‘No New Taxes’ Not Written in Stone

Re “The Going Gets Tough for Schwarzenegger,” news analysis, Dec. 5: It looks like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put himself in a box. The man made lots of pie-in-the-sky promises while campaigning. Now he is up against the realities of life. You flat out cannot eliminate revenue (the automobile tax) and then keep spending without raising other taxes. His solution: float a huge bond issue and bind up the next 30 years with heavy indebtedness. (Isn’t that something like what Gov. Gray Davis proposed?)

I wish, just once, someone in power had the guts to face the facts and tell it like it is: To take care of education needs, elder care, Medicaid, etc., we have to pay for it and pay for it now. That, of course, means raising taxes.... ahh, but that endangers getting reelected. Kind of tells you where most politicians’ priorities lie, doesn’t it?

Tom Reinberger

Glendora

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Perhaps, as Susanne Trimbath argues in her Dec. 4 commentary, “Borrowing to Balance the Budget Isn’t So Bad,” the current crisis can’t be handled solely through spending cuts and increased taxes. That still does not mean that all three options -- taxes, cuts and borrowing -- can’t be put on the table. It is difficult to understand why taxes never enter into this discussion. Trimbath argues that the programs that they support are necessary to our long-term recovery. Surely she recognizes that it is better for our economic well-being to pay as we go for these programs to the maximum extent possible.

I have no idea what the capacity of the general population is to sustain further taxes, but given the near impossibility of finding a parking space at any given mall this time of year, it would appear that some degree of increase could be borne. Borrowing should always be a last resort. Let’s all buck up a bit and handle the crisis like responsible citizens and responsible adults.

Carol Dalrymple

Santa Clara

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Regarding the governor taking his case to the people (Dec. 3) -- why not? After all, government is for, of and by the people of the state. Elected representatives believe that, once they are in office, their positions mean catering to their families, friends, personal agendas and special- interest groups. The governor’s method may be the wake-up call as to why these politicians were elected in the first place.

Barney Sackett

West Hollywood

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If our governor wants $15 billion to wipe out our deficit, why not raise the sales tax 0.5% and bring back the 20% luxury tax? This will be the least painful and will not affect our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Joan Siegel

Los Angeles

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No one can say with any certainty what Schwarzenegger’s swaggering and condescension will ultimately do to California’s political landscape, but I would like to coin a new word for what began with his gubernatorial campaign and continued on through his San Diego visit. I call it “governtainment.”

Alan Prescott

San Clemente