[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
His Tricepness, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, just waved a magic Sacramento scepter of fiscal crisis and called a special session of the legislature to solve California’s 2009 budget calamity. Arnie and the legislature had locked horns and squabbled endlessly over the entire summer to finally produce a budget that left everyone woeful and disgusted, but with new numbers from an economy gone to hell Arnie has the power to call a Super Special Solution Session. All this year’s budget work done before? Never mind!
California does not have the luxury of deficit spending, an allegedly balanced budget must be passed and signed every year, another never mind effortlessly danced around deficits by calling them bonds. Anyway, this year’s endless budget farce and every ridiculous annual fight that preceded it always ends in failure for the simple reason California cannot raise adequate revenue, the Republicans still have enough power to scream higher taxes rob the American Experience of any meaning (I know, I know) and with implacable obdurateness will not allow taxes to be raised.