California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, while speaking at a Silicon Valley infrastructure conference on Tuesday, said Florida is a state “for the old people” and that Iowa is not a vacation destination. The governor then proclaimed that California has a reputation for being a tourist destination.
“No matter where you go in the world, people still want to come to California,” said Schwarzenegger while at the Next American Economy conference, hosted by The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program and Lazard investment bank. “There’s no one screaming like, ‘I can’t wait to get to Iowa.’ That I can guarantee you. They want to come here to California.”
Schwarzenegger highlighted the diversity of California in terms of tourism, technology, agriculture and entertainment. Other states, on the other hand, only have one popularity factor, he said.
“Like one state is known for its potatoes; one state is known for its oil,” the governor said. “And another state like Florida is known for the old people.”
Troy Price, the spokesman of Iowa Governor Chet Culver, responded by boasting of the improved quality of living in Iowa plus the state’s balanced budget. “We invite Californians and Gov. Schwarzenegger to come to Iowa and see what the best state in the nation has to offer,” he said.
Schwarzenegger has a history of belittling other states. Last month, he asked the congressional delegation of California to oppose a health care provision because Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska managed to obtain a ‘sweetheart deal’ in trading his vote for Medicaid’s expansion in Nebraska.
“That senator got for the Cornhusker State the corn, and we got the husk,” Schwarzenegger commented.
