SamSaid!

BIG CHALLENGE

     Gotta hand it to Arnold Schwarzenegger  — he is one gutsy politician. The line has been drawn in the sand and the battle lines are formed. Arnold is going to directly challege the labor unions that control and dominate the finances of California.

     Arnold is right. California doesn not have a revenue problem  — it has a spending problem. There is no easy way out of the State's huge multi-billion dollar budget deficit without changing the structure of committed costs. He will get nowhere with the politicos and Union leaders who have a vested interest in the status quo, so his only alternative is to take his case directly to the people  — and that is what he is committed to do. The issues and remedies he intends to pose are not trivial  – they are biggies.

     Consider:  A) Implementing merit pay for teachers, and granting tenure after seven years (not 1 or 2). B) Reducing pension costs currently built into the labor agreements of public employe unions. These plans have benefit escalation formulae that will accelerate runaway costs from now on. 3) redistricting legislative districts that are now formed to vitually guarantee incumbent re-election in “safe” districts for both Democrats and Republicans. How are those for starters??

    The propaganda missiles are already flying, and the exchanges are likely to get worse before getting better. No doubt, Arnold still enjoys popularity among the citizens at large. Thus the Unions have no alternative than to try to destroy him personally. That process is already underway. The newspaper/TV ads are already appearing.

     California's financial problems are very real and very big. A band aid approach will solve nothing, and neither will a strategy based on “buying time”. Delay simply means that the structural problems will continue to drive the budget south. As one citizen, I hope Arnold doesn't back off and that he continues to take his messages directly to the citizens at large. There is nobody else on the horizon who can pick up his shoes when it comes to political conviction and courage.