Commentary

Ouch! That Arnold Veto Pen Stings

In what may go down as one of the most poetic veto messages of all time, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday vetoed a bill that would have allowed schools to teach personal finance, budgeting, saving, and credit. Not satisfied to just veto the bill and point out that schoools can already teach these subjects, the Governor added this nugget to his veto message…. While teaching financial responsibility is important for our children, I would welcome future legislation that requires all members of the State Legislature to complete a course in financial management and responsibility. Requiring legislators to take a refresher course on managing finances may be the wisest investment the State could ever make. California may never have found itself in the deep fiscal crisis that it has had to endure, if such a requirement were signed into law earlier. One of the best lessons we can offer to our children, is to practice sound financial principles, and I believe the Legislature should begin teaching kids by example. Ouch! And who said the flurry of end-of-session bills couldn’t be fun at some level? Special thanks to Dan Weintraub for highlighting this veto in his blog…http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/insider/