What you are missing is that all those spending initiatives may be suspended by the same 2/3 vote in the Legislature that is needed to pass a budget. This is an inconvenient fact that the Legislature likes to ignore so that they have a scapegoat. The fault lies solely with the rate they have grown spending beyond all reason. Under Arnold, spending grew faster than under Davis.
I must admit that I haven't lived in California in over a decade, but I thought at least some of those initiatives couldn't be "de-funded" with anything short of a Constitutional convention. If I'm wrong, I apologize.