As we all know, California has recently been cutting back on education funding. Over 3 billion dollars was proposed to be cut statewide by Schwarzenegger last March. But education isn't the only area suffering from low funding. Prison guards have recently been upset by Schwarzenegger's proposal to cut their pay back to $6.55 an hour. The state deficit is now at an incredible 15 billion dollars, and understandably Schwarzenegger is trying to cut back. However, I don't think that he is doing a very good job of spinning these cuts in the right direction. Schwarzenegger was interviewed tonight on the CBS Evening News about the budget cuts, and he had THIS to say.
Just past 1:20 in the video Schwarzenegger mentions a "rainy day fund" that he wishes we had to dip into at times like this. Well, he has been in office for 5 years, and HE didn't make one, so who exactly is he blaming? Grey Davis? Davis put into effect many bills (mentioned in the "Prison" article above) that raised pay and the budget state-wide, so I guess he is partially to blame. However, Davis' actions don't give Schwarzenegger the right to escape all of the bad press. He isn't being very responsible by dodging questions and blaming past Governors and the State Legislator (time-stamp 1:07).
The prison guard union is trying to recall Schwarzenegger, and I think they have the right idea. I know it's an idealistic notion, but political officials should take responsibility for their shortcomings! I think it's time we got a new head of our state.
