Better late than never ... or is it? After almost a quarter-year of politicking and stalling, California has something resembling a budget. It's not perfect. It's barely adequate. It's bound to put California into the same predicament next fiscal year.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he has struck a compromise with the Democratic-controlled legislative leadership, and if he signs off on the budget, it is bound to mean deep cuts to some programs - and many angry Californians.
The same vigor, charm and charisma that proved successful in the bodybuilding arena and in Hollywood seems to be yielding diminishing returns in Sacramento. He can't strong-arm the legislature into passing a budget on time.
If the star of "Kindergarten Cop" can't get lawmakers in line, who can?
How about you?
Next 10 invites Californians to step up to the plate.
Next 10 is a nonpartisan think tank, made up of academic and environmental organizations and businesses primarily in the Silicon Valley, and it studies and makes recommendations on where California should focus its budgetary and infrastructure priorities.
The think tank launched an online simulator, California Budget Challenge, as an education device.
California Budget Challenge offers a chance for the public to focus on budgetary priorities for the next five years. The budget begins with a baseline deficit of more than $12 billion.
The list goes down through a list of choices to be made for how much should be budgeted for K-12 and higher education, health care, social services, the environment, the legal system and jobs programs. Then, choices are available for how revenues should be raised - through sales, income, business and vehicle taxes, and whether a new carbon tax should be levied.
Every time a selection is made, the budget updates to relects costs or savings of a proposed action. Also, every selection shows how many Californians support the action.
Afterwards, there is the option of sharing the custom budget results.
The California Budget Challenge is both fun and informative, yet it fails to capture the difficulties of real-world consequences. It's simple to click on buttons and go from a billion-dollar deficit to a surplus. In Sacramento, though, politicians are concerned with procedural gamesmanship ... and all those dreaded "special interests" who'll come to demand elected officials' heads on pikes.
Still, anyone concerned about California's spending should give the Budget Challenge a try. Then, come back to the Daily Link and share your experiences and choices on our comments board.
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