California Going Conservative?

Maybe the Governator is realizing that conservative ideas are the only ones that will save his state.

First he's contemplating doing away with a major welfare program:

Could California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare?

That doomsday scenario is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with a staggering $24.3 billion budget deficit.

County welfare directors are "in shock" at the very idea of getting rid of CalWORKs, which has been widely viewed as one of the most successful social programs in the state's history, said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento.

If it's one of the "most sucessful social programs in history" why does it cost so much money? Successful generally means it pays for itself or is balanced and the program definitely is not.

He's also toying with the idea of a flat tax:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said today that he would like to see such “radical” proposals come out of a commission now studying an overhaul of the state’s tax system. The governor told the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee that he hoped the commission would not be afraid to propose something like “a 15% straight tax.”

“That’s the kind of radical, daring kind of a proposal that I want to see on the table so we can look at it and say, ‘Oh, let’s study this, maybe that is the way to go,’ ” Schwarzenegger said during the discussion, which was webcast.

The current system, based on highly unstable income tax revenue that fluctuates with the economy, “doesn’t work,” Schwarzenegger said.

Advocates of a flat tax, which applies a single tax rate to all income, say it increases compliance with the tax codes because it is so simple and easy to understand. But opponents dislike that it taxes the wealthy at the same rates as the poor.

Emphasis mine.

Of course they do. Can't have fairness in the plan, now can we? It would work pretty well though. And even though it would be 15% on everyone, it would still be carried by those who make the most. Say the "poor" make $30,000 per year, they would pay $4,500 in taxes while someone making $100,000 would pay $15,000. It would be equiatble and raise known known amounts of revenue and if they were to get rid of exemptions they would be able to budget accordingly.

Expect serious pushback from the tax industry and California tax collecting entities.

It's time for new ideas and bold initiatives because Lord knows that spending money we don't have has been a disaster. It would be nice to smack Obama upside the head with reality if this approach works even a little bit.