Rising Costs of Emergency Response
Tuesday’s 5.4 Chino Hills earthquake reminds us of the importance to prepare for emergencies and natural disasters. As the Orange County Register explains, “93% of Americans are not prepared for a major earthquake, fire or flood…it’s a good idea to put a kit together and make a plan.”
Everyone should heed this important advice, especially our state’s leaders. It may be unpleasant news for budget negotiators, but California must adequately account for the rising costs of emergency response in this year’s state budget. Moreover, state auditors need to find a way to reduce the state’s firefighting costs without jeopardizing public safety.
Wildfires have increased dramatically over the past decade, and so has the cost to taxpayers. The Los Angeles Times has an excellent five part series titled “Big Burn,” which examines the state’s recent increase in wildfires and response costs. (It’s this kind of excellent, in-depth reporting that will disappear with too many newspaper cutbacks.)
Trading Deadline
Today’s trading deadline for Major League Baseball has approached with a flurry of trades, and one wonders if this same furious kind of trading activity is making any headway in negotiations over the state budget. In the case of the budget, California also has a trading deadline, it’s in the state constitution, but it is ignored every year. Major League Baseball is more responsible in adhering to its rules.
Still, you can imagine what’s going on in the heated negotiations.
REPUBLICANS: OK, we’ll give you new revenue. But you can’t call them taxes. You got to call them fees. You give us a spending limit tied to inflation and population.
DEMOCRATS: Make the revenue come from loophole closings and we’ll throw in a rainy day fund but no spending limit.
REPUBLICANS: And, what are those loopholes?
DEMOCRATS: Businesses, rich folks and yachts.
REPUBLICANS: You can have the yachts. Those other things make our team weaker if we let them go so we say no.
Odds and Ends – July 31, 2008
Here are some articles in the news today that are worth a look:
- Occasional F&H Contributor Joe Hicks comments on the recent Los Angeles Fast Food Ban in the LA Times — Fast-food moratorium is meddling
- F&H Blogger John Kabateck comments on the ongoing budget skirmish in today’s Capitol Weekly — A small-business view on the budget: Use common sense
- Congressman Darrell Issa states his opposition to the Federal Housing Bailout Plan on the Flash Report — HOUSING BAILOUT SCHEME LEAVES TAXPAYERS HOLDING THE BILL
Thirst for Water Bond on Nov. Ballot
It seems like there is a bond for everything this year except for addressing California’s most pressing need—water.
The Sacramento Delta, which serves 25 million Californians, is one sizeable earthquake or storm from disaster. New Orleans suffered extensive levee failures during Hurricane Katrina, but levee failures in the Delta area could be more devastating because of the higher numbers of people served by and dependent on this single source of water.
According to the governor’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, $12-$24 billion is needed over the next 10-15 years just to restore the environment and strengthen the region’s physical infrastructure. It could take more to improve the water delivery system throughout the state. And, yes, there should be a peripheral canal to ensure that all Californians have access to a safe supply of water and so that the natural environment can be restored.