Candidates Fail To Address Budget Shortfalls
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and his Democratic opponent Controller Steve Westly have offered no plans to close the state's "chronic budget shortfalls" that "threate[n] to undercut" hospitals, schools and other public services as the state's population grows, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In addition, neither candidate has identified possible spending cuts he would make if elected, and both have said they would raise taxes only as a last resort.
Meanwhile, candidate Treasurer Phil Angelides (D) said he would close corporate tax loopholes and increase taxes on high-income residents of California to reduce the deficit. However, he "talks about his tax-hike plans in just one context": billions of dollars in new school spending, according to the Times.
Angelides and Westly both have said they support a plan to spend $300 million annually to provide health care coverage for 800,000 children in the state, but Schwarzenegger has said the state cannot afford the proposal (Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 4/1).