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NEWS & LETTERS,
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2003
California's recall
Oakland, Cal.--A hundred years ago, when the legislature
was in the pockets of railroad magnates and robber barons, proposition and
recall initiatives were put in place to make government more accountable to the
people. Now propositions are put up by big money, with underemployed people paid
to collect signatures. The signatures for Governor Gray Davis’ recall were
bought for $3 million by right-wing Congressman Darrel Issa, a wealthy Southern
Californian. It is true that nobody loves Davis. He is so firmly bought
by the prison guards’ union that while schools have been drastically cut in
the last few years, prison guards get to keep their 30% raises. But the reason
trumpeted by the right-wing, the state’s budget problem, is mostly the result
of the economic collapse of California’s high-tech industries. It is also a
result of today’s robber barons in the energy business, Bush’s friends who
bought him the White House. Davis is not blameless there, either. During the height of
the energy crisis, many wanted to let the energy companies turn off the lights,
declare a state of emergency and take over the now-proven-to-be-criminal
enterprises. But Davis played middle-of-the-road and signed the extortionate
energy contracts, which California is still paying for. Since it takes a two-thirds vote to pass California’s
budget, a minority of Bushites with veto power have made democracy impossible.
They will not allow tax or fee increases, only spending cuts including the
unconscionable idea of cutting the first two years of elementary school! They
would make California the first “late-start” instead of “head-start”
state. The legislature passed a gimmicky budget that borrows
against the future. Pundits are joking about the recall, with so many candidates
on the ballot. But on the ground, important services are disappearing and the
suffering people are yet to be heard. --Ron Brokmeyer |
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