Today, as is often the case, the policy of California was exported to the federal government in the form of far more stringent fuel-efficiency and emissions standards. It is usually to the detriment of the rest of the country that policy moves from west to east like a liberal weather system, as with burdensome CAFE standards, but every now and then California will surprise you and start a trend that has nothing to do with arugula or Ari Gold. It feels like that may be the case tonight, as California is poised to reject six ballot measures that would balance the state budget on their backs:
Schwarzenegger was in Washington on Election Day, the symbol of bad exported policy while his constituents were busy advocating for good policy. Namely, that the state government settle its own budget crisis by prioritizing and making cuts, just like the rest of the state’s families are having to do.
