We turn now to the budget crisis in California. The state faces a projected deficit of $21 billion dollars according to a new report from the state’s budget analyst. As the prospect for further cuts looms I am joined now from Berkeley, California by a man who says the real cause of the state’s fiscal problems is its “dysfunctional system of government.” George Lakoff is an author, progressive activist, and Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at UC Berkeley.

He has sent the attorney general a ballot proposition for the 2010 ballot that he says can end the gridlock in the state legislature. Its called The California Democracy Act and reads: “All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote.” It changes two words in the state’s constitution, turning “two-thirds” to “majority” in two places.

It would roll back the two-thirds majority needed to pass a budget and Lakoff argues, end the gridlock created by minority rule in the state.

George Lakoff joins us now from Berkeley.

George Lakoff, Author, progressive activist and Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at UC Berkeley.

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