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Government by Clowns for a Ship of Fools
February 22, 2009
It is said that people get the government they deserve. In the State of California the combination of a huge section of citizens who are apathetic and ignorant with determined smaller sections of citizens who rally behind the Democratic Party and Republican Party machines has always been a recipe for disaster. The California Constitution is a nightmare. The prelude to the current crisis we saw in 2001-2002 resulted in no significant changes. Problems of Biblical proportions were swept from the public eye by the gleam of booming real estate prices and the tax revenues that flowed from them.
This week we have a budget, but it is not balanced. It puts the state further into debt. It raises taxes enough that it will be detrimental to the economy. It cuts back services enough that it will be irritating to anyone who has to deal with the government.
Money flooded into our public education systems in 2003 through 2007. Some school districts took advantage of that to improve themselves. Most simply raised everyone's salaries enough to soak up the funds, without raising the level of educational instruction. Public schools are critically important to our society. For that reason citizens should demand that their tax dollars spent on public schools be spent effectively. Teachers should not be laid off because of the current round of budget troubles. Instead wages should be cut for teachers and administrators whose pay is above the median, and pay for professional services to schools - legal, architectural, educational, and social - should be cut.
Big reforms need to be made, and that is not likely to happen while citizens remain apathetic or take their cues from the party machines. The Governor needs to be able to promulgate a budget when the deadline arrives if the Assembly and Senate have not negotiated one. The set asides in the Constitution for specific budget areas need to be eliminated as too inflexible. We need to allow budgets and tax changes to pass by majority votes in the legislature.
California is still an attractive state, with wonderful natural resources. It has some very impressive industries, including agriculture, biotechnology, entertainment, tourism, and computer technology. There is nothing inherently wrong with this state or with its economy. The problem is with government.
Our state system of government grew without a plan over a long period of time. The human body evolved some weak points over time, like the appendix. This week the government appeared to be a monster built out of several appendixes, with just enough heart and neural tissue to keep it dysfunctioning
Most Democratic Party politicians will tell you there is nothing fundamentally wrong that some tax increases won't fix. Most Republican Party politicians will tell you there is nothing fundamentally wrong that is worth a tax increase to fix.
They are both wrong. Nothing is guaranteed, but I recommend booting out incumbents of both parties, in both the Assembly and the Senate, in the upcoming election.
Send them a message that they can hear. Retire them from political office.
William P. Meyers
