The T.E.A. parties were a harbinger of the no on taxes movement that is sweeping this nation. Californians sent that resounding message to the legislature and the governor. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger must now sit down with state lawmakers and make real decisions. It’s something that has not been done in more than a quarter century. Proposition 13 (a 1978 revision to the state constitution that limited property taxation) was passed because the legislature refused to do its job. Once again the public has to step in to send a resounding message.
The Los Angeles Times reported in an article titled “Cost-cutting ideas die in Legislature”
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger supported SB 44 to abolish the Integrated Waste Management Board and save up to $3 million a year, Denham said. The Senate Environmental Quality Committee rejected it Monday on a party-line vote.
The board has been criticized as a way station for retired lawmakers. Among its members are former legislators Sheila Kuehl, John Laird and Carole Migden; each is paid $132,000 a year.
How many other boards and departments are there, that serve no useful purpose? The State Controller’s office reports there are more than 213,000 state employees (excluding California State Universities). The questions are too easy to ask but the answers to some are difficult.
- What are all of these people doing?
- How many are earning over $100,000 per year?
- What are the non essential departments?
- Are there laws that prevent the elimination of any departments?
The Los Angeles Times editorializes that this may be the time for a state constitutional convention. The Bay Area Council of the San Francisco area is a business-sponsored, public-policy advocacy organization that is promoting the idea of such a convention. That council believes “Drastic times call for drastic measures.” These are most definitely drastic times.
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