The Governator in Action

My respect and admiration for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance as California’s governor continues to grow. What a refreshing (and necessary) approach he is taking as he tackles the overwhelming array of problems that California is ensnarled in as a result of years – even decades – of short-sighted, bureaucratic, anti-business, pro-union-and-interest group dominated missteps. It is not an overstatement to say that California has served – up to the Governator’s arrival - as a shining example of how NOT to run, operate, and govern a state. That its quandary is almost entirely the result of the enactment of cherished liberal/Democratic policies and principles should surprise no one. The question now is whether even Arnold can salvage the mess.

But he’s undertaking a campaign that is as audacious in its scope and as it is necessary to instigate the type of reform that California requires. First, the governor wants automatic spending cuts to be imposed when expenditures exceed revenue. Second, he wants to change government employee pensions from defined-benefit plans to 401(k)-type plans. He also calls for scrapping the 2001 bipartisan gerrymandering of the state's political districts. And finally he wants to link pay for teachers to their performance, while making it easier to fire bad ones.

Superficial band-aid type approaches ain’t gonna work – California is way beyond that at this point. Best of luck to Gov Schwarzenegger as he begins the process of taking on the Entrenched Democratic Beast in California.