George Skelton explains the budget crisis in California. It pretty much comes down to the Republicans in the legislature believing that their base will punish them for voting to raise taxes…but not for the many disasters that will befall the state if taxes aren't raised.
By the way: To clarify something I said earlier, I didn't think Gray Davis was a very competent or honest governor…but the main reason he was removed from office was that the public was convinced he was mismanaging our finances. Arnold S. especially hammered him for doing things like raising vehicle license fees, which was somehow a sign of gubernatorial incompetence and/or tyranny. Well now, we have pretty much the same mess that was threatened if we didn't oust Davis, and Arnold is even proposing a doubling of vehicle license fees.
I don't think Davis should be brought back or anything. I just think we oughta acknowledge that at least in terms of the state's economy, we're getting exactly what recalling him was supposed to avoid.