2009Sep14 California's Garage Sale
2009Sep14 California's Garage Sale
“Schwarzenegger Signs Up To State Garage Sale”
Yes, it has finally gotten that bad: Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered a statewide “garage sale” to raise badly needed funds. As the FT reports,
Under the "Great California Garage Sale", thousands of items including signed cars, bookcases and even dentist chairs are up for grabs on Ebay and Craigslist. A warehouse in Sacramento, the state capital, is open for business this weekend where furniture and electronic goods will also be available.
Buyers who fancy themselves as a latter-day Erik Estrada, star of the 1980s TV series CHiPs , might be tempted by one of the California Highway Patrol motorbikes on sale. A surfboard, racing bike and antique piano are also on offer to prospective buyers.
The governor will personally sign some of the items in an attempt to use his star power to increase their value. We applaud Mr. Schwarzenegger for his creativity. Hey, why not sell off the state’s stockpile of unclaimed property and unwanted office equipment? Schwarzenegger is even unloading 500 cars, all of which would have had to have been stored, at the state’s expense.
But as anyone who has ever hosted a garage sale would know, the money earned is usually trivial. In no one’s wildest imagination could the Great California Garage Sale come close to plugging the state’s $24 billion deficit. And even if by some miracle it did – let’s pretend for a second that fans are willing to pay exorbitant prices for the Governator’s autograph – it would alleviate the deficit for the current year only. What will they do next year? Start renting out the governor’s mansion and Arnold’s cigar smoking tent for parties? They’ve already resorted to ordering state workers to take unpaid leave days (shall we call it the Great California Furlough?).
Governor Schwarzenegger has a job that is truly thankless. Though as governor, he certainly made his own small contributions to the state’s fiscal collapse, he largely inherited a problem that was decades in the making. He’s cut what little fat around the edges and raised what marginal revenues he could. At this point, it’s out of his hands. California’s legislature must make deep and unpopular cuts to the state’s budget while also raising revenues. In other words, California must cut services and raise taxes during a recession – an ugly job if there ever was one.
The Golden State is not alone. Though few states approach California in the severity of their budget crises, most face the same unwelcome choices.
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