July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Thankful we're not in California (10/13/03)
Opinion
The contrast couldn’t be more striking.
Two states — California and Indiana — among the many facing fiscal pressures and budget shortfalls. The reasons for those fiscal pressures are different, but not as different as the response by state government.
In Indiana, whatever our shortcomings, there’s been a serious effort on the part of both parties and their leadership to resolve the issue with a minimum of pain and a maximum of flexibility.
To be sure, there are ideologues at either end of the spectrum: Those who are prepared to submit the state to radical fiscal surgery and those whose primary job seems to be protecting sacred cows. But for the most part, the emphasis has been on struggling toward rational compromise.
Then there’s the matter of leadership.
Compare for a moment the jump by the California electorate into the muscular arms of Arnold Schwarzenegger to last week’s decision by Gov. Joe Kernan to tap Kathy Davis as his lieutenant governor for the challenging months ahead.
Kathy Davis is everything that Arnold is not. She’s an intellectual — with a degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard.
She’s deeply experienced when it comes to the intricacies of the state budget, having served as budget director in the past.
And she’s described by friends and family as being devoid of political ambition, much more interested in solving problems and helping people in a practical way.
Arnold, meanwhile, has demonstrated no intellectual depth and even less understanding of state finances.
His sole driving force seems to be political ambition.
As California lurches toward the loony bin, we’re delighted to welcome Kathy Davis to a position of new leadership at a critical time for state government.
She’s one more reason to be thankful we don’t live in La-la land. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
Two states — California and Indiana — among the many facing fiscal pressures and budget shortfalls. The reasons for those fiscal pressures are different, but not as different as the response by state government.
In Indiana, whatever our shortcomings, there’s been a serious effort on the part of both parties and their leadership to resolve the issue with a minimum of pain and a maximum of flexibility.
To be sure, there are ideologues at either end of the spectrum: Those who are prepared to submit the state to radical fiscal surgery and those whose primary job seems to be protecting sacred cows. But for the most part, the emphasis has been on struggling toward rational compromise.
Then there’s the matter of leadership.
Compare for a moment the jump by the California electorate into the muscular arms of Arnold Schwarzenegger to last week’s decision by Gov. Joe Kernan to tap Kathy Davis as his lieutenant governor for the challenging months ahead.
Kathy Davis is everything that Arnold is not. She’s an intellectual — with a degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard.
She’s deeply experienced when it comes to the intricacies of the state budget, having served as budget director in the past.
And she’s described by friends and family as being devoid of political ambition, much more interested in solving problems and helping people in a practical way.
Arnold, meanwhile, has demonstrated no intellectual depth and even less understanding of state finances.
His sole driving force seems to be political ambition.
As California lurches toward the loony bin, we’re delighted to welcome Kathy Davis to a position of new leadership at a critical time for state government.
She’s one more reason to be thankful we don’t live in La-la land. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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