Dec 18 2008
I am Disappointed in The California State Legislature (Not that this is a suprise)
I am disappointed in the California Legislature. Not that this comes as a shock to anyone. But my disappointment stems from a feeling of hopelessness. As in - it is hopeless to think that any of the problems can be cured.
California is facing record high debt. Record high. The debt is massive. If ever there would be a time to change some of the things the state does, this would be it.
But instead of working to change anything - to change the boxes that California functions in - the solutions are merely working within the same old system. There isn’t anything new and unusal in the solutions being offered. Rather, it is more of the same.
Don’t get me wrong - at least this time there doesn’t seem to be too many acocunting gimicks in the plans. There are still some - borrowing from other funds that are going to have to get paid back, suspending COLAs that are going to have to get paid…there are some accounting gimicks. But there are no true solutions.
What is a solution for the record high debt? Getting us out of debt.
But rather than proposing closure of programs that don’t work, or don’t have evidence behind them that indicate they work, the state is going to fund those programs but at a lower level.
Rather than fix the education system with it’s dual state supervisory structures (the California Department of Educaiton and the Governor’s Secretary of Education), or find a way to make public schools function (charter schools function better than public schools and on less money) - the state is just going to cut funding without demanding reforms.
Rather than take a look at restructuring the tax system, so that it is less volitile, the state wants a rainy day fund. Not that a rainy day fund and spending cap are bad ideas, but in order to prevent the drastic ups and down, the actual structure by which the state gains income must be changed.
All of these actual changes need to be considered. Reform to welfare, education and prisons/crime systems need to be examined. Otherwise we are going to be in the same hole we are in now in a few more years. Nothing is going to be solved if people don’t begin looking at the actual cause of over-spending and lack of revenues. Simply raising taxes and making cuts might solve the problem in the short-term, but we need people in office who are more long-sighted and can solve the problem for the long-term.
