Biting the Feds Hand Won’t Bring Money to California
Somebody should take California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger aside and remind him that you never bite the hand that
feeds you – even if you’re still hungry after being fed.
Faced with a $20 billion-plus budget deficit, a
record-low approval rating and no prospect of garnering the two-thirds
legislative vote required to raise taxes, he released a draconian state budget earlier
this month and blamed everyone but himself for the fiscal mess that made it
necessary.
To help close the fiscal gap, Schwarzenegger is in
D.C. this week, along with state legislative leaders, with hat in hand to lobby
the California delegation for billions of dollars. But the welcome sign
probably won’t be hanging on the doors of the Washington lawmakers. This month
has been marked by rancor between the governor and the Democrat-dominated
delegation over what he claims Washington owes California.
A Democratic Strategy, Modestly Proposed: Surrender and Win:
The Onion recently ran a story under the headline:
"Democrats Hoping to Take Control of Congress From Minority Republicans in
2010."
If there were a California version
of the Onion, you could run a similar story here, simply by replacing
"Congress" with "The Legislature."
To
repeat briefly what we all know: Under California’s constitutional rules
requiring a 2/3 vote for spending bills and revenue increases, the legislative
minority, if it can stay together, is in charge. And California’s legislative
Republicans have been skilled at taking hostages each year, threatening to send
the state into fiscal chaos unless its demands are met. Democrats have been
unable to figure out how to win these battles, so they have the worst of both
worlds – they’re responsible for the legislature’s failings but don’t really
have the power to do anything about it.
Pensions Finally Making the Front Page
Reading Daniel Borenstein’s article in the Contra Costa Times on pension spiking earlier in the week brought back a memory of a fight against pension spiking in a different part of the state.
Los Angeles County had a bout with pension spiking in the early 1990s. Top county officials – not the average employee – worked under a relatively new salary structure in which they received both bonuses that were not considered part of the salary, and lucrative benefits. The value of the benefits was then included in calculating retirement pensions.
This pension spiking scheme was roundly criticized from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to the editorial page of the Los Angeles Times. In fact, when the Jarvis Association called a press conference to announce a lawsuit against the pension spiking, the Times reporter assigned to the press conference told Jon Coupal, then Jarvis attorney, and me, then the association’s president, that his editor already set aside a portion of the front page for the article.
Let’s Go All Conan on Our Bosses
I like my job. Always have. There’s a lot of typing, sure, but I prefer working indoors because I sunburn easily. I don’t have to work midnight shifts or weekends. The pay is fine. Gee, I hope my bosses don’t read this.
Now that I think about it, I’ve liked all my jobs. Some of my employers took a chance on me, and I’m grateful to them. I’m particularly fond of the ones who didn’t fire me.
But last week it hit me: I have been one dumb, gullible employee all these years. I’m going to stop. From now on, I’m going to be more like Conan O’Brien. Now there’s a guy who’s playing it smart.
He may love his job. He may even be grateful to his bosses at NBC for taking a chance on him. But he sure isn’t showing it. He’s not dumb. By throwing such a diva fit at the prospect of having his “Tonight Show” delayed by a half-hour, O’Brien made it clear he’s not gullible.