MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
California is drowning in a sea of red ink, and today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said the state is facing insolvency within weeks. He gave his annual State of the State address at the capitol in Sacramento, and he did not offer a list of solutions to California's $40 billion budget deficit. Instead, the Republican governor spoke in strong and broad terms about the crisis and how it's viewed by people outside California.
(SOUNDBITE OF STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS)
G: In recent years, they've seen more gridlock in Sacramento than on our roads, if that is possible. I will not give the traditional State of the State address here today because the reality is that our state is incapacitated until we solve the budget crisis. The truth is that California is in a state of emergency.
BLOCK: John Myers covers the state capitol for member station KQED, and he joins us from Sacramento. John, you hear the governor there calling this a state of emergency. Is California really on the brink of insolvency?
MYERS: Well, Melissa, I think it's as close as any state may have gotten in modern times. You know, California's $40 billion deficit is larger than any deficit any state faces in the nation, at least in dollar terms. And really, it's a real double whammy. It's the result of the real major economic crisis we're all suffering through, and from California's long-running political fight about how to balance a budget for a state with 38 million people.
BLOCK: We mentioned that Gov. Schwarzenegger didn't provide solutions in this speech, but at the same time, there is an ongoing effort to deal with this huge budget deficit.
MYERS: The Democrats here in California want more of the solution to be taxes, the Republicans want no new taxes. And I think the real question is which is worse - deep cuts in state spending which would affect the social safety net in these economically troubling times, or a tax increase during bad times that could further slow the economy. The governor seems to be stuck in the middle of a battle where everyone sees what to do differently.
BLOCK: And I gather that the governor also had some suggestions for the legislatures themselves.
MYERS: He did, he obviously has substantive ones as we've been talking about, but this is Arnold Schwarzenegger and he does enjoy a little bit of the anti-government rhetoric every now and then. He told the legislatures today that perhaps they should consider some self-sacrifice, even if it's only symbolic.
(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)
G: We should make a commitment that the legislatures and the governor, too, lose meal(unintelligible 2:12) expenses and our paychecks for every day that the budget goes past the constitutional deadline which is June 15th. I mean you have to admit this is a brilliant idea.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
G: I look at the happy faces this evening now. I love that. I mean if you call a taxi and the taxi doesn't show up, you don't have to pay the driver. So if the peoples' work doesn't get done, I think the peoples' representatives shouldn't get paid either. That is common sense in the real world.
BLOCK: John, a little theatrical flourish there from the governor. (Laughing) When he was elected more than five years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger was promising to fix another budget crisis and so is there palpable sense there now that he has failed?
MYERS: Well, I certainly think there's a sense that the work is far from finished, you know, he's easily the most recognizable governor in America, not to mention the world. The audiences often hear that Arnold Schwarzenegger, I think nationally, that they hear that he's transcended traditional politics, that he's a Republican that's fighting global warming, and that he's post-partisan, but I think here in California, the record's a lot more mixed. And this budget deficit has been several years running. And I think, you know, what his legacy will hinge on is the budget deficit in a way, and as people say in his old career, the reviews are, I think, mixed.
BLOCK: Thank you, John.
MYERS: Thank you.
BLOCK: John Myers covers the California state capitol from member station KQED. He spoke with us from Sacramento.