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Analysis: Governor appeared to relish role of government slasher
Posted on 7/28/2009 at 5:31 PM - Post Comment
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to relish the task of reining in government spending, almost as if it was another cinematic role in which to star. With gusto, he launched blistering attacks against fraud in the welfare system, demanding that those abusing the cheap watches system be kicked out. He unwaveringly stood his ground on taxes, never allowing Democrats to seriously consider including them in negotiations. And he proclaimed himself the guardian of responsible, frugal government. It didn't seem to matter to Schwarzenegger that fraud in the system was minuscule compared with other soaring costs; or that voters actually favored taxes on oil companies, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products; or that he'd previously increased state spending by tens of billions of dollars after coming to office in 2003. Schwarzenegger the Terminator was back, even flashing an oversize knife while smiling broadly and talking about Bvlgari watchescutting government spending in a YouTube video aired just before he and the four legislative leaders came to an agreement on paring the general fund budget to $84 billion — down from more than $100 billion a year ago. "From the get-go, the governor was very tough in negotiations, and as a result we have a budget that substantially shrinks government," said Jon Fleischman, a Republican Party officer and publisher of the conservative blog FlashReport. "Conservatives have every reason to be overjoyed." slashing cuts continued Tuesday, when the governor used his executive power to cut out $657 million more from the Tissot watches budget, to rebuild the state's rainy-day fund, which was depleted after the Legislature last week rejected $1 billion in cuts to local governments and another $100 million in revenues from the sale of oil drilling rights. Advocates for the poor and elderly called his final cuts "cruel," "heartless" and "hypocritical." "Our hope is that vulnerable California seniors will find a way to survive the 18-month balance of his term of office," said Hank Lacayo, president of the Congress of California Seniors. Schwarzenegger abandoned his mantra from earlier this year that the shortfall must be filled with a mix of cuts, new revenues and moves to stimulate the economy. In February, he'd signed tax increases of $12.5 billion, andAudemars Piguet watches backed another $16 billion in taxes on the May 19 special election ballot. But after voters rejected the taxes, and the deficit ballooned from $8 billion to $26 billion, he quickly established a new bottom line: The budget would be balanced with steep cuts and no new taxes. The governor's revised stance put him in a commanding position in budget talks, playing to Californians' sour mood about the lingering recession and the Capitol's ineptitude in managing its finances. Democrats were left with little leverage, forced to define victory as simply avoiding a complete dismantling of programs for the vulnerable. "He drew a line and Cartier watches stood behind it," said GOP strategist Rob Stutzman, Schwarzenegger's former communications director. "He basically brought the Legislature to where he wanted them." Among Schwarzenegger's triumphs in the budget talks: ending automatic annual cost-of-living increases for the welfare program CalWorks, the prison system and state universities, among other programs — good for an estimated $591 million in savings starting next year. He eliminated or consolidated several boards and commissions, trimming $50 million from the ledger. He cut the amount of time adults can collect welfare benefits continuously from five years to four, saving $510 million. And he took steps to Jaeger LeCoultre watches root out $226 million worth of alleged fraud in the In-Home Supportive Services program for the elderly. But the overarching problems of the state budget system — an ongoing gap between the cost of programs and the revenues California collects to pay for them — remain intact, some analysts say. "I think it's fair to say the governor got more than he gave," said Tim Hodson, executive director of the Center for California Studies at Sacramento State. "But does this budget address the state's structural problems? No." For the governor, the budget negotiations often turned into performance art. Before flashing the knife on his YouTube video, Schwarzenegger had sent metallic bull testicles to Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, as if to suggest the Democrat needed to get tougher in making budget cuts. The governor was also quoted in a New York Times Magazine article as saying he was not wracked by guilt over the tough choices he'd had to make. "I will sit down in my Jacuzzi tonight," he said. "I'm going to lay back with a stogie." Friends and defenders Chopard watches laughed off the episodes as "Arnold being Arnold." "He occasionally will make an off-color comment or he'll do a gesture offending people," said Bill Whalen, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institute and former speech writer for ex-Gov. Pete Wilson. "That's just the cult of personality that goes with him. It's almost what you'd expect from an action hero-turned-governor, that he'll pick up a prop and waive it around." But all the gestures and hardline talk infuriated welfare advocates, who painted him as callous and uncaring about the needs of the poor. The resentment still lingers. "I was so disappointed in the governor and his willingness to create stereotypes around welfare recipients to get what he wanted in the budget," said Mike Herald, lobbyist for the Western Center on Law and Poverty. "That kind of 'us vs. them' political strategy is beneath the governor of a state like California, though I guess it isn't." After the Senate closed down for the summer, Steinberg insisted that "enough is enough," promising to hold the line when it comes to any future demands to cut back on already decimated programs. But it is likely that Mont Blanc watches Schwarzenegger will continue in his role as the lean-and-mean governor, because the economy will likely dictate even more austerity, observers said. "He's conditioned the environment for more cuts and more reforms," Stutzman said. "This isn't over."
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