CAPITAL JOURNAL - ILLEGALS DRAIN ON STATE TREASURY... but so what?

From the Los Angeles Times
CAPITOL JOURNAL
To fix the budget, first fix the state
Six simple rules for remodeling the government
George Skelton
Capitol Journal

June 29, 2009

From Sacramento — Once again, Capitol politicians are fighting over how to fix the chronically bleeding state budget. And again, the answer should be clear: It's unfixable.

It will remain unfixable until California's system of governance is pulled apart and overhauled.

Now, they're trying to fix an old, stalled clunker without the right parts.

Anticipating the e-mails, here are two simple truths:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could fire every state employee under his control -- roughly 235,000 -- and that wouldn't come close to balancing the budget.

Yes, illegal immigration is a drain on the state treasury -- maybe responsible for a fifth or more of the $24-billion deficit -- but there's little Sacramento can do about that. Washington sets most of the rules.