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have been seduced by the power of the office.

first term drew to a close, he proposed ways to

Thus, the real standouts--the best gover-

spend the state's burgeoning surplus instead

nors from a fiscal policy perspective--are usu-

of pursuing further the goal of broad-based

ally those who do not succumb to this temp-

tax cuts.

tation over a multiyear grading cycle, such as

Phil Bredesen's headliner first-term pro-

Rick Perry of Texas and Mark Sanford of

posal was his plan to control costs in

South Carolina. There are, however, a few gov-

TennCare, the state-run health program that

ernors who have received praise in previous

consumed nearly one-third of the state budg-

report cards but deserve a reprimand this year.

et when he arrived in office. Bredesen was

Some prominent governors who received a

able to remove all non-Medicaid-eligible

high midterm grade but a lower end-of-term

adults and put strict limits on prescription

grade this year are discussed below.

drugs and doctor visits. He also continually

stressed that he is against an income tax for

· Arnold

Tennessee. But Bredesen, like many gover-

Schwarzenegger: He received

nors in this report card, seemed eager to

accolades for his first two years on the job

spend more money once the fiscal situation

when he received an A in the 2004 edition

looked better. State spending has grown by

of this report card. This year, however, his

an annual average of 5.5 percent in real per

grade has dropped to a D. It seems that

capita terms in the past two years. When a

the California governor has changed his

$272 million budget surplus materialized,

stripes completely. After one year of

Bredesen and the legislature decided to

aggressive budget cutting, he has let the

spend it on bigger government, including

big spenders in Sacramento get to him.

more money for TennCare.

Today, California state government is 12

percent bigger in real per capita terms

than it was after his hard-fought battle to

Governors Who Fell

eliminate the massive $15 billion deficit.

from Grace

Now his efforts are geared toward ex-

panding government, not scaling it back.

It's likely many voters no longer recognize

Over time, the grades of most governors

the Arnold Schwarzenegger they elected

tend to drop. Part of that is a product of the

in 2003.

nature of this report card. Because it is issued

· Bill Richardson: The New Mexico gover-

every two years, later editions must revise and

update the previous report card's grade for

nor scored a B in 2004 largely as a result

each governor. As a result, many governors

of his income tax cuts. Those cuts were

who seem to do well at first do poorly in the

indeed substantial: the top marginal

next report card simply because there are

income tax rate has dropped a remark-

more data on which to base a more compre-

able 35 percent. That cut still stands as

hensive grade.

the largest income tax rate cut in the

But there is also another factor that influ-

nation over the past few years. But the

There are a few

ences the drop in grades: The longer a gover-

more complete picture that has emerged

governors who

nor stays in office, the more prone he or she

since 2004 is of a governor who is eager

have received

is to becoming less fiscally disciplined. Once

to raise other taxes--such as the cigarette

elected on the promise of cutting taxes or

tax and the gross receipts tax--and vari-

praise in previous

spending, governors usually have a good year

ous fees, thereby weakening his record

report cards

or two for which they receive praise in this

on taxes overall. It has also become obvi-

but deserve a

report card. Then those same governors

ous that Richardson is happy to increase

begin to make peace with the big government

government spending. All of this has led

reprimand this

programs they once vowed to terminate or

to an overall first-term grade of C.

year.

· John Baldacci: He received a midterm

cut. Soon, taxpayers find that the governors

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