Yes, it can be done. Arkansas’ Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe actually is cutting taxes. He was re-elected last year after cutting taxes in his first term. And both houses of the Arkansas legislature also are controlled by Democrats.

Why can’t California, which also has a Democratic governor and Legislature, do the same thing?

A major difference between the two states, of course, is that Beebe prudently governed his state the previous four years, whereas California was governed by Arnold the Ridiculous, a Republican. Whenever Democrats proposed a massive spending increase to bankrupt the state, Arnold would hollar, “Nein! Absolutely not! I will never sign a budget that spends that much. You must to spend even more!”

Yet all that means is that California, having gone on a spending binge, now needs to cut spending sharply.

Maybe we could have a governmental trading program. We send Arkansas our governor and legislators. They send us theirs.

On the other hand, that would be unspeakable cruelty to the fine people of Arkansas.

March 21, 2011