Schwarzenegger says governorship cost him $200 mln

[The Straight Story]

Schwarzenegger says governorship cost him $200 mln

Jan 14 (Reuters) - Serving as California governor cost Arnold Schwarzenegger at least $200 million, the bodybuilding star turned actor and politician told a newspaper in his native Austria, insisting 'it was more than worth it."

Counting expenses and lost income from acting in Hollywood films, "in all it is probably more than $200 million," he told Krone when asked how much his two terms in Sacramento had cost.

"But I'm not sorry. It was more than worth it," he said.

"What was much worse was the damage my time as governor did to the family. There is a lot there that needs to be repaired," he said, recalling the many Sunday evenings when his wife, Maria, and children broke out in tears at his heavy work schedule.

"We hate your job," Schwarzenegger quoted family members as saying during his early years as governor when he would leave his Los Angeles home every Monday morning for the capital, Sacramento, and not return until the end of the week.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE70D2AP20110114

[arbusto_baboso]

1. Which makes me wonder how much more money he MADE by being governor.

Not with the salary, of course, since he purportedly didn't take any.

But with sweetheart deals and kickbacks from all the megacorps he whored California out to.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Not WHILE governor, but that IS coming.

[Cleita]

2. Too bad his "heavy work schedule" and

money lost left the state in the worst shape ever. Maria never wanted him to run for political office. He should have listened to her.

[madmax]

3. My heart is breaking.... nt

[theoldman]

4. He bragged about his business ability when he ran for office.

If he was so smart he should have earned a lot of money like other governors. I doubt that he missed out as an actor because he is a little old for playing the roll of a tough guy.

[damntexdem]

5. Oh, boo hoo!

He didn't have to become governator.

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. Californians hated his job, too. At least, him at his job...

Attacking nurses and fire-fighters and their pensions first thing in office...

[Octafish]

8. Eye koodhaffbeen makingha moofiez! Mit my frendzeh!

Ven I voss at home all dey vanted voz der allowanze!

[kestrel91316]

9. Lost income. ROFL. That's assuming a lot. The man can't act.

[Prometheus Bound]

10. Imagine how much it cost Californians.

[Thunderstruck]

11. Bull.If he had continued acting...

...and if he had made $20 million per movie (which he wouldn't), he would have had to appear in at least 8 movies in the 7 years he was governor.

Not bloody likely.

[tblue37]

17. I thought the article said "not counting" the lost income from movies he

wasn't free to make. So I was assuming the $200 million referred to other costs--like maybe spending his own money on the campaign or some such thing.

On edit: Careless reading on my part. He was counting lost income from movies not made, as well as other expenses.

[DCKit]

12. So many victims, so little Democracy. The (R) body count is staggering. nt

[Liquorice]

13. So basically if you're filthy rich, you can buy yourself the thrill of being a governor. nt

[montanto]

14. I told him he shoulda stayed home, but he didn't listen.

[PufPuf23]

15. Davis was recalled and Arnold became the Enron Governor because of the California Energy Crisis

caused by deregulation under GOP Pete Wilson at the state level and maintained Cheney's energy task force at the federal.

Arnold was hand picked as candidate by Enron and Gray Davis recalled to stop investigations and lawsuits.

The electricity crisis cost California $40-50 billion.

Adios asshole.

From wiki:


The California electricity crisis, also known as the Western U.S. Energy Crisis, of 2000 and 2001 was a situation where California had a shortage of electricity. The state suffered from multiple large-scale blackouts, one of the state's largest energy companies collapsed, and the economic fall-out greatly harmed Governor Gray Davis's standing.

Drought and delays in approval of new power plants<4> decreased supply and forced up wholesale prices, which increased over 800% from April 2000 to December 2000.<5> This rise was exacerbated by market manipulation, with Enron accused of deliberately shutting down power plants gratuitously.<6><7> Because the state Government had a cap on retail electricity charges, this market manipulation squeezed the industry's revenue margins, causing the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and near bankruptcy of Southern California Edison in early 2001.<8>

The financial crisis was possible because of deregulation legislation instituted in 1996 by Governor Pete Wilson. Enron took advantage of this deregulation and was involved in economic withholding and inflated price bidding in California's spot markets.<9> The crisis cost $40bn to $45bn.<10>


snip

Arnold Schwarzenegger

On May 17, 2001, future Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Los Angeles Mayor Republican Richard Riordan met with Enron CEO Ken Lay at the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills. The meeting was convened for Enron to present its "Comprehensive Solution for California," which called for an end to Federal and state investigations into Enron's role in the California energy crisis.<26><27><28>

On October 7, 2003, Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California to replace Davis.

Over a year later, he attended the commissioning ceremony<29> of a new Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) 500 kV line remedying the aforementioned power bottleneck on Path 15.

National Energy Development Task Force

Vice President Dick Cheney was appointed in January, 2001 to head the National Energy Development Task Force. In the Spring of that year, officials of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power met with the Task Force, asking for price controls to protect consumers. The Task Force refused, and insisted that deregulation must remain in place.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis

[hunter]

22. Yep. The system was gamed.

The power plants were deliberately shut down to create a crisis.

Arnold's job was to sweep it under the rug. And he did.

Now that he's out of office he'll collect his pay, one way or another.

Maybe some mysterious investment group will finance some movies and pay him a huge salary. Maybe he'll command some incredible speaking fees and sit on the boards of major corporations. Maybe all of these things, and more.

I'm sure his investment in the California Governorship will turn out to be very profitable.

[JoePhilly]

16. Agggh!!! Get back to the Chopper!!!!

[CatWoman]

19. you are on a roll today

:rofl:

[JoePhilly]

26. Thanks ... it has been a long week.

And as the week progressed, I found my self looking for any and every opportunity to be silly, funny, or sarcastic.

On this thread, I almost went with "maybe Arnold had a tumor!" ... but decided that a Kindergarten Cop reference might be too obscure.

[Ezlivin]

18. What do other Republicans typically pay for office?

I'm sure they keep a chart somewhere detailing the proper amount to bribe, how much is too much for a kickback and the average cost of obtaining a political position.

Republicans are ace at financial math!

[notadmblnd]

20. How can you lose something you never had?

and the way he's looking the last few years, I'd say his action hero parts would have been minimal anyway.

[yurbud]

21. it vass duh hard verk to fire duh teachuhs und being chased by duh nurses und zings of zat nature

[marmar]

23. Umm, dude, you were way past your prime as a so-called actor.

nt

[roody]

24. Boo hoo hoo and good riddance.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

25. boo hoo hoo

[Gormy Cuss]

27. He would have had more time with the family had he moved them to Sacto

but then they would have hated his job because they were away from their L.A. schools and friends.

[KansasVoter]

28. LOL.....I get it Arnold, it was like working in a Coal Mine...Idiot.

[Kaleva]

29. So he lost $200 minimum?"Schwarzenegger says governorship cost him $200 mln"

[Raine]

33. Oh gee

:spray: :rofl: Good one! :thumbsup: I got to laugh otherwise I would cry since I endured two terms of him. :puke:

[Forkboy]

30. I find all this horrifying.

[stevedeshazer]

31. Good. n/t

[petronius]

32. Then he still made out better than the rest of us... (nt)

[SoCalDem]

34. Boo-Hoo, Rich Boy

No one forced him to be "da gubernator"

[begin_within]

35. Just a pittance compared to the damage he did to California.

[onethatcares]

36. not only did his family hate his job, he had to

walk to Sacremento uphill both ways in the snow.

[malaise]

37. Did he say how much it cost California?

:puke: