Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/7598
6A – Daily News – Saturday, March 6, 2010 A MediaNews Group newspaper Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Opinion The most recent Field Poll, released on March 2, was an inter- esting commentary on the mood of the voters in this state. Generally we are a pretty grumpy lot. Almost two-thirds of those polled said the state government is not meeting the needs of people like them- selves. The headlines for articles on the poll highlight the respondents' preference for budget cuts rather than increases in taxes to solve the state budget crisis; however, the data from the poll actually indicate that 61 percent of those polled include increased taxes as a neces- sary part of the solution to our bud- get problems. Only 31 percent favored cuts to the budget as the only solution. Certainly recent revelations have made us grumpy. I was dis- turbed by recently reported state news about the extravagant amounts of overtime and the costs for unused vacation time. The SF city charter provision setting the minimum salaries for the Munici- pal Railway drivers at least equal to the second highest nationally has San Franciscans wondering how they ever approved that. News about "freebies" received by high ranking state insurance officials probably added fuel to the fires of discontent. The misadventures of the New York governor might make us laugh, but they undermine our trust. Exposes of the prison guards union contract provisions demonstrated the influence that their union has over our state legis- lature and our Governor. The ethics issues plaguing the chairman of the House Ways and Means commit- tee are probably the tip of a big iceberg, and it undermines whatev- er confidence voters may have in the government. On the federal level our repre- sentatives continue to practice what Robert J. Samuelson calls la- la politics when it comes to the fed- eral budget and deficit. He cites the recently appointed eighteen per- son, bipartisan, budget commis- sion as an example. The charge of the commission is very narrow, and it includes disregarding federal interest payments; interest pay- ments are projected to be $571 bil- lion in 2015 according to Samuel- son. According to my calculations, that interest amounts to about $1730 per capita; I am not sure how long it will take to pay off that debt; maybe the Congress can take a hint from the new credit card leg- islation and issue a statement let- ting us know. In California, of course, we don't have a deficit; we have a "gap" between projected expendi- tures and income. Supposedly we have to have a balanced budget. For several years our representa- tives in Sacramento have been overly optimistic about income projections, and they have been limited by the confusing plethora of formulae locked into state law. They also borrow money from nooks and crannies of the budget, money intended for specific pur- poses. We, the electorate, also keep voting for bonds that add more debt to the state. This next election we are being asked to vote for a $10 billion bond issue to solve water problems in the state, among other things. This adds to the pub- lic discontent. That amounts to a long term debt of $303 per Cali- fornian plus interest. The Field Poll showed that a close to even split of those polled regarding eliminating the current requirement of a two-thirds vote of the legislature to approve the state budget. For all polled the split was 43 percent for change and 47 per- cent against change. There was a split on party lines with Democrats favoring the change, but only with a 54 percent approval. Interestingly, howev- er, a large majority of those polled — 75 per- cent — did not feel fun- damental constitutional changes were needed in order to get out of the fiscal thicket in which we are currently lost. On the other hand, a slim majority — 51 per- cent — felt we should change the requirement for passing ballot items that change the state constitution from a simple majority to two- thirds. Perhaps those in favor were accosted outside of Raley's by pro- fessional initiative signature collec- tors; one who spoke to me the other day had nine ballot measures he was being paid to qualify for the ballot. The initiative process which was initiated to counter the influ- ence of the Southern Pacific rail- road on the state legislature has devolved into an expensive way for special interests, like PG&E. and Mercury Insurance, to pass items that favor them. Many commentators have said the California fiscal fiasco can't be entirely blamed on our inept legis- lators. Those commentators point out that much of the budget build- ing process is restricted by the myriad of formulas that have been approved by the electorate. Propo- sition 98 was approved to assure that public education would receive a guaranteed proportion of the state budget. This locked in automatic increases from year to year when times were good. When fiscal conditions changed, schools were subject to large funding reductions. The latest estimate is that California, which once had a lighthouse educational system, is 47th in spending on pub- lic K-12 education. The Governator's proposals for 2010-2011 would further reduce K-12 pub- lic education funding to a level 12.7 percent lower than in 2007-08; this amounts to an addi- tional cut of $2.1 billion for 2010-2011. Adjust- ing for inflation we will be spending less in 2010-2011 than we did in 1997-98; that would most likely make us 50th among the states. We are being told we cannot afford a good educational system. It is hard to believe that this could happen in a state where peo- ple and politicians say that educa- tion is an investment in our future. Given the results of the Field Poll and the 500 amendments to our state constitution, and the cur- rent requirement the constitution can be changed by a simple major- ity, I am pretty sure Walt Kelly's cartoon possum, Pogo, was correct when he famously said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Shame on us. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. Pogo was right Commentary N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Joe Harrop STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Your officials Livid over cuts Editor: I am livid. There are areas within a budget for government that should never be touched — police and fire, military and education. After attending our board meeting recently, I left feeling, discouraged, disappointed and disgusted. I am discouraged because so many are being laid off. It solid- ified my thoughts of there's just no job security anywhere, any- more. People that have worked in this district for 15 years are being let go due to this failure in our state budget. Teachers are being let go. Classroom sizes will increase and my fear is more for the elementary levels but for every level nonetheless. Could you imagine being a kindergarten teacher with 30 5- and 6-year-olds with very limit- ed attention spans? There won't be an aide unless a parent vol- unteers. How do you think the students in that type of setting will do? How do you think the teacher will do? Will the teacher spend more time calming the child with separation anxieties or be able to teach? I am disappointed that it has truly come to this. These threats were lurking long before they ever happened. Were the dis- tricts frugal in their spending? From what was said the other evening, no. Raises were hand- ed out. Extra vacation time was given. This in light of the impending cuts? Yes. How sad for those losing a job to know that someone in administration abstaining from a raise could have prevented your loss. Imagine our surprise, Tuesday, for those of us that did not know about these raises, finding out in this type of venue. The teachers and classifieds have given up their fair share. Administration seems to have taken their unfair share. I am sure these people, at some point, deserve a raise, but in this time of economic distress can you really justify it? And finally, I am just dis- gusted that people that are sup- posed to be representing our best interests have let this hap- pen. I can state with absolution, this next election, no incumbent will receive my vote. There is no one at the state level repre- senting my best interests. If that were truly the case, these cuts would not be happening. These kids deserve a chance. By taking their chance away we are setting them up for failure, as well as the kindergarten teacher trying to teach the larger class size with no help. I am frightened by the mes- sage that this is send- ing to our future. I would only hope that someone can hear the cries of the stu- dents and teachers. These people teach our chil- dren, for that, no price is enough. Most don't realize the things teachers do on their own time to prepare for a class. I could go on and on about what teachers are and are not. But for right now, they are being cheated. More importantly, our kids are being cheated. Tammy Sheppard, Red Bluff PATH thanks you Editor: I am writing to thank the Red Bluff community for all the sup- port it gave us in our Open House for our new Women and Children's home on Sale Lane. I am very proud to be a board member of P.A.T.H (Poor and the Homeless). I have never worked with people that care so much about trying to better the lives of people with our men's transitional apartments, winter shelter and now home for women and children. I wish I could even begin to name all the people in our local area that helped get our new home open. There were so many that gave of their time to paint and clean yards and donations from businesses. Thanks to the Daily News for the wonderful articles you wrote on our behalf and the coverage of the local TV sta- tions. We can all be proud that so many have a part in a home and our shelter that will give hope to people and change lives. If you would like to know more about what PATH does, we are hold- ing an All About PATH night Friday March 19 at Bethel Church Gymnasium. We want the public to know what we are about and encourage others to volunteer. Thanks again Red Bluff com- munity. Pam Klein, Red Bluff Your Turn