How Arnie's (Schwarzenegger) California dreaming turned sour: 'This whole state is in a terrible mes

[Liberal_in_LA]

How Arnie's California dreaming turned sour

As the repo men come calling in the Golden State, and whole streets of homes lie empty, the property crisis gripping the US's economic powerhouse may spell disaster for the nation, writes

James Doran James Doran The Observer, Sunday August 10 2008

As the brutal central California sun rose over the city of Stockton, Cesar Dias fuelled up his brightly painted tour bus and waited for the hordes to arrive.

'We get 20 or 30 people every Saturday by 10.30,' says Dias. 'By the end of the day we will have maybe 60 or 70. On a busy day I take the bus out three times.'

His guided tours are very different from the usual trips around the homes of Hollywood stars. Dias is a real estate broker and his tour buses ferry would-be house buyers, and the occasional gawker, around the scores of foreclosed properties dotted all over town: 'The number of foreclosures around here has made us into an attraction.'

Stockton has become known as Foreclosure Town, USA. With one in 25 houses in foreclosure, there are more properties with mortgages in default here than anywhere else in the country. And it is not as if there isn't some stiff competition for Stockton's dubious accolade in other corners of California, and indeed the rest of America.

But in recent weeks the ferocity of the downturn has been gathering pace in California, with the strain of economic unrest being felt at every level of society - all the way up to Arnold Schwarzenegger in the state governor's mansion.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/10/subprimecrisis.arnoldschwarzenegger

[Cleita]

1. Yep, but we knew that back when he took over Grey Davis's job

promising to take care of everything. He couldn't do even what Davis could and now things are in a downward spiral. I'm tired of egoistic assholes having control over my life especially when I didn't vote for them and my choice that I elected didn't have a chance to finish his term.

[Webster Green]

3. Words cannot express my hatred for Arnold..

He's utterly clueless and as phony as a four-dollar bill. :mad:

[Cleita]

5. I hope this ends any pretensions he might have of a further

political career. Of course, that hasn't stopped other toxic Republicans from trying to be President.

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. Unless there is miracle Arnies going to leave CA substantially deeper in debt then when he inherited

Gray's debt.

[The Gunslinger]

25. and congratulations to the people who voted for him...............Twice

[AlCzervik]

2. i live in elk grove and yup, it's bad here. Besides all the foreclosures there are many

businesses shuttering their windows. 1/2 of the houses on the market in my city are bank owned.

[Truth4Justice]

18. Stockton was known as "Gang-land" town when I lived in CA. Who would *want* to live there?

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Typical GOP: express "shock" at the mess he made.

He represents his party (the GOP) and his ideology (conservative) very well.

[lame54]

7. Pavement is from Stockton, Ca...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMACzBomDK4

[tularetom]

8. Where the f*@k are the recall petitions

This asswipe douchebag has failed at every goddamn thing he said he was gonna do when he got shoved down our throats by his buddies in the energy bidness.

Except enriching his bosses.

We recalled the last governor (who wasn't that great himself) for this?

Ahnuld has made a joke of himself and run this state into the ground.

It's time we got rid of this POS the same way we got stuck with his sorry ass in the first place.

So who's circulating the recall petitions? I'll sign, I'll help circulate the petitions, I'll even throw in a few hundred bucks.

[opihimoimoi]

9. ACTORs as LEADERS was Never a Good Idea...no one told them peeps in Calif?

[Cleita]

10. We got a lot of stupid people here, I'm sad to say. n/t

[opihimoimoi]

12. The sad part is: The Thinking Segment has not implemented a system to overcome the non thinkers...

We have to find a way...failure is not allowed...

[Angleae]

16. It seemed to work well for Palm Springs.

But then again, all the expected Sonny to do was shake hands and smile.

[opihimoimoi]

21. But in fact, Sonny turned out to be a good Pol...was thinking for the COMMON GOOD

in a SEA of Self Interest....

We need more of his kind....

[Angleae]

22. Pity they are in short supply.

For every sonny, there seems to be hundreds of ah-nolds.

[opihimoimoi]

23. There must be a way to instill Passion for the COMMON GOOD

I am working on it....the growth should be exponential...time is short...the leaders of today suck....too much selfinterest and greed

not enough level 3 where the focus is on the WHOLE

Come, we go to a place where there is Stability....the Pubs are the Wrong answer...they produce destruction not construction...they got it ass backward

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. Talk radio kept up the drum beat against the Dem Guv until Arnie was in office

'course...now that the mess is bigger under Arnie, Talk radio isn't trying to hound HIM out of office.

[opihimoimoi]

20. Why NOT??? Is it because he is a CELEB??? LOL...

[marlakay]

11. my daughter in santa rosa says homes foreclosed all over

the place a few in her neighborhood.

[SoCalDem]

15. There are SEVEN boarded up houses on MY block

Two of them terribly vandalized.:grr: one right next door
Police won't do anything..say they "can't"..

"owners" & real estate representatives are two counties away, and could not care less about these places.. I have made numerous long distance calls to the "realtors"..

[kerry-is-my-prez]

13. I'm sure he'll still win the next time around because he's a macho star....

freakin' idjits who voted for him....

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. He's termed out. Can't run again. CA has two term limit for Guv

[SoCalDem]

14. Vultures always circle a kill

:grr:

[mulsh]

24. following in Reaga's footsteps

Reagan left this state in a serious financial mess that Jerry brown's team had to fix. Unfortunately that wasn't all the damage they brought
Reagan and his people began to destroy our pubic school and university systems, ripped up our mental health services, and set the stage for Jarvis and other "conservative" goons to follow.

der Gropenfuer is another in a long line of meat puppet/empty suit pitch men. He's done nothing significant as governor and he has done nothing well. Like Ronnie he was a 3rd rate actor who's turned out to be a 4th rage governor. I'm hoping he's about to begin a long decline into obscurity. never, ever vote for any one with an R near their last name.

[Jack Rabbit]

26. Arnold: One mopre time with feeling

Californians recalled Grey Davis because he had no clue what to do with a state financial crisis that was not entirely of his making and because he spent entirely too much time fundraising.

So he was replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has no clue what to do with a state financial crisis that is not entirely of his making and because he spends entirely too much time fundraising. But he's more fun to watch.

Good luck to the next governor, from whichever party. Right now, no one seems to be tripping over each other with thoughts of taking the job.