Governor. Arnold Schwarzenegger the moderate Republican chief executive of California justified his decision to increase taxes on state residents to supplement the funding of the state's $130 billion budget based on "very simple" reasoning: "Listen to the people," he reiterated during his visit on the ABC news program “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.”
Governor Schwarzenegger went as far as saying that he would gladly accept for California, any federal monies that fellow Republican governors from other states refuse to accept Schwarzenegger expects the federal stimulus funds to begin to improve California's state economy by the first quarters of 2010.
Governor Schwarzenegger explained that his decision to raise taxes is the only alternative remaining for "as a necessary step to stem California's staggering economic crisis"
"Schwarzenegger also said he would gladly accept money from the federal stimulus package approved by Congress last week even though some fellow Republican governors had balked at the funds.
"The $130-billion state budget signed by Schwarzenegger on Friday has earned the second-term governor jeers from state Republicans, some of whom argued for more spending cuts over tax hikes, including plans for across-the-board sales- and income-tax increases for the first time in 17 years. Schwarzenegger said he drastically slashed spending in the new budget and that elected officials who disagree with his approach are out of touch with the public," The Los Angeles Times reported.
On "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," Schwarzenegger backed up his decision by referring to significant numbers of people "have said that we should solve this budget crisis, the $42-billion deficit, with tax increases and with spending cuts. So what I have done is what the majority of Californians want to do."
From Schwarzenegger's perspective a number of Republicans "were not in touch" with the will of the people. "You've got to do what the people want you to do rather than getting stuck in your ideology," the governor of California added.
The governor of California, according to The Los Angeles Time added that: "The governor called the federal stimulus plan a "terrific package" and said Republican leaders throughout the nation needed to shelve party ideologies in the face of the ongoing economic crisis. He pointed, for example, to South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who has said he may refuse all federal stimulus money devoted to his state."
Schwarzenegger explained his viewpoint on "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," when he defended his decision to raise taxes as part of California's $130-billion budget. “It’s very simple. Listen to the people,” Schwarzenegger said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, appearing on “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” in Washington, D.C., defended his decision to raise taxes as part of California's $130-billion budget. “It’s very simple. Listen to the people,” Schwarzenegger said.
And if there's any GOP governor who plans to refuse federal aid, he said he'd be happy to take it on behalf of California. The governor expects the state economy to start improving in early 2010.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger defended his decision to raise taxes as a necessary step to stem California's staggering economic crisis on Sunday during appearances on morning news shows in Washington.
In those interviews, Schwarzenegger also said he would gladly accept money from the federal stimulus package approved by Congress last week even though some fellow Republican governors had balked at the funds. And he predicted that California's economy would begin rebounding next year but would take "years from now to get back to where we were."
The $130-billion state budget signed by Schwarzenegger on Friday has earned the second-term governor jeers from state Republicans, some of whom argued for more spending cuts over tax hikes, including plans for across-the-board sales- and income-tax increases for the first time in 17 years. Schwarzenegger said he drastically slashed spending in the new budget and that elected officials who disagree with his approach are out of touch with the public.
"It's very simple. Listen to the people," Schwarzenegger said on "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."
Schwarzenegger said that overwhelming numbers of people "have said that we should solve this budget crisis, the $42-billion deficit, with tax increases and with spending cuts. So what I have done is what the majority of Californians want to do."
Schwarzenegger added that fellow Republicans "were not in touch" with the will of the people. "You've got to do what the people want you to do rather than getting stuck in your ideology," he said.
The governor called the federal stimulus plan a "terrific package" and said Republican leaders throughout the nation needed to shelve party ideologies in the face of the ongoing economic crisis. He pointed, for example, to South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who has said he may refuse all federal stimulus money devoted to his state.
"Gov. Sanford says that he does not want to take the money . . . and I want to say to him: I'll take it. I'm more than happy to take his money or any other governor in this country that doesn't want to take this money. I take it, because we in California can need it," Schwarzenegger explained.
The Los Angels Times reported that: "At the National Governors Assn. meeting in Washington this weekend, Sanford and a group of Republicans, including Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, said they would reject portions of the stimulus package aid."
Schwarzenegger complained that : "They should make an effort to work together and to find what is best for the people, because by derailing everything, it's not going to help anybody, and it creates instability and insecurity," Schwarzenegger said. "We are elected to be public servants. So what does it matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican? . . . Everyone is using the roads. Everyone would use high-speed rail. Everyone uses the infrastructure and all those things, the schools, the kids. It doesn't matter. We should go beyond all this."
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