My Take- California Budget Crisis Part Two

Okay, so the rumor mills are running once again last week as California Legislators are drastically trying to come up with a budget. Being a Republican, Schwarzenegger doesn't want to increase taxes on his fellow Californians, but will cut government jobs instead. This means that DMV and many other government offices will not be available to the public three Fridays a month. They are, instead, diverting people to the internet to have them conduct their business there. (Look for another My Take on the subject soon.) It makes sense because I can renew my licenses or something simple like that online, but I just don't want to see a teen trying to take a driving test or an eye test online.

Caltrans is also a government agency, and last Friday there was a serious traffic issue on a major highway. A truck that was carrying a type of lubricant (the kind they use to put corks in wine bottles, apparently) leaked from a barrel on the back of a truck, spreading the slippery substance across two lanes of traffic. There were plenty of spin-outs, and even an accident that injured a baby girl. When Caltrans was called to assist in getting the lanes cleaned up and get traffic back in order, rumor has it that Caltrans reported they were off that day because of the California Budget Crisis and there was no one that could help. Of course, to save face, Caltrans came back later and denied that was ever said.

So, to me, that doesn't really make sense. Schwarzenegger will hurt those who work for him (the government), which is also a large amount of the population, but will not equally spread the 'hurt' aka taxes, to everyone in the state. That makes no sense to me. I live on an extremely tight budget but I am still willing to pay a bit more in taxes to make it to where government workers are not forced to take a third NON PAYING furlough day a month. There is no way I could afford to take off a third day a month without pay, so how can they? He has already cut back their wages to just above minimum wage (last year) already. They are already talking about a fourth Furlough Friday a month, and how they don't want to go that route. This week there are now cuts for professors and staff at UC's to either take furlough days or a pay cut, and they are limiting the amount of new students they let in because they can no longer afford to teach our children! Gee, and he expects Californians to bounce back from this recession? How are we to do that?

Here is one of the latest rumors going around on how he wants to help out Californians. Now as everyone already knows, there are 'legal' pot clubs in this state that are supposed to only be selling their pot to card holders. Now, to get a pot club membership card, you need to have an ailment that can only be helped with smoking weed and have it approved by your doctor. Yes, there are medicinal purposes for pot, but these clubs are not run right. (That is a whole different issue I am not going into detail with right now.) Anyway, what Arnold wants to do is sit down with the pro-pot people and discuss legalizing it so it can be taxed.

Have you seen the commercials? TV stations have actually refused to air them because they are so ludicrous. In the ads, they (the pro-legalize pot people) are saying that we can help our schools, (yes, our schools!) by legalizing pot and taxing it. What? Legalize and tax pot, marijuana, weed, how ever you call it, to help our schools? Oh, and they only want to make it available to adults. Yes, just like alcohol and see how that helps the teens.

So, if this does pass, (after going through the voters of California), what will happen to the second hand smoke issues? Will they make it where they can only smoke at their homes? Will people demand to smoke it at work? Will my children, instead of getting lung cancer from second hand smoke at the playgrounds, instead get a contact high? And, if only adults are allowed to smoke this, legally, what about the children who live in the same house? They then get addicted to it from the parents smoking and then get addicted to other drugs to fix the need their parents introduced them to?

Now, as I step down from my soap box, I realize there are responsible people out there that will use this for medicinal purposes, and should not be penalized for what others will do with their new found freedom. With that said, I am against legalizing pot, no matter how much they say it will help our schools. It will just lead to legalizing cocaine, heroine and then even meth. No thank you.

Dear Mr. Governator, please come up with a different idea. We realize you are not going to be our governor next election, but please do not kill this state before leaving it. Our children are depending on you to help guide them to better lives. Please do not legalize pot and make it even more available to our children. We need to find a better way of balancing the budget and getting California out of the red.