Jerry Brown balanced California's budget, and it's now a bigger economy than the UK. Should we just elect him president already...?
Yes, I would hate to lose him as a governor, but he would make an awesome President. It isn't going to be easy finding someone who is willing to clean up another Republican disaster like this one. There is another Trump-related scandal brewing in West Virginia. All those coal mining jobs Trump promised, well the miners are working but the paychecks of thousands of miners have been bouncing since February. The miners have to sue for their pay, bank fines and wire charges. The richest man in W. Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice owns the mines and his checks are rubber. It seems that in 2008 he sold the mines to Russia for 568 million. Then he bought them back for 5 million. Money laundering perhaps?
When will California go bankrupt?
Eventually they will. They haven't had a good governor since George Deukmejian. You would THINK that after Jerry Brown's disastrous term in the 70's they would have learned their lesson but nooooo they elected him back into office! He's an a hole and running CA into the ground!
What is a balanced budget, and why is it so much easier to balance state budgets than the federal budget?
A balanced budget simply means that the government spends no more than it takes in. Pure and simple! Some states have mandatory balanced budget laws. This forces the state legislature to balance the budget. There is no such requirement in the Federal budget. The last time we had a balanced budget was during the Clinton administration. He actually left office with a SURPLUS, meaning that the govermnent spent LESS than it took in. The last time prior to Clinton was during the Johnson administration -- 1964 or 1965 if memory serves properly. The current administration has run the budget squarely into the toilet. In a little over 5 years, they squandered the surplus left to them and ran the deficit to a level higher than the combined deficits of EVERY prior administration in the history of the nation COMBINED. Even if 9/11, Iraq and Katrina are factored out, it would STILL be the largest deficit in history. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?? $7 TRILLION down the drain and still flushing!
Why can't a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment pass Congress?
Such a Fiscal Policy is directly contrary to Keynesian Economics which most of Congress claims to believe in ... because it's also a convenient excuse for them to overspend and most of them will be out of office when the day of reckoning comes.Keynesian Economics specifically calls for government Deficit Spending (i.e. Keynesian Economic Stimulus) in economic (business cycle) downturns (i.e. recession). If the Federal Budget is required to be balanced, there can be no deficit spending.The problem is that when the economy recovers, the government is supposed to pull back on spending, go into primary surplus, and pay down the resulting public (national) debt. That was Keynes' model. The USA hasn't done that since the 1950s. That's why the U.S. Public Debt is now exceeds 100% of Gross Domestic Product: our Congress can't say "no" to overspending, in good times, or bad.This is why many conservatives keep on suggesting a "balanced budget" amendment to the Constitution: we can't seem to properly operate in the Keynesian model, so we ought to honestly admit that, and forego economic stimulus in downturns.Failing to deal with our massive, unsustainable public debt means ruin of the The Economy of the United States of America from formal sovereign default, or from hyperinflation of the U.S. Dollar (if we attempt to inflate away the U.S. public debt).
What do you think of the fact that California is becoming more conservative and Texas is becoming more liberal?
If true, it’s more proof that dialectics are stupid.No social movement is all one thing or another. There’s a whole lot of stuff happening all at once, because while many people act stupidly in one context or another (Bill Clinton/Donald Trump Derangenent Syndromes, for example), very few people are actually stupid.They watch. They learn. They adjust accordingly. Sometimes things improve, sometimes things get worse.As long as you maintain the freedom to do either, things will generally get better over the long-term. This is the key discovery of what we call “Western” society, and why it still dominates the world.
What are Californians’ opinions of governor Jerry Brown?
I personally don't like the idea of the money it will take to build the high speed rail line linking north and south that he is planning. It seems pointless to me. Furthermore, as a person who lives in the northern Central Valley area, I also can’t stand his signature water diversion plans from north to south. These are really huge issues, really huge, yet I still must hand it to him on almost every other issue. Overall, I believe he has done a good job despite these two giant issues.I am an independent politically. My views on him are mixed. I must stress that he is not Governor Moonbeam though, as some claim. He is frustratingly fiscally conservative much of the time. He is usually a pragmatic realist. He honestly does what he believes is best for this state every time. I do not agree with him much of the time, yet I have grown to respect his sincerity.I would also like to add that he practices what he preaches. Austerity is what he believes in, and he has lived this lifestyle throughout his entire life. He has no problem making anyone mad, even other Democrats. He puts his principles before politics. This reminds me of Burnie Sanders. He really shoots straight. Deadly aim at times. This has allowed me to respect him even when he frustrates me.I also must add that he came into this, his second eight year term, with the state in financial ruin. He brought us safely out of this ruin with our schools bruised but intact, and our State Parks still open. He also guided us through the worst drought ever recorded in our state. The drought was not his fault, as some like Trump have stupidly claimed. His water rationing approach was necessary and fairly brilliant. In my opinion, we are are alive and functioning as a state largely due to his firm hand on us.
Is Jerry Brown a good governor in California?
Yes, it is the first time they have has a balanced budget in a long time. I lived in California the first time Jerry was in office. He was well-respected and is a moral and honest person.
Has Jerry Brown turned California around?
As a Californian who has been here for a few decades, I take exception to the “I know Arnold left it almost bankrupt….” He had not. It’s amazing how certain details are left out of Governor Schwarzenegger’s time…and I think it’s VERY important to bring up that information now…Two-term Gov. Gray Davis was the subject of a RECALL ELECTION. Yes, the people CAN do this. The Republicans did this…and the recall election had Gov. Davis out on question one, and Schwarzenegger in on the second question. (Say what?!? Oh yeah. Government is sneaky..!)Regardless, Governor Schwarzenegger had A LOT to get through. Rolling blackouts, budget problems..so much more. And he went in there and did ONE THING, he brought both sides together in trying to tackle these in his time Governing. Remember —he TOOK OVER a term, and then got another term doing 2003–2011. The deal here is he was Governor during the worst USA economic times, but California STILL held its own. Could it have done better…? It always could have. Gov. Brown however was a long term Governor before and for many Californians was the better choice to come in after Governor Schwarzenegger, especially towards the end, when his the “nanny-gate-illegitimate-child” scandal broke.Governor Schwarzenegger did not do a disastrous job. Gov. Brown is not doing a disastrous job either, but experience says a lot here too. Gov. Brown was/is aware of what to do - learned from his mistakes, designed many things better - still does a few things many Californians are questioning, but not BIG questioning. The next person who comes in will have it good to start, maybe. Again, the USA and California are not separate and when the USA has a good economy, California can too, and California is a “Create State” as with Governor Schwarzenegger and Gov. Brown, lots of new job creations, experimental K-12 programs (and Governor Schwarzenegger got those kids off their behinds with after school programs he funded). So no, Governor Schwarzenegger shouldn’t be getting all this “he did bad for California” because Trump said so. He didn’t.