Credit Card Mentality Won’t Please Voters

It is hard to stomach that Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger is already floating a plan to finance the $20-billion debt away (Nov. 11). Granted, Schwarzenegger didn’t create the problem, but if he doesn’t understand that I (and several million other voters) voted Gov. Gray Davis out of office because of this credit card mentality, then he doesn’t understand a damn thing. What we expect to see are cuts. Deep cuts. Painful cuts. Cuts so deep, so painful that four of every five Californians hate them. Only then can the government start talking about more taxes. Financing the debt isn’t even one of the options.

I’m a steadfast, moderate Republican, and I will personally join the “recall Arnold” movement if the best he can come up with is deficit financing. Californians have had enough of that from the outgoing Davis -- and the still-sitting California Legislature. Perhaps Californians need to solve this themselves with a ludicrous proposition. Unfortunate that we have elected representatives who do not seem up to the job of governing.

David O’Shea

Costa Mesa

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Schwarzenegger, in campaigning for governor, repeatedly promised to simply open the books and find out why California is in the hole. Now the governor-elect, after meeting with President Bush, has the solution -- dig the hole a little deeper by borrowing $20 billion. Wow ... what a concept!

Albert Obregon

Sunland

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Sure, a state budget deficit this large is daunting, but it doesn’t mean we have to resort to cutting services, raising taxes or issuing bonds. The solution to this problem can be found in the plethora of state-owned buildings, freeways, universities and parks throughout California. These assets represent the potential for billions of dollars in licensing revenue for the state from awareness-hungry companies, name-brand products and spotlight-seeking individuals.

It is not unlike the sports center in downtown L.A. that bears the name “Staples” -- except that this would be on a larger scale. For $250 million the expense-ridden 405 Freeway could become the revenue-generating Intel Super Speedway. Or for the company or individual on a tighter budget, $100,000 could turn a nondescript three-story government office structure into the Bud Brown International Building. With such a vast array of state-owned assets, the possibilities are endless; combined with term-limited licensing deals, the revenue potential is endless as well.

Eric Stein

Santa Monica