Read Governor Schwarzenegger’s address to California legislators Tuesday morning

The state’s budget deficit is monstrous and growing. This mess, of course, is due to foolish government overspending, largely at the behest of gluttonous government employee unions. Without drastic action, by this time next year, California state government will be $24 billion in the hole. That’s nearly half of what state government spent to operate 20 years ago.

A chronic addiction to runaway, extravagant spending has tripled the state’s budget from $51.4 billion in 1990 to $144.5 billion in 2008. Remember, all this time, Democrats have been the majority party in the California Legislature, except for one year, 1996, when Republicans briefly controlled the State Assembly.

Despite these uncharted waters, SaveCalifornia.com is seeing the usual kind of political prostitution we’re used to from Democrat legislators. Incredibly, beholden to the government employee unions, Democrat caucus leaders say that more taxes and fee hikes are still on the table for consideration.

Meanwhile, the unions and other entities that depend on taxpayer funds — literally everyone at the government feeding trough — are gearing up for a major war to protect “their funds.” They’ve long forgotten whose money it is.

We haven’t yet seen Schwarzenegger do what he’s never done before — promise to veto tax hikes and borrowing schemes. Will he take a firm stand when he speaks today to a joint session of the California Legislature? The Governor signs or vetoes spending packages. He holds the bulk of the power to change government’s gluttonous appetitite — if he chooses to persevere and do what’s right.

But more than anything, SaveCalifornia.com believes it’s up to principled Californians to tell Sacramento what to do. If you helped to defeat Sacramento’s tax-and-borrow schemes in the last month’s election, you have the right and obligation to speak up now. 

 Take immediate action with our prewritten email message and phone numbers to Sacramento.