meg Whitman in general election poll matchups.
That may explain why Mr. Brown reacted so harshly to a TV ad criticizing his gubernatorial record briefly aired by the California Chamber of Commerce last week. The ad pointed out that Mr. Brown had opposed the now-legendary tax-cutting Proposition 13 and oversaw a dramatic increase in state spending. Reporters say both Mr. Brown and his wife Anne Gust, former CEO of clothing company The Gap, responded by placing calls to chamber members asking them to demand that the spot be taken off the air.
The ad was indeed suddenly pulled. Chamber head Al Zaremberg says his group "accomplished what we tried to accomplish" while acknowledging that "we probably got a little more attention than we expected." He confirmed that Mr. Brown, now the state’s attorney general in charge of enforcing a great deal of business regulation, had "called members of our board."
With the Brown ad yanked, the chamber is running a more subdued spot suggesting viewers visit the Chamber’s Web site for "facts and answers about our future." None of the state’s candidates for governor are mentioned by name. The incident is a vivid illustration of the power of government regulators to silence or neuter any unwelcome political messages coming from the businesses under their heel.
— John Fund
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