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==Politics==
==Politics==
California's governor is the liberal Republican [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]. This is the same position that was once held by [[Ronald Reagan]], who later became [[President of the United States]]. Today, however, California is thought of as one of the most [[liberal]] states in America. Due to heavy [[immigrant]] populations, a history of liberal legislation, and the influence of [[Hollywood]], California is considered to be one of the [[blue state|"blue-est" states]] in the Union, consistently voting for Democratic legislature and Presidential candidates.
California's governor since 2005 is the liberal Republican [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]. This is the same position that was once held by conservative icon [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1966-74. California is considered to be one of the [[blue state|"blue-est" states]], consistently voting for Democratic legislative and Presidential candidates since 1992, mixed in with numerous Republican governors. The San Francisco area (called "the Bay Area") and Hollywood are the centers of liberalism; Southern California and the rural areas are much more conservative.
[[Richard Nixon]] is the only President to have been born in California.
[[Richard Nixon]] is the only President to have been born in California, but he lived in New York when elected in 1968. [[Ronald Reagan]] was a resident when elected in 1980.
==Budget Crises==
The state has had two severe budget crises in 2009, caused by high spending, a plunge in tax revenue (caused by the decline in income of the wealthy who pay most of the taxes), and a refusal of enough Republicans to provide the two-thirds majority in the legislature needed to raise taxes. Long term borrowing is not allowed--the state has to balance its budget annually, but many gimmicks are used.
The state ran out of money and issues IOU's (warrants) before the solution was reached: massive spending cuts. In February 2009, the Legislature raised the state sales tax, bringing the total -- including local sales taxes -- to about 9 cents or more. Top income tax rates, already among the highest in the country, were raised. So were motor vehicle registration fees. Spending cuts approved in February and July are deep. Together, the cuts equal almost 30% of the general revenue fund and will affect schools, prisons, colleges and welfare. Some welfare benefits will be cut by half. California's student-teacher ratio, now about a third above the national average, will probably go even higher. The high prestige University of California system lost 20% of its state payments. It is raising tuition and student fees by 9.3%, imposing salary reductions of 4% to 10% on more than 100,000 workers, and postponing faculty hires until a better day.
==Elected officials==
==Elected officials==