Guest Lecturer: A. Schwarzenegger
A handful of college students received an unusual lesson in government studies today, courtesy of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. But the students got much more... including a hint into the governor's own work ethic.
In a small classroom on the campus of Sacramento State, Schwarzenegger delivered prepared remarks about how his budget plan would erase more than $3 billion of future obligations-- including money owed to schools and transportation projects.
The lecture was delivered to a group of graduate communications studies students and student orientation volunteers, and seemed staged to show the governor in the role of "educating" people about his budget. As political PR events go, that seemed reasonable... certainly more reasonable than last year, including the infamous PR event where he tried to promote responsible state budgeting by turning off a large spigot of red 'government' ink.
But the most noteworthy moments came in Schwarzenegger's answers to two questions from the students.
First, some news: the governor said that his goal for the first year of a second term would be, in his words, "to create health care for every citizen." The comment was made in response to a student question about universal health care, specifically the kind Massachusetts has moved forward this year.
Schwarzenegger said the Massachusetts model won't work, in part, because of California's larger uninsured population. But his comments clearly sounded like he favors some new effort.
"I believe we can really conquer that problem, once and for all, if everyone works together," he said. "It means that employers have to put money in, I think that employees have to put money in, and I think that the government has to put money in." The governor said he was currently studying the issue. And while it sounded like he favors something akin to an employer mandate program, it's important to remember that Schwarzenegger campaigned against a 2004 ballot measure that would have required large businesses to provide health insurance.
Finally, what sounded like a motivational 'tough love' speech to a female student who lamented the struggle between a job to pay for her studies, and having time to actually complete her studies.
If anyone expected Schwarzenegger to talk about ways the government should help her, they got a very different answer.
"There are 24 hours in a day," the governor said. "You sleep 6 hours." The students laughed, but he wasn't kidding.
"You sleep more? Just remember, sleeping is overrated. Let's assume 6 hours. So you have 18 hours left. Now think about what you can accomplish in this 18 hours."
Schwarzenegger then recounted his own success story, from part-time student to bricklayer to bodybuilding champion to... well, you know. "I had the will to do it," he said.
And then he threw in a little of the 'less-government-is-more' as he wrapped up his answer. "I think it is very important for kids not to just wait for their parents to take care of them, or for the school to take care of them, or for government to take care of them."
Class dismissed.
