Schwarzenegger gets tough questions from local leaders

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a speech on the state budget crisis in Fresno this morning and he got a great reception – until he took questions.

First the Fresno City Council president, Cynthia Sterling, warned the governor that he would be “going down with us” if the state takes the city’s gas tax revenues, as Schwarzenegger has proposed doing with hundreds of millions of dollars designated for local governments across the state.

Sterling said such as move would cost Fresno jobs, stop repairs, and render the city – which she said has the nation’s highest concentration of poverty -- unable to pay debts. The gasoline money would never be returned, unlike local property taxes the state can borrow and must repay under Proposition 1A. Sterling told the governor she campaigned with him for that measure in 2004.

“I stood behind you here in Fresno,” she said. “I was one of the ones who went to the people and said, ‘This is the right thing to do,’ and that this governor is going to remember us when the times get hard.”

But if the state takes the city’s gas money, “we are also all going to go down, as you will be going down with us,” Sterling finished, to huge applause.

"That’s why I’m here, to listen,” Schwarzenegger said. Next, a man in the audience lectured him for failing to resolve the Central Valley water crisis, saying, “when you refuse to address the most important issue that belongs to this valley … you have lost control of your state government.”

Clearly offended, the governor retorted, “I hope that you didn’t refer to me as saying that I haven’t addressed the issue because I think it’s very important that everyone knows that I have been fighting for water for the last four years straight…. But I know maybe you didn’t mean that.”

“I did mean it,” the man shot back, whereupon Schwarzenegger called to the stage Mayor Victor Lopez of Orange Cove, who delivered a screaming endorsement of the governor and his efforts to bring more water to the area.

“We have the best governor that any state in this whole nation ever, ever has had,” Lopez yelled, as Schwarzenegger stood behind him looking pleased.

--Michael Rothfeld in Sacramento

Comments

[Kenneth Garcia]

It's about time elected officials start calling out the governor for his failed leadership.

I am terribly disappointed by his "let them eat cake" attitude and actions.

This is the state's most tumultuous time and he refuses to budge or think of better solutions - what a waste.

[Gary Orthuber]

Schwartznegger and the whole legislature are at fault. They keep chiseling out pennies from the middle class and poor. At the same time do nothing to cut costs of cops and courts and DA offices as well as the Prison Guards Union as well as the largess that the legislature retains for doing nothing. Its time to cut these people down to size.

[Obtuse]

So, screaming by a crony negates other opinions? I guess it's the "Cable Network Rule." :(

[mandy]

The gov. refuses to raise taxes, the only source of revenue left to solve the crises. He has taken the Grover Norquist pledge to drown the government in the bathtub. Looks like we are going under and without much complaint. It doesn't matter to him. He can move, change states, survive with his money. It is time for the people to demand governing from the California gov, assembly and legislature. Really we are just wasting money on their salaries. Before police, teachers, and firefighters are cut, all governing officials should lose the per diem.

[jeffrey hepler]

To Mandy: well, if you want to pay higher taxes, you write the check. Stop demanding everybody else to give up more and more of their money for diminishing returns, waste, and fraud.

[WhatHappened]

Only one chance for the state remains and here is the fair and balanced solution the only one. first you must answer this question with a (NO) Are schools a welfare program for the teachers and adminstrators? could you? Ok there are 350 thousand k-12 teachers and 6 1/2 million students this is a 18 to one ratio. retire 50 000 teachers and 20 thousand adminstrators. next mandate no person including school people can get more than 50 percnet in retirement and work until 62 to get it. pay 1/3 of their medical primium. next charge 100 per unit to go to city college and cut and slash at uc. next cut all gov pay starting at 5 perctn at 50 thousand and 40 percent for the highest earners. Next get rid of boards and commissions. build at least 20 NP plants and drill for oil wherever possible next cut propery tax and sales tax by 50 percnet This will restore the state and is the only answer. The cost of living will go down and it will restore ballance.

[ValleyLocal]

I was an attendee this morning in Fresno for the Governer's speech and I am disappointed that all I heard as options to solve our problems are to cut spending or raise taxes. Why isn't anyone talking about making the state more business friendly so we can generate more sales, which generates more jobs, which generates more tax dollars to the state. If we increase our revenues, we wouldn't have to make as many cuts. Instead, they just want to continue taxing and cutting, making our state less and less appealing to business and causing employers to downsize, leave the state, or close their doors.

[Art Solano]

To all of you who want to pay higher taxes: go ahead, but leave my wallet alone. I say let the state go bankrupt so it can get rid of the union contracts. In my dictionary UNION=EXTORTION. State gov't employees make twice as much as the regular Joe that pays their wages. Gov't has increased 40% since Schwarzenegger came into office. I would suggest we roll back the budget to that time and that way we will balance the budget and then some. In the meantime, the state's employers are losing jobs while the state has added 1,300 more employees. Let them feel the pain we are already feeling. I don't think the governor should have apologized to Steinberg for the bull testicles. That's what these politicians need to go against their union masters.

[Gayle]

Scwarenegger makes these cuts, and Karen Bass is just like a puppet, claiming she cares, but in all actuality, she does not and the black community may be voting her out soon. Then again, this state does not care about education nor helping those who needs a hand up. You just watch, when these people like mental health cases and other people get lost in the shuffle and their services be curtailed, there will be more violence in the streets against Californians.

[Stephen]

Schwarzenegger used a short-sighted attack on Gov. Davis (whose worst fault was his unappealing video personality) to take office. If we had kept the vehicle tax where it was, we'd be in a lot better position. Guess what folks--there's no free lunch. The two thirds vote requirement to raise taxes as used by the Republicans is anti-democratic. Majority rule is needed to avoid the sort of legislative gridlock that we have every year on the budget. If the people don't like the result they can change the majority party at the ballot box.

[tom]

Its obvious that the only reason California pulled out of its economic problems was because of the real estate bubble. It had nothing to do with Gray Davis or the Terminator. Let's tax the people who ripped the country off these last 10 years and get some our money back.

[Jake]

While shopping today at the Food-4-Less on Sixth Street in LA, I pondered why the obviously illegal immigrant in front of me was paying for her groceries with food stamps, while the illegal immigrant woman behind me with her FOUR children wrote out a tax payer provided Women Infant Children check for her groceries. Why do MY TAXES support these people? Why can't their own country of origin support them?
This city is becoming so third-world that's it's an embarassment when friends/family visit.

[Dave]

Arnie is clearly a tool who is not serious about helping the valley. All you guys are going to be paying a whole lot for food here pretty soon or enjoying your lettuce being grown in China because of the lack of water.

I saw packaged garlic from CHINA yesterday, and I just cringed.

[AdoptiveFather, Los Angeles CA]

And want another critical issue to ponder????

Lets talk about oil supply. Nobody seems to realize just how important Alaskan crude oil has been to California's economy. Alaskan oil has been the liquid steroid that pumped us up.

Now Alaska oil is running dry. First produced in 1977, peaking at over 2 million barrels per day in 1989 but production is now below 700,000 barrels per day and falling 6% annually. Meanwhile the Alaska pipeline is operating at only 30% of capacity and ships are sitting idle with no oil to move. We have free pipelin space and practically free tankers but NOOOOOOOO, lets not drill.

We have the oil and choose not to drill for it. ANWR is a frozen swamp that should be covered with drilling rigs. What are we saving it for? Have you ever taken a vacation to ANWR?

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES.

[greg]

What do you expect when you hire an inexperienced celebrity and put him in the top job? What concerns me is this is what was done on the national level too. Sincerity and the best of intentions aren't enough.

[Paul]

I think the problem we all face is that this governor never was the leader we needed to manage the legislature, given how contentious the political parties are, and lead it to produce programs that balance revenues with expenditures, and it's clear in this time of crisis how poorly equipped he is to do this.

We need to look forward and select the next legislature and governor carefully so that the governor can lead and balance the competing interests of the legislature and the people they represent because whatever happens this year will just prove how badly the people's interest are being represented now!

[Annette]

I am a visitor to CA. One of the greatest cultural differences for me is the resistance to paying tax in CA. People keep saying that tax money goes to waste and fraud, but where is the evidence? Waste and fraud are minor problems. Where I come from, the average citizen pays a little more tax. The good thing is that people don't have to worry about health insurance, they are supported if they are laid off, school funding is stable, and there aren't cities and states unable to pay bills. You guys have the University of California, once one of the best university systems in the world, about to take a nosedive because there is no money. Many of you can't get medical care that you need. Your kids are going to underfunded schools. You are getting laid off. And yet, people still will not pay a fair tax. And companies can still get out of paying their fair share. The companies and overpaid rich people have really done a number on ordinary Californians, from my point of view. You guys are voting against your own interests when you refuse to pay tax. I just do not get it. And I think that one day people will look back and say, remember when CA used to be the greatest state? Why did people let themselves be hoodwinked into not paying enough tax to keep it running?

[mandy]

It's called 'the commons', Jeffrey. It gives all of us a better standard of living. Perhaps you prefer to pay for fire and police out of pocket. You might examine the tax structure and see where taxes may be raised. I don't mind paying taxes to have good roads, fire protection, police protection, courts, schools--well even you get the picture. I like a functioning health department that can alert us to potential epidemics. Taxes provide us with the things we need. You might consider Tennessee where there is no income tax. Of course you will pay dearly for private education since you cannot send your kids to the substandard public schools.

[Dick Diamond]

I'm so glad I now live in Oregon after 50 years in California. I didn't vote for the "Governator" in '03 because I knew it would come to this. We left in August of '03. Some of you reading this will say "Good Riddance" and I agree as do many of my California friends who also moved. Good riddance to a beautiful state that got ruined by the "I want it now and I don't want to pay for it mentality along with screw the kids in school because they don't vote." You people have killed the goose that laid the beautiful golden egg.
All you people that voted for him didn't realize that he thought it was all a movie script and he would be the hero. Finally, he realizes that being governor is not a movie script fantasy with RR or Jimmy Stewart. More like Broderick Crawford in "All the King's Men."

[trae]

I have to add here, that no one is talking about the fraud, the work for cash crowd, the businesses not paying any taxes, I get so disgusted as this is a huge revenue loss for our state and gives the abusers a free pass. What about the health care costs, our state cannot enure these costs any longer. No one is addressing this, which to me says they really won't solve the problems of our state until they do. That is what not one of them want to discuss, a politician elected by the people and for the people should do whatever to fight for the people, we are the ones who pay them. This will get worse not better. What about next year when there is less revenue.

[Blame Game]

The governor is to blame to a degree and he is an easy target, but when are people going to start blaming the group of worthless politicians we send to Sacramento? They are more concerned with keeping their office than making tough decisions. All we hear about is who is to blame rather than fixing the problem. Nothing gets done. They stall, argue and analyze everything to death so they do not have to make decisions. Taxes are NOT the answer. People are out of work, making less money and spending more for energy, gas, food (as there is no water to grow it) etc etc etc. Adding more taxes to people who do not have it does not make sense. All the politicians do is argue about taxes or cuts--nobody is arguing about how to bring business, ie jobs and money, back to the state. Until it does- we will have the same problems we have been having since long before the current governor...