California voters reject tax increases

The AP pins the blame on Schwarzenegger.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted to permanently fix California's "broken budget system." But three times now he has tried and failed to smooth out the state's roller coaster revenues.

Voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected his latest effort, a package of budget-balancing measures that he promised would provide a short-term patch for the current financial crisis and prevent further catastrophe in the future.

Instead, he now faces a $21.3 billion budget deficit and a budget system that has not changed a bit since he took office nearly six years ago.

The state's democrat controlled legislature is strangely absent from the story by AP writer Julie Williams.

The AP also implies that it was low voter turnout that cause the defeat.

The majority of registered voters didn't bother to vote at all. Partial results from nearly 70 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday showed only 19 percent of voters had cast a ballot, according to the secretary of state's office.

Off year and special elections never get big turnouts and there is not reason to assume that the rest of the people of California - a state with the nation's highest unemployment and some of the highers taxes - were ready to jump on the tax-me-more bandwagon.

The LA Times points out that all the powerful special interests were for the tax increases.

Schwarzenegger helped behind the scenes to garner big contributions for the measure's proponents, who raised about $30 million and outspent foes by nearly 10 to 1. Among the big contributors were businesses hoping to avoid tax increases if state finances slumped further: oil companies, tobacco and alcoholic beverage firms, sports teams and Hollywood studios.

Despite a big advantage in cash and manpower, the campaign failed to gain traction from the start. Polls throughout the race showed all the ballot measures -- except Proposition 1F -- losing badly, as voters expressed equal parts confusion over the package and disdain for the Sacramento politicians who crafted it.

Californians seemed upset partly by Sacramento's call for more money at a time when employment was sagging, retirement accounts were plunging and the average resident was struggling. Others expressed irritationat being called back to the polls just months after a presidential election.

Indeed.