Hooray for a brilliant idea. Can you imagine what Arnold and other fiscally-tight Republicans would have said - no screamed - if Davis would have suggested such a thing? Some people have all the luck.
Schwarzenegger now says:
"We have to now do the kinds of things to make good for the damage done in the last few years."
Yes, by borrowing. Suppose you, as an individual, have overused your credit cards and have no money to pay your debts. You go to a consultant and he tells you to borrow your way out. Would you consider this to be good advice?
Oh, but Arnold wants a spending cap. More important than a spending cap, I think, is a borrowing cap. A good case could be made that California is in this pickle because of all the borrowing measures that have been approved by initiative.
Yet, Arnold wants more borrowng by initiative. He wants the legislature to balance the budget at the same time he pushes for initiatives to unbalance it.
A true fiscal conservative would not do any more borrowing. He would balance the budget in one of 2 ways, preferably both:
Increase taxes
Reduce expenses
Borrowing will merely make the job harder in future years. Instead of stabilizing the situation now, the problem will drag on for years.
Arnold, confront the problem now, as you said you would.
