Summer reruns used
to be limited to network television. Now, they’ve taken over California
politics. The Legislature’s decision to leave Sacramento without a
budget deal and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s minimum wage declaration
for state employees are both reruns of political battles past. If there
was ever a time for thinking – and acting – differently, it’s now.
With approval ratings at their lowest point in years, many of us hoped
that this year would be different. Certainly, politics as usual is no
longer working. The State still suffers from a chronic budget deficit
and when you add the state pension crisis to the conversation, you have
a scenario that is threatening California’s future even after the
economy improves.
The tax reform commission’s recommendations to reduce
revenue volatility have been shelved without any real evaluation. And
the vast majority of Republican and Democratic lawmakers remain stuck
in their partisan corners, with each side exasperated with the other.
In talking to fellow Californians of all political stripes, the
majority has simply lost hope in the current system’s ability to
keep us running – let alone innovating us well into this century. The
quiet resignation is reflected in recent polls that Republican,
Democratic and declined-to-state voters share many of the same
feelings, even if they don’t agree on the same solutions.
California’s voters have contributed to this dysfunction, but are also
best poised to approve structural improvements to Sacramento’s
gridlock. Voters already approved the "top-two" open primary
(Proposition 14) in June and took away the state Legislature’s ability
to choose its own voters through redistricting reform (Proposition 11)
in 2008. We’ll start seeing the benefits of those reforms in 2011 and
2012.
This summer is an opportunity for state lawmakers to demonstrate that
they are capable of true reform as well. Gov. Schwarzenegger should
stop this battle over minimum wage, which is a political distraction
and unnecessarily hurts thousands of state workers.
At the same time, Democratic lawmakers should heed the Governor’s call
to include public pension reform as part of any budget deal. No
responsible state budget is complete unless it addresses the single
greatest financial threat to California’s solvency.
And all lawmakers – Republican and Democrat – should immediately head
back to Sacramento and stay there, working around the clock, until they
reach something more than a duct-taped stop gap until the next fiscal
year.
As an optimist, I am hoping for a revised script in the summer of
reruns. One thing is certain – summer is the time to turn lemons into
lemonade. And we are all thirsty.