Sunday, August 21, 2005

 

Ungovernable California

There is general agreement here in the Golden State that the rules and limits imposed on State government render the State virtually ungovernable. The State’s finances are a mess. The State provides more in services than it collects in the form of taxes and fees. The Governor finds it politically impossible to make sufficient cuts in expenditures to meet the available tax revenue. The Legislature can not increase taxes because of a strange 2/3 majority required in both houses for tax increases or for approving a budget. The Governor happens to be an ideological fiscal conservative Republican who refuses even to consider any kind of revenue enhancement. The result is that the State has to borrow money each year to make up the deficit between tax revenue and the cost of providing services.

The problem is one that democratic processes, such as action by elected representatives or enactment of initiatives, can’t solve. The basic reason for this impasse is the lack of a consensus, or public judgment, on how the State ought to operate. There are two main contradictory schools of thought.

One school argues that the State, just like a family, must trim its expenses to meet the available income. In the case of the family, that may mean that daughter can’t attend university this year, or next year, or until the family’s income increases, or until she can earn extra money herself. In the case of the State, that may mean that State funding for schools has to be cut back, that State support for local government has to be reduced, that some residents will have to be dropped from Medical, that support for special education programs for handicapped students will have to be reduced or eliminated, and so on.

The other school argues that the State, being prosperous and having the sixth largest economy in the world, should be able to afford the highest quality education for all students, including those with handicaps. The State should be able to provide generous support for local governments for adequate fire prevention and police services, for health clinics and emergency health care, for libraries, for public transit, and for other amenities that make cities pleasant places to live. Since the economy generates plenty of excess to support a decent life for all, the State should see to it that the excess is allocated fairly.

California will continue to be ungovernable and dysfunctional until the public arrives at a consensus or firm judgment as to how the State should operate.
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