Does Jerry Brown even care about the will of the people?
Example: he just went and declared
the state’s drought over. No consultation with legislative Republicans. No vote
of the people. Yes, it’s been raining more the past couple years. But what
makes him an expert in weather? It’s hard to believe the arrogance of
politicians thinking that they have special knowledge about the seasons and the
rain patterns.
Declaring
whether the state is in drought, or not, is the sort of momentous decision that
the people of California must make themselves.
The people of California know better than the politicians
when it’s raining. And the people of California know better than the
politicians when it’s not raining. The people of California can see with their
own eyes what the water levels are in our lakes, rivers and reservoirs.
It’s time
to stop politicians like Brown from meddling in meteorology. What Californians
need is a special election that offers them a real choice.
One measure
would ask them to declare the state in drought. The other would ask them to
declare the state is not in drought.
And because
this is California, the decision of the people should stand. If they declare
there’s a drought, this state will remain in drought until there’s another vote
of the people on the subject. This is a good thing, too, because while weather
is dynamic, the people need predictability. Uncertainty undermines the business
climate.
Maybe there could be an escape
hatch-permitting the governor to declare a drought if two-thirds of the
legislature goes along.
This is how California manages its
budget, and that’s at least as important as the weather.