Oct 26 2009
Why the budget is the downfall of California politics.
There are major problems in California. The unemployment rate averages over 12% - and is over 20% in Imperial County. The education system is in collapse. There is nothing to help the struggling middle class. Manufacturing jobs, really jobs of all sorts, are leaving California (the latest is the NUMMI plant shutdown in Fremont and the loss of engineering jobs in high-tech firms to overseas engineers). The economy is in shambles. People are leaving their houses because they owe more than 150% of what the house is worth (in this bloggers situation, the mortgage is over 225% of what the house is worth according to the property tax bill). The Legislature, and politics in general, are polarized and do not represent most of California citizens. California is falling apart.
Time Magazine recently ran an article that said Californians should stop whining, and that California is still a great state because of what happened prior to 2007 in the state. The article says:
Ignore the California whinery. It’s still a dream state. In fact, the pioneering megastate that gave us microchips, freeways, blue jeans, tax revolts, extreme sports, energy efficiency, health clubs, Google searches, Craigslist, iPhones and the Hollywood vision of success is still the cutting edge of the American future - economically, environmentally, demographically, culturally and maybe politically. It’s the greenest and most diverse state, the most globalized in general and most Asia-oriented in particular at a time when the world is heading in all those directions. It’s also an unparalleled engine of innovation, the mecca of high tech, biotech and now clean tech. In 2008, California’s wipeout economy attracted more venture capital than the rest of the nation combined. Somehow its supposedly hostile business climate has nurtured Google, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Facebook, Twitter, Disney, Cisco, Intel, eBay, YouTube, MySpace, the Gap and countless other companies that drive the way we live.
This is a 2003-2007 view of California. This is not the current view of California. Just because California did well in the past does not mean it is doing well now, and will not collapse in the future.
The main problem with the collapse is the budget. People blame the economy, the education system and California’s vast inequalities among socio-economic classes. But all of these are simply window dressing - the real problem is the budget.
People are going to disagree with this assessment, and that is fine. But look at what you are blaming the downfall of California for - they all tie back to the budget. Republicans and Democrats have spent more money than is reasonable. Neither party - and they have both been in charge over the past 25 years - has been able to create a stable rainy-day fund for fiscal emergencies. Neither has been able to stem the tide of bonds and continual debt that California is in. Nether has been able to provide continual support to education so that basic educational needs are met, and students can be prepared to be the next generation of inventors and innovators.
If California is going to come out of this economic crisis on top, or simply intact, there needs to be major budget reforms. The problem isn’t that there needs to be 2/3 votes on the budet, the problem is that no one seems to understand the money needs to be balanced. It doesn’t matter whether there is more or less money coming in, there has to be the same amount spent as is brought in. Otherwise, we simply continue on this cut and spend cycle that has become ingrained in California politics.
In politics, the money dictates where the priorities are. It is a common phrase to “follow the money” to learn about where the system’s priorities are. In California, follow the money down the sewer. There is no more money. Instead of focusing on all the other things that are wrong, let’s focus on how to handle the budget we have. No one gets to simply increase the revenues in California, we live in a time when tax increases just aren’t going to happen. Instead, focus on what we have, and where we need to spend the money. Education is the key - let’ focus on that and try to find a solution to this situation that doesn’t involve blame, but instead involves solutions.
