Post by The Big Dog on Nov 23, 2008 12:14:02 GMT -5
There is an old saying, sometimes close to a truism, that as California goes so goes the nation. We've had largely one party rule with increasingly socialistic Democrats dominating the Legislature and a string "center-right" Republican governors wrapped around two leftist Democrats.
Like the nation we haven't had a real conservative in the executive since some guy named Reagan left office in 1975. The parallels of Washington and Sacramento, given the increasingly sharp left turn that voters endorsed nationally a couple of weeks ago, are unmistakeable.
If it's even close to true in the current socio-economic climate then y'all better hang onto your butts with both hands because it's going to be a bumpy ride.
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By Dan Walters
The Sacramento Bee
Surveys of Californians find them in a bleak mood – and no wonder.
Not only is the economy in a tailspin – with the unemployment topping 8 percent – but even those with jobs find home equities and retirement accounts melting away.
The state budget deficit grows by the hour, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators are stuck in a familiar no-action rut. Budget woes probably mean sharp cuts in school funds, thus postponing indefinitely a much-needed overhaul of education, as well as erosion of the safety net for the poor – and/or heavy new taxes.
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This downturn has a fundamentally more serious air than those of the past. The social, economic and political forces Kotkin cites are very ominous. We are in deep trouble on a variety of fronts and overarching everything is that we have, consciously or unconsciously, rendered ourselves functionally ungovernable – chronically unable to address the economic and social ills that plague us.[/quote]
Like the nation we haven't had a real conservative in the executive since some guy named Reagan left office in 1975. The parallels of Washington and Sacramento, given the increasingly sharp left turn that voters endorsed nationally a couple of weeks ago, are unmistakeable.
If it's even close to true in the current socio-economic climate then y'all better hang onto your butts with both hands because it's going to be a bumpy ride.
[/url]
By Dan Walters
The Sacramento Bee
Surveys of Californians find them in a bleak mood – and no wonder.
Not only is the economy in a tailspin – with the unemployment topping 8 percent – but even those with jobs find home equities and retirement accounts melting away.
The state budget deficit grows by the hour, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators are stuck in a familiar no-action rut. Budget woes probably mean sharp cuts in school funds, thus postponing indefinitely a much-needed overhaul of education, as well as erosion of the safety net for the poor – and/or heavy new taxes.
<< snipped >>
This downturn has a fundamentally more serious air than those of the past. The social, economic and political forces Kotkin cites are very ominous. We are in deep trouble on a variety of fronts and overarching everything is that we have, consciously or unconsciously, rendered ourselves functionally ungovernable – chronically unable to address the economic and social ills that plague us.[/quote]
