An election eve e-mail from a reader in Oxnard perfectly captured the tone of Tuesday's voting, to wit:
"Schwarzenegger, Bass, Cogdill, Villines, Steinberg and the rest of those stinking, lying Sacramento bastards can go straight to hell. They're going to be whacked hard upside their heads tomorrow."
Whacked they were, as voters – feeling the financial pinch and angry at politicians' inability to fix the state budget – soundly rejected five ballot measures Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders said were vital to closing the state's chronic budget gap, including $16 billion in future taxes.
Schwarzenegger's 11th hour prediction of fiscal calamity failed to sway voters and an odd-bedfellows alliance of right- and left-wing opponents, although heavily outspent by the governor and his allies, dominated a low-turnout special election.
The campaign for the measures was lackluster at best. Schwarzenegger even spent election day in Washington, kibitzing with new buddy Barack Obama on global warming – perhaps an indication that he's already looking for a new career venue.
Whatever the voters' reasons might have been, their rejection of the package means California will face multibillion-dollar budget deficits for years to come, especially if the recession continues to deepen.
Schwarzenegger says that without three of the measures that would have allowed the state to tap special funds for $6 billion, the state faces a $21.3 billion deficit in 2009-10, and no one would be surprised if it eventually reaches $30 billion.
So, those in and around the Capitol wonder, what happens now? Whatever happens, it will have to be quick because the state not only has a whopping deficit, it's also running out of cash and needs to float $20 billion-plus in short-term paper to keep its check-writing machines humming.
Commercial lenders, who in past years snapped up California's "revenue anticipation notes," are leery this year, not only because the state has a big budget gap and a Third World credit rating, but also because the banking industry is in turmoil. That's why state officials are pleading with Congress and the Obama administration to underwrite the loans.
Schwarzenegger has proposed a series of medium-term loans, spending cuts and deferrals, including state employee layoffs, to handle the $21.3 billion problem, but opposition among affected groups is already building.
Democrats generally prefer raising taxes, but appear to be leery about that approach this time because taxes have already been raised, because Tuesday's election was a vote of no-confidence, and because getting Republican votes for more taxes would probably be impossible.
Indeed, Democrats may be willing to slash cherished health, welfare and education spending, as well as law enforcement, prisons and firefighting, to drive home the impacts of California's income-outgo imbalance.
This is uncharted political territory.
Call The Bee's Dan Walters, (916) 321-1195. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/walters.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.