Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/292656
Never let it be said that the Legislature does nothing to raise Californians' incomes as we struggle to recover from the Great Reces- sion. Not regular Californians', of course. Median household income has been stagnant or worse since 2007, according to the latest available evidence. The unemployment rate here, though improving, is the na - tion's fourth-worst. But our lawmakers have raised the sal- aries of one important demo- graphic: their staff members. The Sacramento Bee re- ported that as the economic pic- ture brightened slightly in 2013, legislators wasted no time help- ing out Capitol employees. The Assembly staff's raises have brought the lower house's pay- roll up $1.2 million (about 2.5 percent) since May 2011 for full- time employees. The Senate staff's pay hikes were smaller last year but overall have in - creased the upper house's pay- roll by $3.1 million (about 5 per- cent) since mid-2011. Then there are the legisla- tors themselves. The highest- paid group of state lawmak- ers in the country began to re- verse their recession-time pay cuts by receiving a 5 percent raise in December, and they're eligible for another raise this spring from the independent commission that sets their compensation. While we're at it, here's an - other snapshot of Capitol em- ployment: The overall size and cost of the state workforce has stayed about the same since Gov. Jerry Brown returned to office in 2011. But departments have shrunk and grown, de- pending largely on Brown's po- litical priorities. It should surprise nobody to learn that the staff of the Cal- ifornia High-Speed Rail Au- thority (116 people) and its pay- roll ($7 million) nearly tripled last year and would grow again under Brown's next budget. No, these raises won't break the bank, but there's a sym - bolic principle here. Too many Californians and California businesses continue to struggle. Too many private- sector workers are going with - out raises. Setting aside the question of how much the poli- cies set by the Legislature are responsible for these patterns, it's unseemly for the officers of the ship to party while the pas - sengers are climbing into the lifeboats. The Legislature's argument for giving the raises to staff - ers, including eight of the 10 Assembly employees earning more than $175,000 a year, is that it's necessary to prevent them from leaving for more lu - crative jobs; they're just too valuable to lose. We can't help but wonder what such a tragedy would look like. Would legislators have to draft their own bills? Or ac - tually understand the budget implications of their own pro- posals? Or, gasp, actually read legislation proposed by their colleagues? And really — if these po - litical aides are so valuable, shouldn't they have a better sense of how this will look to the voters? This editorial originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News. Editorial Raises at the Capitol while we struggle Ring. Ring. "Hello, this is Tom." "We know who you are, Tom. In the digital age, you will be shocked by what we know about you." "Who is this? The National Se - curity Agency? I thought Presi- dent Obama issued orders to rein you in!" "That's a good one, Tom. Obama told the NSA to stop stor- ing bulk phone records on mil- lions of Americans. The NSA can easily access that information through phone companies. I'm not from the NSA, however." "Then who are you and what do you want?" "What is more important, Tom, is who are you and what do you want? Lots of government and private organizations are in - terested in that information and you are making it easy for them to get it." "I have given no one permis - sion to access my information!" "Really, Tom? Didn't you hand over your address, Social Se- curity number and other infor- mation to buy a car, get a credit card, apply for a job or vote?" "Maybe a few times." "Did you know that since 1961, various Congresses and presiden - tial administrations have enacted more than 40 laws, regulations and policies that require the use of Social Security numbers? That is a godsend to people like me — and that was before the digital era made my job easier!" "What do you mean?" "Every website you visit, every online purchase you make, ev - ery email, text or online comment you make leaves an incredibly rich electronic trail that defines who you are and what you do." "You are bluffing." "Really, Tom? That 32-year-old Bolivian flight attendant you've been flirting with on Facebook?" "What about her?" "He's 45 and he's an under - cover surveillance expert for a large retail outfit." "Oh. My. God." "You should be more careful with your password selections, Tom. It took me less than a min - ute to access your credit card account. Only a fool would use '123456,' the worst password of 2013, according to PC World." "You are invading my right to privacy." "Really, Tom? There is no men - tion of any right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution. Sure, the Fourth Amendment stops the police and other government agents from searching our prop - erty without probable cause. And, says the American Civil Liberties Union, 'other amendments pro- tect our freedom to make certain decisions about our bodies and our private lives without interfer- ence from the government.' But a specific right to privacy does not exist." "You must be breaking some law!" "That's a good one, too, Tom. There are no laws to prevent us from knowing about you — partic - ularly when you so willingly hand over so much private information to so many strangers! You have no idea how vulnerable you are!" "Vulnerable?" "Identity theft is a growing problem, Tom. The personal in - formation you willingly gave about yourself exists forever in the digital ecosystem. That gives savvy technical people lots of op - portunities to steal your identity and destroy your finances." "I didn't realize it was that easy." "Identity theft is less worri- some than what government enti- ties could do to you. Look how the IRS has been used to attack polit- ical enemies. Now imagine what government entities can do when they know everything about you! That's why I called you today, Tom. I called to help you." "Help me how?" "You know those new anti-ter - rorist scanners they use at the airports? Well, at your age, you might want to consider switching from briefs to boxers." "That, sir, is an outrage. I de - mand to know who you are and what you want!" "Sorry, Tom. That information is private." Tom Purcell, author of "Misadven- tures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Tom Purcell Privacy, in this day and age? Surely you must jest Cartoonist's take Increase in vehicle thes This is not life threatening news, but I would like to bring it to the attention of the North State. There has been a huge in - crease in vehicle thefts, espe- cially diesel pickups. I was a victim in the Bend District of Red Bluff on Friday, March 28. However, via informa - tion and conversations with En- terprise car rental in Red Bluff I'm one of at least six in the past two weeks that have had to rent a vehicle due to this crime in - crease — especially Dodge pick- ups. I then was shopping at Trac- tor Supply when a elderly gentle- men was visiting with the man- ger regarding his vehicle being stolen and I had to chime in — a Dodge. Mine was a 2005 Dodge and his a 2002 Dodge. Just yesterday, a very dear friend of my mother's had their Duramax diesel stolen from their property in Cottonwood. Too many cases and not enough news about it to get the word out so we can be more aware. I then visited with the sher - iff's department regarding the sudden increase and why isn't it more newsworthy to at least pre- pare us. They said that they did a have news blip about increase in crime? This isn't just an in- crease in crime this is a syndi- cate of sorts. I am fortunate to be fully cov- ered by insurance, but I wasn't fortunate enough when it came to what I kept in my truck. Very sentimental items such as my horse tack that can't be replaced. I just feel we need to make our neighbors more aware and steps to take that we can protect our - selves. We are so fortunate to have a Facebook site that is helping, but again I wasn't even aware of it till my friends told me. Nor Cal Auto Theft Recov - ery has been very helpful and I'm sure there are others. How- ever, first and foremost is getting to the root of the problem; it's something much bigger. Alison O'Sullivan, Red Bluff Embrace immigration reform As most whose families legally immigrated to the US these past centuries, I support immigra- tion reform. That should include tightened border security, depor- tation of those illegally here, a path for farm workers to obtain a legal visa and to increase visas for those with college degrees. There is little possibility that illegal border crossers will pay off in taxes the $12,000 per child education costs from K through 12, the average $4,000 yearly Medicaid cost for each child from birth to age 18 with the av - erage birthrate of three chil- dren. That is $228,000 in taxes due per child of an illegal border crosser on a typical low income $8 hourly job. It does not make sense to grant amnesty to those who have committed the crimes of illegal border crossing, using false iden - tity and driving without licenses from their home country. There are too many on the waiting list for legal employee visas, without providing amnesty for those ille - gally here. — Joseph Neff, Corning More about candidate I have been a resident of the Bowman area for 65 years. My son, Greg, is a board member of the Evergreen Union School District and my daughter, Clau - dia, works for the district as well. With that background, I found your article concerning the county superintendent's race lacking a great deal of informa - tion concerning Harley North's achievements as the superinten- dent of Evergreen. I would like to help fill in the gaps. Harley worked for the Ever - green Union School District for 35 years, and 28 of those years as the superintendent. During that time, the district moved from a low performing one school dis - trict to one of the highest per- forming two-school districts in the north state. The article listed a few awards that Mr. Allen received in his various positions. The following are some of the awards and eight years of API scores of the Ever - green District received during Harley's leadership. Evergreen School Awards during Harley's tenure as super - intendent include the National Association of Title 1 Directors Award-2004 and California Title 1 Academic Achievement Awards 2005 through 2011. Evergreen School APIs dur - ing Harley's tenure as superin- tendent ranged between 837 and 908 for the elementary school and 750 to 857 for the middle school. Harley's career was at Ever - green Union School District and we are fortunate that he chose to stay in one district to build it with the excellent staff that serves a community that appre - ciates him. After retiring from Ever- green, Harley did not stop work- ing in the educational field. Har- ley went to the Cascade School District as an interim superin- tendent in June, 2011. He is now a Certified Leadership Coach who acts as the coach to administra- tive credentialed candidates. I hope this gives the readers of your newspaper a better under- standing as to Harley North's ac- complishments and considerable talents and skills. — Jackie Baker, Cottonwood Your opinions "Every website you visit, every online purchase you make, every email, text or online comment you make leaves an incredibly rich electronic trail that defines who you are and what you do." It should surprise nobody to learn that the staff of the California High-Speed Rail Authority (116 people) and its payroll ($7 million) nearly tripled last year and would grow again under Brown's next budget. Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EdIToRIAl BoARd How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151 ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FaCEbook.CoM/ rbdailynEwS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @rEdbluFFnEwS Would legislators have to draft their own bills? or actually understand the budget implications of their own proposals? OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, April 9, 2014 » MORE AT FaCEbook.CoM/rbdailynEwS AND TwiTTEr.CoM/rEdbluFFnEwS A6