How the Connecticut Assembly is like (and unlike) the lawmakers of California
This photo of the Connecticut General Assembly during a budget debate met with considerable outrage last week. The people who make the law are not paying attention! For shame!
In California, we have this thing called the initiative process, where the electorate votes directly on certain laws. Telecommunications regulation, the refinancing of bond obligations, creation of administrative agencies with specific tasks -- these are some of the issues that the people vote on directly. How many of them are playing solitaire or watching baseball instead of paying attention? Plenty.
My point is this: we hold elected lawmakers to a certain standard of diligence, naturally. If they do not achieve this standard, we vote them out of office. But when we, the electorate, are the ones making the law (as is the case in California) we don't seem to have a problem with an absence of diligence. And we don't seem to make any connection between our lack of diligence and the state of the State. I'm fairly certain that if Connecticut found itself in a budgetary crisis, fingers would be pointed at the laptop solitaire players.
Perhaps we Californians need to vote ourselves out of office.
100% agree. In California we have created a monster by demanding that certain things be enacted, even though they tie the leader's hands in many areas. Add to that the gerrymandering which protects the status quo, and it is wonder the state is till functioning, although at the rate it is going, it won't be for long...Welcome to the soon-to-be "3rd world quality" state of California, land of homelessness, no safety net for anyone, and pothole capitol of the world.
September 7, 2009 4:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Stilli,
You probably remember that the voters made it more difficult to gerrymander with the last set of propositions. At least that was one positive outcome of that election.
The nation would do well to watch CA... we are, after all, the 10th largest economy in the world, the 5th busiest container port in the world. And we contribute about 13% of the US GDP.
One out of every 8 Americans lives in California.
We send more money out to the Fed Government than we get back.
In other words, we are the big cheese in terms of the states (with apologies to Wisconsin). When we go down, expect some real dominoes to fall.
September 7, 2009 7:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. And, as with the Federal government, I'm not sure how to fix it. The State Legislators are playing fast and loose with people's lives. The Governor seems to be saying, okay, you want smaller government? This is what it is going to look like. Then slash and burn all programs and see what is left standing. Unfortunately a lot of people are going to suffer in the meantime, not the least of which are the State employees, who are bearing a lot of the brunt of the cuts. As we live in the burbs outside of Sac, we can see it first hand. Several of our neighbors are State employees, married to State employees, which means that they are taking a huge hit with the furloughs. So far they are hanging in, but we won't be surprised to see houses going on the market, depressed as the market is. It's going to be an interesting ride.
September 7, 2009 8:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, people are taking 15% cuts right now.
As you know, I see that up close. But what's worse is that citizens expect the same type of coverage (say from police and firefighters). The state is now exercising its right to call back monies from the cities/towns -- and onward we propagate.
Boxer/Feinstein/Schwarzenegger are lobbying Washington DC for monies. They are being told CA caused the crisis in the subprime loans (look up the 5 cities with the most foreclosures), so there is no sympathy.
Really what Congress is most scared of is playing favorites among the states.
I do not think it's coincidental when we talk about healthcare issues here at TPM, the people who often bring up issues of how to make the system solvent are often from CA.
September 7, 2009 9:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm concerned that they were finding amusement in solitaire when surfing the web is so much more intellectually satisfying.
The monitor on the extreme right look like it's tune to Major League Baseball...
September 7, 2009 7:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nah, just ESPN.com.
September 8, 2009 12:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
I love irony. I hereby render unto you the Knightly Line of the Day Award for this here TPMCafe Site, given to all of you from all of me:
Perhaps we Californians need to vote ourselves out of office.
Pretty good line. Coming from such a small state I think of California like a foreign country with a pretty large population. Your water problems could and do fill up hundreds of books every year. You are solidly Democratic but will do what we do here in Minnesota and vote in a repub as governor.
Moyers said that when he was a young aid in the Texas Legislature he was listening to some racist speech on the floor and turned to his mentor and asked how the hell a man can talk like that.
His mentor said:
If you think these guys are bad, you should see their constituency!!!
September 8, 2009 4:37 AM | Reply | Permalink