November 14, 2005

After Schwarzenegger: try incremental reform

By Christopher Chantrill
Governor Schwarzenegger learned an important lesson last week when his four voter initiatives to reform California state government went down to defeat. If you try to take out the government employees in a massive World War I style offensive you won't succeed.  Instead of a decisive breakthrough you will get a decisive defeat.  But we knew that, didn't we?   No general accepts battle on equal terms against an entrenched enemy unless he had tactical surprise or an advantage in position. The modern strategy to use against an entrenched enemy was first developed in 1915 in the Argonne by the German General von Mudra.  It was a strategy of slicing off small sectors of the front using tactical surprise and local artillery superiority.  The attacks were small enough to be individually 'harmless' but cumulatively, they ended up advancing the front and chewing up the enemy.  That must be our strategy in rolling back the tax—eating welfare state. But...(Read Full Article)