This was taken from one of my Facebook Rants in June 2010. The dangerous thing about blogs is that a person can engage in character assassination and slander with virtually no rebuttal. That is something that I will not allow myself to do in this public forum.
Sometimes I write things and when I return to read them later, I am surprised by what I read. This was one of those occasions when I was surprised at the level of frustration demonstrated in this "rant". Surprised yes, but do I regret it, no. I believe my frustration was justified.
Elected officials are supposed to represent their communities. I sometimes wonder if that truly is the case. Could it be that middle class Californian's don't care about education? Is it possible that most people believe that our legislature functions fine and that I'm one of the small minority of the population that thinks our priorities are all screwed up?
I feel like the naked guy on the UC Berkley Campus; no one understands me...and they won't take me seriously because I'm not one of them...and I'm naked...
June 2010-
The problems families in the Silicon Valley face are exacerbated by the total lack of support for education that has continually been demonstrated by our state representatives and legislators. Our representatives have continually failed to recognize the importance of our public education system and it is reflected in our annual state budget. When I look at what states spend on their public education budget and compare them to California, I’m appalled and embarrassed. California has the ninth largest economy in the world…The World!! In spite of our economic power, we are forty-eighth amongst our states in per-capita spending on public education. The strange thing is that this is common knowledge amongst educators, parents and legislators but nothing ever changes. It amazes me that prison guards make six figure salaries and their union seems to be able to abscond with any and every possible scrap of “surplus” money in the state budget. Meanwhile, teachers rarely can afford to purchase homes in the areas where they teach. California refuses to invest in their children. Instead, we let them flounder until they are old enough for us to incarcerate them. It’s the “Fisherman’s Mentality” that many conservatives cling to; the little ones aren’t worth the effort so you throw them back until they’re big enough to keep. Then we pay $40,000.00 per year to lock them up in prison. For many young people, it’s their official apprenticeship for a more notorious lifestyle.
What if we flipped the process 180 degrees? What if we invested $40,000.00 per year, per student on public education and allowed $6,900.00 per year, per inmate? Is it possible that Oakland might not be amongst the most dangerous Cities in America? Would South Central L.A. have the reputation it has if we flipped the script? If we invested $40,000.00 per year in our students, then you’d know the people who end up in prison really have no excuse. The new $6,900.00 per inmate budget approved by the state legislature would be justified in my book. When you have the economic power of this State and you consciously choose not to invest in the future of your children then you are going to have dangerous areas like Compton, Oakland, Richmond, Petrero Hill, Hunters Point and East Palo Alto.
The fact is we have continued to elect representatives that do not reflect the core values of our families. Perhaps it is apathy or perhaps we are not as well informed as we should be, but some how we have allowed our representatives to run unchecked. The state education budget is the perfect example of a scandalous situation that is common knowledge. We did not recently discover our dubious distinction of being at the bottom of the list of school funding amongst the states. It’s been well documented for some time. So, why hasn’t the situation changed? There are some legislators who have been and continue to champion the cause of public education. Given what’s at stake, why aren’t there more? Why hasn’t there been any change in our priorities? Instead, the prison guards union runs the state and we seem to be fine with that.
We are facing a major crisis in our state budget. Our governor has proposed a state budget that would include blind cuts across the board. These cuts could amount to a $4 Billion dollar reduction in funding to our public schools. To our governor, a man who has never held public office and is worth several hundred million dollars, a $4 Billion cut to public education seems perfectly acceptable. Why not, his kids don’t go to public school and neither will their kids or their kid’s kids. There is a complete disconnect between this man and the working class.
Rather than cut $4 Billion from public education, why not tax the oil companies for the oil they pump from the ground? Given the huge profits they enjoyed over the past few years, they should be able to survive a state tax on the resources they are processing and selling to the public. Most states already tax oil companies for the oil they take from the ground, but not California. Why not impose a sales tax on luxury items like yachts and airplanes? I pay sales tax on my automobile, why not a sales tax on big-ticket luxury items? Why don’t we increase the vehicle registration fees; anything but cut the education budget.
Our governor has no concept of what everyday people do to survive. It always amazes me when people like this want to go into public service. They may have the political connections to get what they want but they have no connection to those they are supposed to serve. Clearly, service is not the reason that people like this go into politics. They will often convince themselves that they are there to “give back”, but rarely is that the reality we witness. I can’t blame Mr. Schwarzenegger for being disconnected; after all, the people of California elected him as their governor. Californians like to think of themselves as being liberal and very progressive. People in other states definitely believe the stereotype(s) about Californians and their liberal views. However, when you look closely at our history you realize that we are not nearly as liberal or as progressive as we’d like to think. Sure, there are pockets where liberals have a strong base however I find California to be very conservative as a whole. A review of our recent list of past governors will provide you with the clearer picture of what this state is all about. There is San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Santa Cruz and a handful of small bastions of liberalism; otherwise California can be as red as many other states.
As a society, we have lost our focus. There is no connection to our neighborhoods or our communities. This is clearly reflected in the people we have elected to represent us on a state level. How could it be more important to save taxes for corporations than to invest in our children’s future and in our public education system? This is the indication of a society that is on the brink of moral bankruptcy. I wrote a letter to the governor expressing my concerns that a public education would become a luxury to many families if the education cuts he proposed were passed. The reply I received from the Governor convinced me that he will have a long and successful career in politics.
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