We read this op-ed piece in the Desert Valley newspaper. No attribution to an author was supplied so I can’t give credit till I find the author source. If this belongs to you, let me know and I will credit the piece. The reason I am publishing excerpts is because it expresses the frustration many Californians feel about their government in Sacramento. Arnold Schwarzenneger, himself, chose to threaten to close state parks and other highly visible public projects, knowing that the public would respond. Californians are tired of the waste in Sacramento, and they are tired of their legislators who nod their heads and do very little to provide a vision. This year promises to be one of disappointment, at minimum.
In the opinion page article titled, “Sweating the real budget”, the author mentions a headline in the Sacramento Bee: “Warnings of budget ‘Armageddon’ don’t rouse ordinary Californians. Democratic and Republican lawmakers battle in a state budget quagmire, trading charges of obstruction or constitutional end runs. The fed-up governor warns of a financial ‘Armageddon.’ “
Once the California lawmakers make their devastating budget cuts, they may be terrified that few will notice. That’s why the governor’s budget proposal included closing state parks. How much of the budget cuts included reduction of the government’s 200,000-plus employees? Californians realize they can live without government’s behemoth apparatus, with its unlimited appetite for their tax money.
The article provided the story of a Huntington Beach woman who owns a surfboard company. She can’t compete with offshore manufacters, she said, thanks to the rules and regulations she must adhere to, making her boards more expensive. She also stated that the value of her Roth IRA is so low now, that she worries about just surviving.
With the feeling that this budget woe will be a redux of years past, there’s nothing bright on the horizon, and no leadership to put our hopes in providing Californians with a plan. Our current legacy to pass onto younger generations offers a huge sum of debt.