Our
View: What now for the Gold State
So
it is finally over. For months California
has been alternating between being the laughing
stock and some sort of freaky sideshow of
the nation. But now that it is over, we
Californians can finally get down to the
nitty-gritty, the real business at hand.
Now
that Schwarzenegger has won over the hearts,
minds and trust of the vast majority of
the state, we can see if he is going to
make good on all those promises he has made.
Promises to make us fiscally responsible
again, to bring back jobs, bring back businesses
and do this all without cutting education
or making us pay a car tax.
We
cannot wait to see these miracles of state
policy start raining down on us with all
the ethereal grace that will be Schwarzenegger's
term. Although his everyday Joe rhetoric
has managed to sway many a democrat away
from their party line, it's going to take
a lot more than that to make this tough
crowd give rave reviews.
Arnold
has sworn to protect education from further
cuts, and it is a good thing because it
probably couldn't take many more. But what
lies in store for the Cal State system,
and what does Schwarzenegger plan on doing
for the massive cuts that have already been
sustained?
Schwarzenegger
plans on repealing car taxes and at the
same time swearing to protect and "streamline"
education. What does that mean? Does it
mean that many of the administrative costs
will be pared back while maintaining class
offerings and student services? Does it
mean fat cat players in the CSU and UC systems
will have to fork over that free car or
decrease their yearly-spending budget? Or
does it mean that class sizes will soar,
student services will shrink beyond all
recognition and normally manageable costs
will inflate like the life raft we will
wish we had? Two-hundred dollar parking
permit anyone?
We
may not be taking it from Davis anymore,
but how soon is Schwarzenegger going to
start fixing the budget and maintaining
all the services we need without raising
taxes or cutting more from the usual suspects
of social services and education?
The
quicker Governor-elect Schwarzenegger starts
tackling the real issues, now that the fun
part is over, the better off the state will
be.
Many
of the things that Schwarzenegger is going
to repeal were part of the budget patches
Davis was putting into place. Arnold had
better come up with some good substitutes
before that projected $8 billion deficit
for the next fiscal year skyrockets again
while he's gaining his sea-legs, so to speak.
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