California often gets a bum  rap, as an ultra-liberal free-fall of taxation and unrestrained spending.  What is often taken for granted is that Californians don't like to  follow what is expected, and are known as huge innovators. California  is a state of people with no desire to lower taxes?

On Tuesday, May  19 California voters put that myth to bed when they resoundingly defeated  five of the six ballot propositions, only approving the one proposition  which would prohibit legislators from receiving pay raises in years  which are determined to be budget deficit years. Proposition 1F was  also the most symbolic of the measures, as the Legislative Analyst had  only predicted minor savings to the state. Proposition 1F was approved  by nearly three-quarters of voters.

Propositions 1A-1E were roundly  rejected, with 1A being defeated nearly 2-1, with a nearly 66% "nay"  vote. In fact, propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E all were rejected  by about a two-thirds majority. In a speech on May 20, Governor Schwarzenegger  stated, in light of the outcome, that the message from the California  electorate was that citizens want the legislators do the work they were  elected to do, rather than asking for a continuous stream of tax hikes  on citizens:

Well, we have seen loud and clear yesterday from the  results that, with an overwhelming majority, the people told Sacramento  go and do your work yourself, don't come to us with your problems...  And we hear their voice loud and clear. And we will always represent  the people; that's what we do. And so we will go and represent their  wish that we're going to make those cuts and balance the budget just  through those cuts.

Education, health care and prisons may each see  cuts in their budgets, according to the governor, as the budget has  risen to more than $21 billion. The governor estimated cuts of about  $5.3 billion in education spending, in addition to "severe cuts"  to the state health care budget. However, with the possibility of federal  stimulus funding for state health care, it is not clear at present whether  or not federal stimulus dollars may make up for what may eventually  be cut. At the same speech, Secretary of Health and Human Services,  stated that the Health and Human Services division is "slated for  an additional $2.8 billion in reductions."

Proposition 1A was perhaps  the most controversial measure, as it would have increased taxes for  another two years, to raise an estimated $16 billion, while also forcing  the "rainy day" fund to grow in size. The Legislative Analyst's  Estimate was not terribly rosy for this particular proposition, noting  that even if money was saved, higher spending down the road may actually  have eaten into "ongoing spending" resources.

Proposition 1B, regarding switching  around funding sources for education, relied on the successful passage  of tax increases, in the form of Prop. 1A, and as such, was doomed to  failure with 1A. Mercifully, Proposition 1C, also known as the hugely  flawed and nonsensical Lottery Modernization Act, was also defeated,  again, by about a two-thirds majority. The Legislative Analyst's Estimate  had predicted both 1B and 1C to have the unintended consequences of  actually making budget problems worse, down the road, while 1D and 1E  (very similar in nature and aims) may have paved the way for children's  and mental health cuts, with the rather random shifting around of funding  sources.

Bully for California, in the  words of Teddy Roosevelt. Good for voters: voters sent a clear message  that the state legislators are not doing their job (well) if they can  still fund plenty of programs with questionable benefits, but only the  backs of hard-working citizens who probably never benefit from many  of the more excessive and unnecessary programs anyway. The California  electorate has paved the way for all other states with excessive tax  rates, with additional tax hikes looming on the horizon. Californians  can do anything they bloody well please... and that means taking on  the political class and challenging public "servants" to trim the  fat, do their job, and run a competent operation. There truly is no  other place in the world like California... and if current state leaders  can't get the job done, the citizens will continue to vote what measures  they want, and who they want overseeing them. In the words of Noreen  Evans, a Democratic member of the Assembly representing the 7^th District, speaking to the AP: "We probably need to go back and do  our job."