Serious question. Is Arnold the most successful Governor in the country?

[nickshepDEM]

*Took a $22 billion deficit, the largest in the history of state government in any state, and has balanced the budget completely in just two years.

*Cut the unemployment rate from 7% to 5% in the same time frame.

*Cut taxes.

*Boosted education spending to an all time high.


Not trying to start a flame war here. Just looking for answers from California residents or other DU'ers who follow California Politics.

[knight_of_the_star]

1. No, no, and no

First item on the list, he did that by TAKING OUT a bond to cover the deficit. All that did was shift when it had to be paid off, plus interest, by 10 years.

Second, he didn't have much impact on that really and the quality of jobs has gone down, like the rest of America.

Third, all he did was rescind the car tax, and that didn't help with the budget anyway.

Fourth, if he boosted education spending to an all-time high, why have tuition and book prices only increased over the past two years?

[nickshepDEM]

2. Thanks. I was argueing with a Republican friend of mine at another board.

And these talking points came up. At first I was impressed, but I soon realized there had to be a catch.

[1932]

16. Why didn't you say that in your OP? Why spread propaganda like that

if you weren't even sure it was true?

[havocmom]

3. Keep an eye on Montana if you wanna see a good governor

pulling off some feats.

[nickshepDEM]

4. Trust me. I have a close eye on Schweitzer.

[havocmom]

12. Good. Watch & learn.

He is practical, accessible, blunt and damned dangerous!

[Sandpiper]

5. Balanced the Budget my eye

Unless you consider robbing Peter to pay Paul balancing the budget.

The budget was "balanced" via massive borrowing that will actually cost the state more in the long run.

[Old Mouse]

6. the budget

was designed by the Democrats and was based on the one by Gray Davis that Arnold ran AGAINST... so WHO would have been the most successful Governor in the country?

[Old Mouse]

7. education spending at an all time high?????

Local businesses have been holding rallies to bail out high schools all over Northern California.

And stop mixing metaphors... a balanced budget does not reduce a deficit, only stops its growth.

[Coastie for Truth]

8. From Santa Clara County, CA

*Took a $22 billion deficit, the largest in the history of state government in any state, and has balanced the budget completely in just two years.

By borrowing from our children with a massive bond issue.

*Cut the unemployment rate from 7% to 5% in the same time frame.

? I don't see it in Si Valley - unless you count the new Ikea in East Palo Alto

*Cut taxes.

Cut the Vehicle Registration -- then helped himself to local taxes -- and we have had cuts in public services.

*Boosted education spending to an all time high.

Just plain not true - tuition up at Jr Colleges, State Colleges and State Universities. Local public school cuts - especially in what the GOP calls "frills" (libraries, music, art, phys ed).

Pure Rovian bull crap.

Take it from your man on the street (El Camino Real)

[TankLV]

9. Hahahahahahahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[leesa]

10. Where on earth do you get your information????

He put the deficit on a credit card and we are paying enormous interest rates on it. It is NOT a balanced budget.
He was responsible for settling the lawsuit against the energy traders who stole 9 billion dollars from us for pennies on the dollar. He probably also participated in the theft.
He has lied about every promise he has made and nearly ruined the educational system.
My sate taxes are higher than ever.
The unemployment is higher than ever as well, he just did the Bush trick of throwing people off the roles earlier and created McJobs instead of real jobs.

Go Away!

[kerrygoddess]

11. Arhnold SUCKS!

BIG TIME!

"*Boosted education spending to an all time high."

What the heck are you talking about? Boosted education spending my ass, tell that to LAUSD!

[Andromeda]

13. Oh, good grief!

No, no and NO!

The unemployed have just given up and most of the new jobs are just low paying service sector jobs. Not too many high-tech jobs have come to the state---actually quite the opposite.

The only taxes cut are the ones that benefit the luxury car owners who could afford it anyway. They just got a gift from Arnie and he's patting himself on the back for it.

He borrowed Peter to pay Paul, so to speak. Education funding has been cut because the money meant for schools went for something else. He has broken his promises to the schools and has further pissed off Californians by calling Teachers and Nurses "special interests."

[kerrygoddess]

14. Arhnold Chooses Corporate Lobbyists to Head Environmental Agencies

Arhnold Chooses Corporate Lobbyists to Head Environmental Agencies
August 29th, 2005

Looks as though the Governator is taking another page out of the Bush guide to choosing environmental appointees. When first elected Arhnold wowed some environmentalists in California by showing himself to be on the green side of the environment. Now it seems that the only green Arhnold cares about is $$$, when it comes to the environment. Many Californians who voted for Arhnold and feeling a similar pang of Buyer’s Remorse, that Bush voters are now feeling.

Schwarzenegger’s effort to be a green Republican has been one of the principal ways the governor has depicted himself as being above Sacramento’s traditional partisan divides. But in a reversal from the beginning of his tenure, it is now environmentalists who are objecting that Schwarzenegger has bent too far to one side.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=382

[1932]

15. The budget was on schedule to go down to 7 billion no matter who was

governor.

I'm not sure that Arnold has closed it to zero (what's your source?) but he is cutting services (including education programs) for working people left and right so that he doesn't have to touch the corporate-friendly tax code.

That unemployment number is a joke. I read that something like 20% of all jobs in CA are directly related to real estate boom, and 50% of all jobs are directly or indirectly related. When that bubble pops, what can Arnold say that he did to protect people from the inevitable misery? He punished teachers and nurses for trying to do their jobs for decent pay? Too bad they're not as rich as his cronies so that they could protect themselves from Arnold.

Boosted Education spending to an all time high? Huh???? They're raising tuition, cutting transfer programs from the junior colleges, and kids aren't going to college because of it. Thanks to proposition 13, California secondary education has gone from best in the country to a pathetic joke, and Arnold seems to like it that way.

Where are your links????