Californians back to wacky with wrong apporach to debt

Grandma, Guns and Apple Pie by Robert Delaware

I read once that Florida was the “new California.” That Florida had become the epicenter of all the crazy B.S. in the United States.

Remember the poor Cuban Elian Gonzales and the very odd sight of republicans fighting to keep an illegal immigrant in the country? Remember how the Sept. 11 hijackers had found Florida to be the perfect place to blend in unnoticed while visiting sports bars and taking flight lessons? Do you recall the insanity that was the 2000 election? O.J. Simpson has even been seen on the trail of the “real killers” on various Palm Beach golf courses. Florida had truly reached the pinnacle of nuttiness.

How quickly things can change. In the fall of 2003, it is safe to say the Golden State of California has triumphantly reclaimed the mantle of the wackiest place to be in the good ol’ U.S. of A. An amazing cast of characters has assembled out of the smog to rip apart Gray Davis and be lucky enough to be the next governor of California. You all know the suspects. There is a pornographer, a comedian, an actor, a Bible thumper and a chubby Fresno State grad all duking it out in order to grab the reins of the rabid horse.

Aren’t you excited?!! Virtually every state in the union is wrestling with gigantic budget deficits. California’s brave response has been to blame the situation on one very un-charismatic politician and hope that by running a goofy circus, things will magically get better the morning after.

Several issues are not explained or even discussed very often in the press. The problem we have is not that California is somehow tax heavy or anti-business. The implosion of the dot-com and telecommunications industries coupled with the related drop in the stock market following Sept. 11 has led to huge drops in taxes collected by both state and the federal governments. California is dependent upon state income tax; during the go-go 90’s many people’s incomes were tied into stock dividends. When their imaginary business zoomed on paper (read: pets.com) it looked as if that worker could be well off today, rich tomorrow, and filthy rich in a month. California was flush with cash dripping off the technology bubble. When that bubble popped it had an effect on the whole world. One politician is not to blame for this.

If running a budget deficit was truly that bad then every supporter of the recall would also be working their hardest to get George W. Bush thrown out of office. His actions not only have thrown the government into the largest federal deficit in history, but they have also contributed to the fiscal problems faced by the states. Is it really that much of a surprise that when Bush does visit this state his visits are pretty much limited to military bases and $1,000-a-plate dinners? He is following a tactic long used by republicans in California: If you want to win, all you have to do is raise enough money to run commercials in each media market. The people of the state do not seem to mind their lives being dictated to them through their television screens.

— This columnist can be reached at collegian@csufresno.edu