Bizzaro State
Comments(0)
Apparently the left coast wasn’t left enough, it has now become the land of Bizzaro. California voters overwhelmingly rejected the slate of reform measures proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger. Casting rhyme, reason, sanity, common sense and rationality to the wind they decided that California is on the right track, that they want to continue to spend beyond our means, want to pay more in taxes and or simply go bankrupt and continue our course of running the state solely to please the far left and and public union leadership. Even the one bastion of sanity Orange County was weak kneed in it’s voice only passing 76 (Budget reform) by 55%.
Just what the hell were you Republicans thinking? Now I understand that there are differences of opinion on political issues and there may or may not be a correct answer to all issues, this was not the case with the Governor’s proposals.
74 – Teacher Tenure: Just how many of you voters have a guaranteed job? If you could get one would it be too much to ask that you prove your abilities over 5 years before becoming termination proof? I guess all our teachers are doing a fantastic job, that is why our children score so highly and so prepared to succeed in the information age.
75- Public Union Dues ( anti-corruption part 1 ): Okay this one does have a political angle, but who cares. This one is about corruption reform. The only voice this would have silenced would be the union bosses. It merely puts the responsibility of notification on the other foot. The logic behind this proposition is that most people are inherently lazy. I can go along with that, apparently stupid as well. A union member already can elect to not contribute to political campaigns, but the member must first know that they can opt out (most don’t and a court ruling doesn’t require them to be notified of this right), acquire the proper form, complete it and submit it. 75 would have simply switched this process. So why spend tens of millions of dollars of union member dues to defeat this measure? Because the unions damn well know that most people are lazy and will not voluntarily donate money to THE CAUSE and that many union members don’t see eye to eye with the union leadership agenda. Bottom line a whole lot less money to buy off the state assembly.
76- Budget reform: This was the most important one on the ballot and it did the most poorly. The teachers unions must be proud of this accomplishment. They have successfully stupidfied an entire state. What is so evil about spending what you have? This proposal would restore some budgetary powers California governors enjoyed for most of the last 100 years. It doesn’t not give the Governor carte blanche power. Basically the state must have a balanced budget. If part way through a fiscal year it become obvious that there is a serious shortfall of revenue the Governor compels the Assembly to come up with a new plan to stay on budget. If they don’t come up with a plan within 60 days the Governor can make across the board cuts. It also provides a formula for spending based on past revenue. So we run a mild surplus in good years, so there is some cushion in the event of a recession ( remember those rainy day funds? Oh no that is just stupid talk why save when Mr MasterCard can bail you out of trouble )
77- Redistricting (anti-corruption part 2 ) Both parties have colluded to essentially rig all California seat races. The next edition of Websters under gerrymandering it says: look up California redistricting. The current system is like letting the fox guard the hen house. The last time an independent panel did our redistricting we had competitive races. Kudos for the California Republican Party to endorse this one, shame on the National Republicans for being against it.
Maybe the $100,000,000 million the unions spent demonizing Arnold Schwarzenegger is the simple answer and people just ignored the message and killed the messenger, I hope to God this was the case. Because if voters are now taking their cues from such sincere upstanding intellectuals as Warren Beatty we are careening toward that cliff of economic meltdown at full throttle. Maybe that is what we need, a completely crippled economy & unfathomable deficits that drive the state to bankruptcy. Then the union retirement plan holders would find out what it’s like in the real world, the Enron world. 50% of something is a whole lot better than 100% of nothing.
