Playing an interesting character in a movie is one thing, and having a life interesting enough to have a movie based on you is another. Arnold Schwarzenegger can do both. He is the Terminator that shaped the childhood of an entire generation. But his expertise doesn’t just stop there because Schwarzenegger used to be a bodybuilder. Not just any bodybuilder, he is considered to be one of the best bodybuilders of all time.

While he was top of the game as both an actor and a bodybuilder, it is his time as the Governor of California that is the most monumental. The Terminator actor took the office as the Governor of California in 2003. And California is a significant region not just because it has Los- Angeles but because it is the largest-sub national economy in the world. One of Schwarzenegger’s biggest promises while running for office was to end “crazy deficit spending.”

Was Arnold Schwarzenegger able to stay true to his promise?

Politicians often tend to make many big promises while running for the office. And Arnold Schwarzenegger’s promise to get California out of debt was just that. The bodybuilder-turned-actor served as the Governor of California for seven years and they were quite happening. From trying to ban violent video games to fighting for universal health insurance, Schwarzenegger’s term saw quite a lot of monumental changes. But nothing could beat the bizarre increment in the state’s debt as he left office in 2011.

California, with an economy greater than the entire United Kingdom, was under a debt of $34 billion when Schwarzenegger became the Governor. And getting rid of this debt as well as cutting down on deficit spending was one of his main goals.

But considering that the debt of California had shot up to $91 billion within his seven-year-long term, it won’t be a far fetch to say that he failed big time.

If we get into the nitty-gritty, this would mean that each citizen of California now owed $2,362 (in 2010) to the State, which was a mere $977 before Schwarzenegger became the Governor. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was once so popular that people petitioned to change up the constitutional amendment for him to run as the president, left the office with 22% approval ratings. And for the state, he left a whopping multi-billion dollar debt.

What is your take on Schwarzenegger’s term as the Governer? Let us know in the comments below.