Stop The Madness!
When will government finally get it? At a time when California businesses are laying off thousands of people and struggling to keep the lights on, and local governments are having to do the same, here comes word of potentially new state regulations that not only would cost companies tens of thousands of dollars and jobs, but will also dramatically impact local governments — further exacerbating our economic crisis and adding to local governments overburdened responsibilities.
Right now the state is looking to adopt a new “Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance” to encourage greater water efficiency – something that is both needed and strongly supported by all who recognize the importance of conserving water.
In fact, many companies have come to recognize that water efficiency is vital in not only reducing their operating costs, but more importantly help them in reducing their carbon footprints – less water equals less energy, which equals less greenhouse gases.
The Increasing Price at the Pump
After a short break from record high gas prices for Californians, prices are back on the rise and will only get higher, courtesy of the Democrat Party and the Organizations of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The twelve countries that make up OPEC ( Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela) voted in November, to cut oil production by 1.5 million barrels of oil a day. That meeting was followed up by a December 17, 2008 meeting where OPEC decided to cut production by another 2.2 million barrels, with the stated goal of driving up prices and profits.
Similarly, as the legislative leadership of the Democratic Party in California convened in December 2008, they also voted to make the price of gasoline a bit more expensive. As part of their Democratic budget proposal the Democrats included a 39 cent tax on top of the regular price of a gallon of gas. Luckily, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the proposed gas tax.
Avocado Commission Has Good Taste to It!
I begin the new year with the suspension of my campaign for legislative office, which I had hoped would eventually get me a seat on either the state’s Integrated Waste Management Board or the Workers’ Comp Appeals Board.
Instead, I have decided to instead seek an appointment to the state’s Avocado Commission.
Sure, the other boards pay members over $100,000 for meeting just ten times annually, but they don’t provide the perks of the avocado commission!
According to a recent audit, the avocado commission has spent lavishly on board members and employees, as well as their spouses. Items such as flowers, four-star hotel stays, spas, gym memberships, vitamins and tickets to sporting events were regularly charged to commission credit cards.