...along with the hook and sinker for the American, Californian sucker. She has begun her run for Governor of California. Whitman hasn't voted in numerous (any at all?) elections because, “I was focused on raising my family, on my husbands career. We moved many, many times. And it is no excuse...” while all that time she was an executive of major companies, including Procter & Gamble, Hasbro, Disney and eBay. That doesn't sound like “focusing... on my husband's career.” What's his job, anyway? God? But, now, she wants to vote! I find it a little hard to swallow that she was too busy. So do many others, it seems, especially women who scoffed at the “too busy” idea and said they found time to vote despite juggling busy work and family schedules. How much more “busy” could she have been than the average Californian woman when she is chauffeured every where she goes. Did her chauffeur not know the way to the voting booth? How easy could it get? The facts are bubbling to the top of the typical Republican cesspool that say she's full of typical GOP blarney.
In her introduction ad to California voters she claims to bring “new ideas” to “build a New California... for small business, the backbone of California's economy” by “reducing taxes, government and spending.” Does all that sound familiar? It should, because that's exactly what Governor Schwarzenegger has been doing for the past six years. In January 2009, Schwarzenegger was faced with an over $20 billion deficit, but they did not raise taxes. Instead, they cut school programs, mentally challenged children programs, medical aid to the elderly programs, medical care aid to poor children and a dozen other “social” programs that affected the least fortunate in the state. In July 2009, Schwarzenegger was faced with another budget deficit of around $15 billion and once again called on the legislators to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, and again they cut social services, otherwise, Governor Schwarzenegger said, “I'll veto the bill.” And, the last I heard, January 2010 will bring even more cuts.
All the while, other “taxes” are being raised in other areas. For example, to ward off bankruptcy, cities and counties have been forced to raise local sales tax. Even voters, faced with county service cuts, are voting to raise county sales tax. Voters, it seems, see the problem clearly. And, Schwarzenegger raised “toll road fees” all over the state which, by the way, are paid by those who can least afford it. State income taxes that might effect those can can most afford it were not raised. It seems to me that the most fortunate simply don't want to pay for their state's well being. Republicans raise taxes; they just don't call it “tax.”
Jerry Brown, her Democrat opponent, get's it. He's said time and again that the thing that makes California a budgetary mess is that for the past 40 years, since Governor Reagan, we voters have been asked to do our legislators' jobs. We've been asked to vote, sometimes twice a year, on propositions that special interest groups have managed to add to ballots and spent huge sums of money to promote that we, the voters, really knew nothing about. Voters are nearly always ignorant of specific spending propositions that, if passed, become law. For example, if a special group wanted to fund a $10 billion overhaul of the state-wide water distribution system from the Joaquin County Delta, southern farmers and privately owned reservoir owners would pay minimum wage to gather signatures to put a proposition on the ballot to force the state to use tax revenue to pay for it. That, in turn, would become law and limit legislators ability to budget that $10 billion for any other, more important, state program. Of course, southern farming corporations and reservoir owners make millions from the law. There have been thousands of propositions of that kind and the end result is that our legislators are hamstrung.
Want a bullet train? Put a proposition on the ballot that forces the state to borrow $20 billion, by issuing a bond, so the state will have to pay off the bond with interest. More deficit. Want to give California's oil companies a monopoly? Put a proposition on the ballot that California's oil “only” come from oil refineries located in California. But, disguise the proposition as a “Green Energy proposition... because out of state, imported oil is bad ” so the voters believe they are voting for something good. Then, add a sales tax to the gasoline so it is the most expensive gas in the United States because, “we can't use another state's oil.” Oh, I forgot. Also give the oil companies a tax break on every gallon of gas produced in California “because they [the companies] are being limited in their ability to earn a profit,” which, by the way, tops $30 billion per quarter! Wow. If $30 billion profit per quarter isn't enough profit, imagine what “enough” would be.
So, has anything changed in Meg Whitman's message? Nope. Not a thing has changed. It's the same old Republican ideas and the same old hook, line and sinker for suckers.
Dave
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