SCHOOLS OVER PRISONS

SCHWARZENEGGER'S STATE OF THE STATE SPEECH- JANUARY 6, 2010

ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER GAVE A HAPHAZARD-SOUNDING STATE-OF-THE-STATE SPEECH. IT BEGAN WITH AN AWKWARD LITTLE FABLE COMPARING CALIFORNIA’S LEGISLATORS TO HIS HOUSEHOLD PETS; A MINIATURE PONY AND A POT-BELLIED PIG.

HE SAID THE TWO HAVE WORKED TOGETHER ON CREATING A SYSTEM OF GETTING FOOD OUT OF A CONTAINER AND THAT THE STATE’S LAWMAKERS DID THE SAME LAST YEAR IN ORDER TO CLOSE THE HUGE BUDGET GAP.

PERSONALLY, GIVEN ANALOGY, THE PONY AND THE PIG SEEM TO HAVE A BETTER SYSTEM.

HOWEVER, OUR GOVERNOR MADE A FEW POIGNANT STATEMENTS. I’LL START WITH THE GOOD NEWS; HE PROMISED HE WILL PROTECT EDUCATION OVER PRISONS. WHAT A RELIEF. HE RECOGNIZED THAT THE STATE SPENDS 45% MORE ON “PRISON UNIFORMS THAN ON CAPS AND GOWNS.” HOW HE PLANS ON DOING THIS IS A LITTLE SHADY. HE SPOKE OF BETTER MANAGING THE PRISON SYSTEM, AND TURNING TO PRIVATELY RUN PRISONS, BUT NOT SO MUCH ABOUT CLOSING THEM OR DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THE HIGH POPULATIONS WITHIN THEM.

HE ALSO VAGUELY SPOKE A BIT ON THE IMPROVEMENTS THE STATE IS MAKING TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS WITH IN THE SCHOOLS. THAT PARENTS CAN “FREE THEIR CHILDREN FROM DESTRUCTIVE SCHOOLS”, GET RID OF INCOMPETENT PRINCIPLES AND THE ABILITY TO CONNECT STUDENTS PERFORMANCE TO THE TEACHER’S PERFORMANCE.

WHAT HE DID NOT DIRECTLY SAY WAS THAT WE WOULD SPEND MORE ON EDUCATION. IT SOUNDED A BIT TO ME LIKE WE WOULD CORRECT THE RATIO OF MONEY SPENT. GOING FORWARD, HOWEVER, I’M GOING TO HOPE THAT THIS IS IMPLIED. I’M GOING TO ASSUME THAT ‘PRIORITIES’, HIS CHOSEN FOCUS WORD FOR 2010, MEANS THAT THE SAVINGS ON PRISONS WILL BE DIRECTLY DEPOSITED INTO THE EDUCATION FUND……
AMBITIOUS THINKING, I KNOW, BUT ONE CAN WISH.

THE NEXT POINT OF HIS SPEECH I FOUND TELLING WAS HIS TAXES/BUDGET REFORM PROPOSALS.

IT’S NOT THAT WE DON’T NEED TO REFORM THE TAXES…. YES, IT IS UNREALISTIC TO GO ON BELIEVING THAT THE 144,000 TAXPAYERS, AS HE POINTS OUT, CAN CARRY 38 MILLION CALIFORNIANS.

HOWEVER… SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE REPUBLICAN, HE SAYS “WE SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT FOR THE RICH TO BOUNCE BACK”.
HIS TAX PLAN WAS APPROVED BY, HE BOASTS, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AND FORMER DEMOCRATIC, CALIFORNIAN POLITICIAN WILLIE BROWN.
READING BETWEEN THE LINES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL FOCUSES ON CORPORATE INTERESTS, THE FAKE PEOPLE.
AND WILLIE BROWN, LAST YEAR WAS DEFENDING GENERAL CONTRACTOR MONICA UNG, WHO WAS ARRAIGNED IN AUGUST 2009 FOR DOZENS OF FELONY FRAUD CHARGES INCLUDING FLAUNTING LABOR LAWS AND DEFRAUDING IMMIGRANT CONSTRUCTION WORKERS OF THEIR WAGES.
THIS SHOULD BE INDICATIVE OF WHAT KIND OF TAX PROPOSAL THIS REALLY IS. READ MORE

IF THE 144,000 TAXPAYERS THE GOVERNATOR SPOKE OF WERE INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES, REAL PEOPLE LIKE ME AND YOU, I WOULD COMPLETELY AGREE WITH HIM, EVEN SMALL BUSINESS. THE DISCONNECT HERE IS THAT HE IS ALSO SPEAKING OF CORPORATIONS AND BIG BUSINESS.

THE PEOPLE WITH NO PULSE; WHOSE SKIN IS CONCRETE AND BONES ARE METAL AND WHO EAT REAL PEOPLE, REAL TAXPAYERS FOR DINNER.


I DIGRESS, I AGREE THAT WE HAVE TO REFORM TAXES. CALIFORNIANS ARE QUITE DISILLUSIONED WHEN IT COMES TO FINANCES. YOU SEE IT EVERYDAY ON THE STREET. PEOPLE DRIVING AROUND IN CARS THEY CAN’T AFFORD, WEARING EXPENSIVE CLOTHES AND GUCCI GLASSES WITH BOTOX ALL IN THEIR FOREHEADS, ALL THE WHILE WRITING IT OFF. AS AN EXPENSE BECAUSE YOU ARE AN ASPIRING MODEL… YOU DID ONE PHOTO SHOOT ON A TRADE FOR PICS ARRANGEMENT AND IN THE MEAN TIME HAVE AN UNDER-THE-TABLE PERSONAL ASSISTANT JOB THAT PAYS 3500 DOLLARS A MONTH. JUST AS AN EXAMPLE. BUT WE REAL PEOPLE WOULDN’T HAVE TO THAT IF THE FAKE PEOPLE , AGAIN CORPORATIONS AND BIG BUSINESSES, WERE REQUIRED TO PAY US A LIVING WAGE AND WEREN’T ABLE TO CUT SO MANY TAX CORNERS THEMSELVES.

Really, Germany!!!

The European Union wants the countries who belong to minimize their debt. Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to achieve this by cutting taxes to stimulate spending. That also means social services will suffer.
A group of ultra wealthy Germans wants to help ease this, so they are asking to have their taxes raised.
How is it that Germany, a place where there was once a wall separating it in two, has citizens who are very rich willing to, no, asking to have their taxes raised? Not only that… but they want to make sure the money is designated for social programs that will suffer cuts
There is such a group of activists in this country.
They are Wealth for the Common Good