As California Gov. Jerry Brown heads into the sunset (or at least to his Colusa County ranch), many political writers in California are trying to assess his recent legacy. It’s not hard to tally up some of his wins and losses, think about his good policies and bad ones and analyze the latter Brown years as one would analyze the legacy of any politician.
Brown is likely to be remembered as the last adult in Sacramento—the guy who made sure the books were in balance. Some of his parting words echo that theme. In a Dec. 11 exit interview with National Public Radio, Brown touted a $14 billion budget surplus. “Now, what did I do or didn’t do?” he asked. “I did rein in spending. I did—and then that took fortitude against the tendency of the Democratic Party to spend on almost anything that somebody comes up with that, you know, that satisfies all of the key constituencies.”
That’s the kind of accomplishment that any Republican might tout, albeit Brown achieved it with multiple, unnecessary tax increases—and he signed budgets that set records for spending. But there’s little doubt that Brown owned the Legislature these past eight years. He got his way on everything from budget negotiations to some of his more controversial priorities (such as a $100 billion bullet train and his climate-change activism).
A little fiscal responsibility isn’t really transformative. Balancing the books and building up a rainy day fund is arguably the fundamental job of the governor. Beyond that, two of his most significant accomplishments often are overlooked, writes Stephen Greenhut.
from Hit & Run http://bit.ly/2SxaTcJ
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