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Can we muster the political will to fix California? Recall makes even skeptics feel that change is finally possible.

Article Excerpt
It's a refrain that's been heard over and over, first during the budget crisis and now in the recall campaign: California's political and government system is broken and in dire need of change.

A huge budget deficit, a gridlocked Legislature, an out-of-control workers' compensation system, the list goes on. As the recall campaign heats up, candidates from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Arianna Huffington are saying they want to fix state government. In announcing his candidacy on "The Tonight Show," Schwarzenegger said he wants to "pump up" Sacramento.

Easier said than done.

What's ailing California is a toxic combination of electoral restrictions, a quirky budget process, an inability to agree on the need to slash spending or raise revenues--even if only temporarily--and the tendency of legislators to enact laws that impose additional costs on businesses.

To fix the system will take a sustained effort in three major areas.

One is the electoral process, tackling such areas as party primary elections and the reapportionment process. Another is fiscal reform: making changes to the state's budget process, taxation system, and state and local government finances. The third area is improving the state's business climate.

Numerous road maps already exist: several studies and reports have been issued over the years on fixing various aspects of state government, including a major report on revising California's constitution issued in the mid-1990s. The challenge is to muster the political will to make the changes outlined in these and other studies.

In normal times, the political will has not been present. But, with the unprecedented recall election coming on the heels of the largest-ever budget deficit in state history, these are not normal times. And that gives hope even...

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