Professor Smartass

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Gov. Schwarzenegger,

I am a community college instructor, and based on the previous round of budget negotiations, I believe you want to limit the harm caused by any budget cuts.

To truly do that though, you need to take a bold step: sever your ties with the Republican party so you will be free to modestly increase taxes on the wealthy, large retail corporations, extraction industries, and other large businesses that cannot threaten to pull up stakes and go elsewhere as factories can. As a very wealthy person yourself, you know that if your taxes went up say 5%, you would not have to sell one house, pull your kids out of private school, or even give up a Hummer. At worst, some future descendant of yours will have to get a job a year or two sooner instead of coasting on the fruits of your labor.

The Republican Party has not appreciated the fact that you are the governor of a mostly Democratic state and therefore are limited in how radically you can apply their tax and budget priorities.

By contrast, as a Democrat, you would have the overwhelming majority of the legislature behind you, and just as you used your early popularity to cut the budget, you could use your renewed popularity as a Democrat to get California out of the race to be the new Mississippi, and make it an example for other states to aspire to imitate again.

More importantly, you can see and probably have heard from far more people than just me the serious damage deep budget cuts will cause this state, making it more difficult for middle class kids to get a good K-12 and college education, and possibly costing some of the poor their lives because of cuts in medical care.

You still have a chance to be California’s hero. But to do that, you have to admit that the party that brought you to power is morally bankrupt and a danger to most Californians.

Sincerely,





Professor Smartass

Labels: Arnold Schwarzenegger, budget crisis, change parties, drop GOP, governator, hero, switch parties, terminator