Arnold: Kicking Ass and Taking Names

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in efforts to fight the state's estimated $15bn budget deficit, announced today the firings of 22,000 state employees and pay cuts for a further 200,000. Democrats are livid, but the simple fact of the matter is that Schwarzenegger, faced with a seemingly insurmountable budget deficit, did what was necessary to take a major step towards balancing the state's budget.

California is currently in a dire state of affairs, and these cuts will save it $100m a month, or roughly $1.2bn of the $15bn budget shortfall. After signing the order cutting jobs and pay for state employees, Schwarzenegger was quoted saying something I, after seeing his support for the morally/intellectually bankrupt Republican presidential candidates, would have never thought could possibly come from his mouth. He said,

"Today I am exercising my executive authority to avoid a full-blown crisis and keep our state moving forward." ... "This is not an action I take lightly but we do have a budget and, as governor, I have a responsibility to make sure our state has enough money to pay its bills."

Brilliance. Sheer brilliance. True, fiscal responsibility. Unlike the federal government, the State of California lacks the ability to simply print more money to pay its bills. The three presented options for Schwarzenegger to consider, therefore, were a.) borrow against California's future, and the futures of its children, b.) raise taxes, thereby exacerbating the economic woes that created the budget deficit in the first place, or c.) make a tough, surely unpopular political decision that is in the state's best long-term interests. Schwarzenegger has made the correct choice.

When presented with a severe budgetary crisis, the first reaction of any executive should be to take the steps necessary to cut as much of the massive, inefficient bureaucracy as possible. Yes, 22,000 people will lose their jobs, and 200,000 more will take a substantial pay cut, but compared to the other choices, namely raising taxes, the economic hit the state takes due to this action will be negligible.

The simple fact of the matter is that the public sector in California, or anywhere, produces nothing. This is a truism that spans all governments wherein the means of production exist within the sphere of the private sector. By cutting 22,000 jobs instead of raising taxes or borrowing against the state's future, Schwarzenegger has chosen to subject Californians to longer DMV lines over economy stifling taxation. The state will (easily) survive the loss of 22,000 bureaucrats.

Governor Schwarzenegger undoubtedly has more tough choices ahead of him in his attempts to make up the additional $13.8bn budget shortfall, but his willingness to make tough choices such as thing one should give a prelude to his future actions to ensure California's fiscal solvency. His ability to make the correct choice despite its political ramifications should give heart to all Californians worried about the future of their great state.