OAKLAND, CA - NOVEMBER 02: California Governor-elect Jerry Brown (R) with his wife Anne Gust-Brown after speaking to supporters as he celebrates his win during an election night party at Fox Theatre on November 2, 2010 in Oakland, California. Jerry Brown defeated republican challenger and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
It was 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, and I couldn’t sleep. I have to go to work in the morning to a company where myself and others have worked basically for free for the past three years in order to pay our staff and to provide medical insurance in hope of some economic recovery.
I cried when I heard Jerry Brown won the governor’s race. This election above others affected me so much because I thought that people may be afraid enough by now to see that we need to reconstruct our political system.
I remember both of Brown’s terms. He was so bad that by the time he was out I felt like five tons had lifted off my shoulders. His impact was so bad that I got involved in politics, reading and writing, learning and discussing.
He’s back now as governor, and this is a living nightmare. This is not about being a bad loser. This is about the fact that the man took the free and inventive Golden State, locked in the unions, and instituted collective bargaining, which hurts us all. He took a wonderful state and locked it into unbreakable union rules.
California freedom, forget it. Pay the fee, pay the fines, pay the tax collector, pay to drive the highways, don’t pave the highways – oh, and pay for green energy before we even invent it. It’s going to get worse.
Alexis Cavanaugh - Costa Mesa
A mass exodus
Here is what California will get. I am in the transportation business. Everything in this country moves on a truck, and I sell that service. I had four calls from customers who are working on new business plans for their companies. All have asked me for pricing on plant or line moves to other states, and requested rates for moving goods from those new facilities to their markets. Hedging their bets?
No, this is something many businesses have feared if Democrats took total control in California, and if Propositions 23 and 25 went the wrong way. It all happened. Additionally, it will be full speed ahead on punishing supposed polluters (trucks), and that will cost you more for everything you read, wear, eat, drive, watch, sit on, sleep on or play with.
Rick Cleveland - Anaheim
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If it was not for my kids and grandkids, the U-Haul would have pulled into the driveway at 8 a.m. sharp on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010. I, and many others I know, are in deep mourning.
Kathleen MacCleverty - Aliso Viejo
Unions own us now
California took a different path than the rest of the United States by electing Jerry Brown and repealing the two-thirds majority required to pass a state budget. That path leads to the financial ruin that is Greece and the high unemployment that is Spain. Change the motto of our state from “the Golden State” to the “Welfare State.” The California dream will soon be dead, and the public employee unions hold the shovels.
David Milligan - Lake Forest
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On Election Day, 2010, Californians voted to commit fiscal suicide by electing Jerry Brown to be our next governor. We still haven’t recovered from the ravages of his first tenure as governor, but for some he didn’t do enough damage. They want an encore.
Personally this observer isn’t willing to stick around to pay the exorbitant taxes that will necessarily come from the onerous costs of government employee pensions and the burgeoning debt required to “balance” the state’s ballooning budget.
This writer finds it amusing that so much attention has been given to how much of her own money Meg Whitman spent in her race. Little talk has been given to how much the government employee unions spent to elect Brown and pass propositions that will make it easier to grow government yet more and for politicians and bureaucrats to offer even more generous government employee pensions. This conflict of interest is virtually ignored.
Bruce Crawford - Fountain Valley
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The unions of California now control the legislative and executive branch.
Let the good times roll.
Kurt Parker - Huntington Beach
The party of handouts
I am sick to my stomach at the election results. This great state is so Democratic Party-inclined that people don’t even know what they are voting for; they vote for the party of handouts. They moan about the state of the state, but then they continue to put the same people in power.
The people who create jobs and put money into the system are at the mercy of the Democratic voter and the supposed “leaders” they put in office. And the union or government jobs don’t put money into the system. They do not create a product. They don’t turn a profit. They just take and use what taxpayers give them.
So the Democratic leaders create more of these jobs so they have more voters dependent upon them. But at what cost to the state? They don’t care. They got theirs. People in general do not know how to think of the general welfare of the state or the future consequences of their vote. People cannot control their own finances. What makes one think that they have any knowledge of a larger economic picture?
This is one sad native Californian watching his state disintegrate at the hands of the ignorant.
Joe Santo - Anaheim
‘Now look at us’
The unions have won again, and now we have a governor who, before, sent California into a tailspin with his tax-and-spend policies.
I am a native Californian and remember when our state had a robust economy and schools ranked 10th in the nation. Now look at us. And we are sending back to Washington a senator who has never represented the needs of California.
I am appalled at the partisan outcome of this election. California is in for even more decline.
Pam Bento - Mission Viejo
Beyond the cynicism
It’s disappointing reading the sarcastic comments after the election. This whole “affair” resembles a divorce where the mom and dad throw each other under the bus, while their “kid” stands there wondering what the hell just happened?
Let’s be honest: How many households are made up of opposing viewpoints about our government and leaders? My husband and I cancel each other out many times during elections. Is there a reason we have to be so cynical and self-righteous after every election and declare this or that party as victorious over the other?
I wish we could all recognize that by standing on opposite sides of the “room,” we’re saying to our children, “When you pit us against each other, the divide-and-conquer mentality will surely be the clear winner,” making us all losers.
Victoria L. West - San Clemente
An easy budget fix?
If Jerry Brown is serious about solving California’s financial problems, here’s what he should say in his inaugural address:
“Fellow Californians, our recently passed budget was a sham, and everyone knows it. It features revenue projections from Fantasy Island and no meaningful spending cuts. So, 30 days from now I will submit to the state Legislature a revised budget that includes realistic revenue projections, no new taxes and major cuts in spending. This will mean scaling back many state programs and eliminating many others altogether. I will call upon the Legislature to approve that budget no later than 30 days after receiving it.”
Since the Democrats are in control of everything now, this should be very doable, don’t you think?
Bill Hezzelwood - San Clemente
Lunatic fringe thrives
The election was great for America and terrible for California. By electing Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer and not passing Proposition 23 this state has all but guaranteed its continued demise. In 10 to 15 years, all that will be left here are illegal aliens, hamburger flippers, SEIU members and welfare collectors.
No new business will come to this state, and more productive people will leave. Can someone please tell me what a “green job” is? California has pretty much proven what the rest of the country already thinks it is: lunatic fringe groups, voting-age anchor
babies and coastal elites. The same people who caused all the problems keep getting elected.
Listening to Barbara Boxer last night made me want to vomit. It’s too bad the whole state is controlled by the far left in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the sanctuary cities, gay marriage, higher taxes, unfettered illegal immigration.
I have given up on this state. I will be out of here in two to three years.
Carl Baker - Mission Viejo
Never listen to Wilson
Meg Whitman’s first mistake was getting Pete Wilson on board with her campaign. My opinion of this error was printed in the Letters section of the Register just a couple of months ago. The Pete Wilson, Arnold Schwarzenegger wing of the Republican Party is not where future Republican hopefuls will find success.
Jack Groendal - Mission Viejo
Our just desserts?
The people of California who put these folks back in office deserve what they will get. Jerry Brown already raped this state once as governor and that was apparently not enough. Sen. Barbara Boxer has done nothing in 28 years for this state, and it appears folks are pleased with that. So the low education stats of the state will continue, the 12.4 percent unemployment rate will likely rise, and those of us who have worked will continue to pay through the nose and from our wallets.
Sheryl Picco - Tustin
Not tired yet?
Tired of the unions controlling the politicians of this state and helping to run our schools into the ground? Tired of the double-dipping public employees getting sweetheart pensions, courtesy of you? Tired of ever-increasing taxes and double-digit unemployment?
Obviously not. Only on the pages of the Register, on the talk shows and in a few corners of Orange County do we still find people who get upset by these things.
As usual, Mark Steyn has it exactly right. “The arithmetic does not allow for meaningful correction.” In other words, pack your bags. You are hopelessly outnumbered.
Dennis Walker - Yorba Linda
Missed opportunity
So Jerry Brown, Barbara Boxer and Loretta Sanchez, a.k.a. Curley, Moe and Larry, are back in. What a missed opportunity for the state and citizens of California, as we continue to spiral downward.
So sad.
William V. Mosconi - Anaheim
Issue-driven voters
Republican billionaires Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina pouring tens of millions of their own money into their political races yet still losing clearly shows that money isn’t the most critical factor in elections.
Often a candidate’s political platform and personality are more important.
Kenneth L. Zimmerman - Huntington Beach
Danger of fraud
My daughter, a registered voter with permanent absentee-ballot status, moved to Washington state in November 2008. She is registered to vote in Washington and voted in the presidential election of 2009. Yet, I received her absentee ballot in the mail for the November 2010 election.
With the number of people who have moved out of state, the number of people who have been displaced from their homes, how many absentee ballots were mailed and delivered, but not to the actual named voter?
This creates a situation that is ripe for voter fraud.
Sherry Runnells Williams - Garden Grove
Golden state to welfare state - November 7th, 2010, 12:00 am posted by walexander - WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR - Letters to the Editor: E-mail to letters@ocregister.com.
Mark Landsbaum: The temptations of Jerry Brown
With a solid Democratic majority backing him in both houses of the Legislature and in the aftermath of a decisive victory over his Republican opponent, governor-elect Jerry Brown may be tempted to believe his own press coverage and conclude that he has a mandate when he returns to office. What a temptation. What a potential disaster. There are at least four areas in which the once-and-future governor ought to resist temptation and to think moderation, not mandate.
Taxes
ILLUSTRATION BY AMY NING
Theoretically, last week's election didn't make it any easier to increase taxes. That still requires two-thirds legislative approval. But realistically, the election ratcheted up the pressure to increase taxes.Perhaps Brown's greatest temptation will be to concoct a clever scheme to increase taxpayers' burden. Sure, he promised no tax increases without a vote of the people. But how long will it take Brown to hit the tax-increase campaign trail once he finds the state has run out of money before it's run out of fiscal year, as has been the case in recent years?
Meanwhile, other election results heightened pressure to find ways to raise taxes. Voters defeated Proposition 21, which would have created a car "fee" that would have enabled diverting half a billion dollars, now restricted to parks, to the general fund instead. Voters also rejected repeal of business tax breaks by voting down Prop. 24, an outcome that denies the Legislature more than $1 billion of spending money it would have had if the measure had passed. Voters tightened the noose even more, approving Prop. 22, which prevents Sacramento from raiding upward of $5 billion in local government gas and redevelopment taxes to make up for state shortfalls. On top of all this, voters approved Prop. 26, reclassifying many "fees" as taxes, so increasing them now requires two-thirds approval, rather than simple majority votes. The revenue flow to Sacramento has been diminished.
Brown will face great temptation to appease constituencies demanding more, not less, spending, by rushing onto the ballot a tax-increase proposal. He could claim to have kept his campaign promise, but also plead poverty and calamity unless voters tax themselves more to feed the government. He should resist these taxing temptations.
Global warming
Brown is extremely likely to feel justified in even more aggressively pursuing his obsession with things green. Principle among these temptations will be the urge to bring the full weight of his administration to bear in accelerating enforcement of the state's Global Warming Solutions Act, also known as Assembly Bill 32.
In his present job as attorney general, Brown used the courts and threat of legal action to coerce local governments and private businesses to knuckle under to AB32's Draconian mandates, ostensibly to save the world from California's carbon emissions. In the wake of his substantial election victory, bolstered by voters' even more substantial rejection of Prop. 23, which would have delayed AB32's implementation, Brown will be greatly tempted to accelerate more administrative control over local government planning and businesses' collective carbon footprints in order to reduce carbon emissions to 1990's level by 2020.
He will be tempted to ignore the economically crippling effects of these regulations, and ironically even to ignore their detrimental effect on state revenue. AB32's added costs will reduce businesses' productivity and, consequently, their taxes. More firms may leave, or plan to grow elsewhere, than already have.
Brown should learn from President Barak Obama, who responded to different election returns on the national level. Obama said last week that he won't continue to push for cap-and-trade legislation to reduce carbon emissions, but will seek a different approach that won't hurt the economy. Can Brown overcome temptation and moderate or scrap California's cap-and-trade plans?
Obamacare
California already has plunged head-long into compliance with the potentially catastrophic new national health care law. Obamacare requires states to establish government-run "exchanges" to regulate the new federal health insurance mandates within their boundaries. But the compliance deadline is four years off.
Nevertheless, California once again leads the rest of the country by establishing the nation's first state health exchanges under Obamacare. Brown will be tempted to keep California on the cutting edge in implementing Obamacare's far-reaching regulations, a temptation he should resist.
Twenty-one other states have sued to overturn Obamacare, challenging its constitutionality. Several other states have opted out or are seriously considering opting out of Obamacare. As California attorney general, Brown didn't join the dissenters, whose legal challenges may scuttle Obamacare entirely, if the newly energized Republicans in Congress don't beat them to it.
But even if Obamacare is ruled unconstitutional, California will be stuck with its newly authorized health care exchanges to potentially dictate what kind of health insurance can be sold, by whom, to whom and at what prices. What other difficult-to-repeal mandates might California rush to impose under Brown's leadership, regardless of whether the national law is upheld? Brown should resist the urge to add to this unpleasant prescription, and exercise restraint instead.
Unions and pensions
Brown was instrumental in advancing public employee unions' collective bargaining rights when he signed a landmark 1978 law, one in a series of advances over a decade for unionized government workers. The legacy has been an increasing burden for taxpayers with ever-growing financial obligations for ever-greater pay and benefit commitments.
If ever a temptation existed, this has to be one for life-long Democrat Brown who will come face-to-face with the Democratic Party's most influential constituency: government workers. They aren't going to ask him for a pay cut, layoffs or fewer retirement benefits. Not by a long shot.
On the campaign trail, Brown made much of his governmental savvy, his supposed ability to get divergent parties to come together and accomplish something. When he gets together with the Democratic-controlled Legislature, the Democratic Party's campaign contributors, also known as government worker unions, and the representatives and beneficiaries of entrenched government programs and bureaucracies, we'll see just how effective the savvy new governor is under fire.
To say that he will be tempted to identify with unions, if not champion their cause, is to understate the enticement. Legislative Democrats, meanwhile, have plenty of their own temptations. While still restrained in increasing taxes by the two-thirds legislative vote requirement that needs at least some Republican support, they have been unbridled in terms of approving budget spending.
When voters passed Prop. 25, they handed Democrats the ability to adopt a budget – a spending plan – by a mere majority vote in the Legislature. They won't even need every Democrat's support to increase spending or expand government. What better argument to persuade voters to increase their taxes than a huge short-fall to cover all the new spending and expanded programs? What a temptation.
Can union-enabler, lifetime-Democrat Brown resist the temptation to sign on to such largess? What a disaster.
Summing up
Here's some advice for Jerry Brown when tempted to exercise his "mandate." Who was a recent Democratic government executive to win big and enjoy support of a comfortable Democratic majority in both legislative houses? What a temptation that was. Why not give Barack Obama a call. Ask him how that worked out.
Contact the writer: mlandsbaum@ocregister.com or 714-796-5025
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