Schwarzenegger's Redemption?

Let's face it - Gov. Schwarzenegger has been awful since he was elected to replace Gray Davis. Arnold has done everything that his predecessor did - tax and spend. But now the WSJ says he might be going for a dramatic change.

These reforms include a flat-rate income tax, a spending limitation measure with teeth, and deep cuts in wasteful spending. Yesterday he declared that he won't sign another tax increase and he will no longer allow the state to issue new short-term debt to punt its budget problems down the road. He even told the liberal Democrats who run the legislature that if they're not ready to make cuts, get ready for a long hot summer that may end in "a shutdown of all the funding -- a grind to the halt" in government.

The state's budget problem has two main causes: The first is runaway spending and the second is a tax structure that smothers businesses and entrepreneurs. California's income tax is the most progressive of all 50 states, with the second highest top rate (10.55%) after New York City's 12.62%. The Governor's revenue office calculates that between 50% and 55% of the income tax in the state comes from Kobe Bryant and the rest of the richest 1% of taxpayers. This sounds like a liberal's tax paradise, but the "soak the rich" system has imploded on itself.

If ever there was an example of what happens when the Obama-Pelosi theme of tax and spend gets implemented, it is California. And it's a good warning for the entire country.