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Contributor
John
Campbell
John
Campbell (R-Irvine) is a California State Senator representing
the 35th District
in Orange County. He represents the cities of Newport
Beach,
Laguna Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach
and Cypress. He can be reached through his Senate website
and through the website
for his California Senate campaign. [go to Campbell index]
 A
Busy Week
Deadlock, Loopholes, Blame Bush, CalPERS and Teachers' Union...
[John Campbell] 1/24/05
There are lots of things to talk about this week, so I will give
to you quick...
Issues
Two
weeks ago, I told you about the four big proposals issued
by the
Governor in the areas of the budget, education,
pension reform, and redrawing legislative districts. But there
will be other big issues raised either by the Governor or Democratic
leadership or both. They are, in no particular order: Energy
cost, availability, transmission and environmental impact;
Affordable housing; Medical costs, insurance and prescription
drugs; The
California Performance Review "blowing up the boxes" and
reorganizing government; Minimum wage; Driver's licenses for
illegal aliens and Gay Marriage. Most of these issues are likely
to wind up in deadlock or in initiatives on which you may be
asked to vote later in the year. But a few, like energy and
affordable housing, have an opportunity for bipartisan cooperation
and creative
solutions. The big question is whether the highly charged and
polarized debate on the other issues will preclude bipartisan
solutions on anything. That remains to be seen.
Loopholes
Notice
that some Democrats have retreated from calling for tax increases.
Instead, they are calling for the closing
of, as yet unidentified, tax loopholes. Please note that a "loophole
closing" is merely a euphemism for tax increase. They
are one in the same.
George Bush
Because
of Arnold's popularity, many Democrats have taken to blaming
the considerably less popular President
for California's budget woes. The federal government, they
say, does not give California back what it pays in taxes, making
California
a net "donor state." This is true. But the same condition
exists in California where many counties (including Orange County)
are "donors" to the state and get back only a fraction
of what they pay in taxes in spite of decades of Republican attempts
at change. Shouldn't Democrats practice what they preach and "equalize" funding
in California before they ask the federal government to do so?
Do what I say, not what I do?
CalPERS
If
you are a regular reader, you know how much I believe that
CalPERS has become political rather than investment oriented.
Well now if you go on their website
you will see that they are attacking the Governor's pension
reform proposal. Now this is a taxpayer supported organization
using
taxpayer money to persuade people to give that organization
more of your tax money. It's wrong. And it's an example of
why so
much reform is needed in the arena of how the public employee
unions operate.
California
Teachers' Union
In an advertisement
now airing, the president of the
California Teachers' Union says: "....the
Governor proposes a budget that will cut school funding by billions
more. And this is on top of the $9.8 billion in cuts that classrooms
have already suffered." Give me a break. The Governor's
budget increases K-12 education by 7.1% or $2.9 BILLION this
year alone. And education spending has increased every single
year in the last 7 budget years going from $35 Billion in '98/'99
to over $50 Billion in the Governor's proposed budget. We now
spend over $10,000 per student in schools and our teachers make
more money than those in any other state. CRO
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