Budget gridlock
terminated in Sacramento

Regardless of whether you like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger or not, you can’t help but admire his tenacity.

For years the California Legislature had been rudderless when it came to passing a budget. Democrats and Republicans in the state Assembly and Senate would bicker back and forth long after the fiscal year had ended on June 30.

They would repeatedly pass emergency stopgap measures to keep the state in business. Only when a total shutdown seemed imminent would a finalized budget be passed.

There was a vacuum of leadership in the governor’s mansion even before Gray Davis.

That’s why it’s so surprising that in mid-May a budget proposal seems to be in the final stages. Schwarzenegger has managed to appease warring factions at both ends of the political spectrum, no easy task in California or anywhere else.

The proposed budget makes severe cutbacks in certain programs, but belt-tightening was a necessity, and there’s still time for some fine-tuning that might prevent Draconian rollbacks.

We expect there will be even tougher choices in future years—difficult decisions on cutbacks vs. tax increases.

For now, we at least have a proposed budget. It may be imperfect, but that’s not news in Sacramento.

It is news if a budget is passed on time, and for that reason, Schwarzenegger deserves a generous portion of credit.