Borrowing is an unpopular budget fix

Borrowing money is one of the least desirable ways to deal with the state budget deficit, according to Orange County residents in a poll response that underlines the difficulty Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces with his proposed $15 billion bond.

The November poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 39 percent of county voters prefer a mix of budget cuts and tax increases to bridge the deficits, while 36 percent would like to rely mostly on cuts. Just 8 percent named borrowing.

There seems to be a continuing pattern to Republican politics in California.

"I know it(he) is not what I want but it's the best that is offered". I heard that repeatedly about Schwarzenegger and now about the pending indebtedness.

At best, the prospect of further indebting California is a truly bad idea. If just one of a half dozen factors aren't met it will be a disaster.

Realize that before the bond can be anything beyond smoke and mirrors and long term debt, the following has to occur.

1)California has to spend substantially less than it takes in for many more years.

2)Several legislative bond measures being readied for voter approval have to be removed from upcomming elections or California will destroy its good faith. At latest count, about $40B in bond decisions must be removed from the ballot before Nov 2004.

3) The impossible must be guaranteed. That liberals, who now control the state legislature, won't simply change their minds in a few years, remove the budget caps and raise taxes.

4)California must make the structural changes noted above before it can realistically float bonds at rates that make economic sense.

To date the sheer folly of borrowing to spend on bloated programs has made Schwarzenegger's policy a target for conservatives and moderates alike.

Liberals would also like to see the bond fail which would force Schwarzenegger to make meaningful cuts in the budget which would result in an outraged cry from the entitled classes magnified by the state and national media. The clamor would be deafening. Night after night, example after example of children and the elderly starving to death because of a 9% budget cut.

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