Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is probably the most Ãwell-known celebrity to drop in on today s inaugural festivities in Washington, but he left plenty of controversy back home in California. The editorial board of the liberal Sacramento Bee couldn à t believe their ears when the Governator dropped by Tuesday to push his ambitious plans for pension overhaul, redistricting reform and merit pay for teachers. One editor said that even when Ronald Reagan had occupied the executive mansion, no governor had ever been so forthright in explaining why government should be smaller. Mr. Schwarzenegger told the Bee that the public sector is a à ¬monster à ® that needs to be ¬starved.à à ®
Ah. The public sector? Would that be the public sector that includes public education? You remember all your promises about public education?The board tried hard to get the governor to say he would raise taxes to address the state à s budget deficit. He flatly rejected the idea. Raising taxes à ¬is out of the question because it will not work, à ® he said, explaining that trying to fix the state à s problems with Ãnew revenue would only be an excuse to defer needed reforms. ¬Taking money out of the private sector is a no-no, à ® Schwarzenegger reiterated. à ¬We don à t want to feed the monster. We don à t want to feed the state à ³ the public sector à ³ and starve the private sector. We want to feed the Ãprivate sector and starve the public sector. ®
Yet another reason why he needs to be a one-term governator.
