The Fly in the Realignment Soup
A prominent piece of Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed budget
is to realign services so that governments closer to the people have more say
over services and more revenue to deal with those services. The Governor’s
argument assumes local governments can do a more efficient job with the
people’s money.
The fly in this realignment soup is headlines that have run
in California newspapers for well over a year dealing with local government
corruption and mismanagement.
- City of Bell officials are
arrested for misappropriation of public funds dealing with outrageous salaries
and benefits. - Vernon officials are
questioned about huge salaries and face legal action. The Assembly Speaker
introduced a bill to dissolve Vernon’s cityhood. - Vallejo went bankrupt.
- FBI officials investigate
deals made by city officials in Maywood. - Chowchilla defaults on a
bond. - The town of Hercules is
dealing with the appearance of government scandal. - Pension crises run amok up
and down the state in many local governments.
Carpe Per Diem
As Governor Brown searches the State budget for programs to cut, I would like to suggest an area that merits a hard look.
The State Senate took advantage of a Friday “check-in session” prior to the 3-day holiday weekend. Most folks in Sacramento know that a “check-in session” occurs on days when the Legislature doesn’t normally meet (such as Tuesdays and Wednesdays), and on a rare occasion such as a critical budget vote when Legislators may need to stick around in case they are needed. Fair enough.
The problem is, “check-in sessions” today have become nothing more than another gimmick through which politicians line their pockets at the taxpayers’ expense.
Case in point: Legislators weren’t needed last Friday, but they “checked in” anyway. Members of the State Senate signed in with a clerk, met for less than 10 minutes, and pocketed nearly $600 in per diem – money that covered their living expenses, meals, and incidentals for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday’s Martin Luther King holiday – days they weren’t even working.
California Forfeits Competitiveness
It really can be a simple equation.
When businesses leave California, California loses jobs.
If California isn’t competitive, then businesses leave California.
Therefore, forgoing competitiveness costs Californians jobs.
A simple premise perhaps, but the nuances of this equation are lost in the Governor’s budget proposal. Eliminating Enterprise Zones and Redevelopment Agencies will greatly reduce California’s ability to attract or retain businesses, and further weaken our job market and economy.
Case in point is the recent announcement by Solopower, a San Jose-based green technology company. The company has decided to open its $340 million production facility in neighboring Oregon. While the firm has taken a tight-lipped approach to their process that led them to Oregon, it is easy to glean what factors may have played in their decision.
An economy strangled by regulation
I have spent the last 20 years monitoring county government on the Central Coast. I have watched, first-hand, the destruction of our local and state economy, and indicate without reservation that the primary cause is malfeasance by elected officials and the special interests that put them and keep them in power.
During my career, the Board of Supervisors in each of the three counties was alternatively governed by board majorities deemed conservative and progressive.
The conservatives, when they comprised the board majorities, did no harm for the most part, but neither did they accomplish much good. When in the minority, their record could best be summed up as going along to get along.
The progressive majorities did much damage to our economy and also served to set us up for near bankruptcy as they gave away the store to government unions, while they crippled the private-sector economy as they carried out the legislative whims of extreme environmental activists.
New Mexico Governor Stalls Cap&Trade
