Did You Double Your Pleasure?

Matt Welch | December 22, 2008

California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) lays out the grim math of Arnold Schwarzenegger's finances in Investor's Business Daily:

In the past 10 years, under both Republican and Democratic governors, legislative Democrats have presided over a doubling of the California budget, from $72 billion in 1998 to $145 billion. This is double the rate of population and inflation growth, and it is unsustainable.

Much more DeVore-gore here.

I remember back in the heady days of the Gray Davis recall, me and my California pals used to play a game called "Name the tangible services we enjoy in return for a $100 billion state budget." Usually we'd run out of answers after "Uhhh, state parks? That aqueduct thingie?" Since then, Davis' allegedly budget-deficit-busting replacement has signed off on spending increases totalling $45 billion.

---