Major Candidates Vague on Solving State's Fiscal Woes

[IndianaGreen]

The real issue in California is who can solve the state's financial troubles. The voters will ultimately have to choose from among the many candidates that are running to replace Davis in the recall. Should they trust Davis's estranged Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, or should they reward the GOP for subverting the electoral process in the first place (and creating many of California's financial problems)?

I suspect that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have a clue as to how to solve California's problems. This recall business has nothing to do with problem-solving, and everything to do with turf. Who will control the political turf for the 2004 elections?

August 17, 2003

Major Candidates Vague on Solving State's Fiscal Woes

Nearly all want to repeal the car tax, which would deepen the budget gap. Observers doubt hard choices will be made during the campaign.

By Michael Finnegan and Jeffrey L. Rabin, Times Staff Writers


In the opening days of California's gubernatorial recall campaign, some leading candidates have offered barely a hint of how they would cope with the main issue that has fueled the drive to oust Gov. Gray Davis: the state's fiscal crisis.

Davis and the Legislature relied heavily on borrowing to close a $38-billion budget gap this year. As a result, the governor — Davis or a successor — will confront a new shortfall of $8 billion or more within months.

Even the few broad outlines sketched by some recall candidates so far fail to account for that gap.The one point of agreement among nearly all major candidates is a plan to repeal the recent tripling of the state car tax, a move that would deepen California's budget hole by an additional $4.2 billion a year.

Though the budget mess is certain to dominate the governor's job for years, political strategists say it is no surprise that candidates have sought, by and large, to avoid specifics on how they would clean it up.

"Any realistic discussion of it is really offering a choice between a punch in the nose and a knee to the groin, and no one wants to inflict pain on the voters when they're soliciting their votes," said David Axelrod, a Democratic campaign ad maker.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-budget17aug17,1,4971604.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. And this is exactly what Davis will be pointing out.

Don't forget that the recall is not a sure thing. There are two votes after all.