Sacramento lawmakers above the law -- could it be otherwise? After the voters in this state have tried to get their representatives to enact timely balanced budgets, they still fail, even when they now require a simple majority to pass a budget.
Quid custodiet ipses custodes? More laws do not create meaningful oversight over Sacramento, just more rules for legislators to violate when passing pet projects or blocking important bills to assist the financial welfare of the state. Ballot initiatives fail precisely because they expand the scope of government power, even when attempting to rein it in. What we need in the Golden state is less government altogether. Nevertheless, state Controller John Chiang did the right thing last year by suspending the pay of Sacramento politicians who failed to pass a balanced budget on time without gimmicks, failures, or loopy loopholes.
Shame on those legislators for suing to prevent the ballot the initiative designed precisely to prevent them from skirting their responsibility to the voters of the state of California. We need leaders in the statehouse who will put the needs of the state ahead of their limited political agendas. We need leaders who understand that "compromise" is not nearly as dirt a word as "bankruptcy".
California has too many courts, too many laws, too many excuses. If legislators just sat back and did nothing, at least we would not have to worry about more excessive attempts to make right what has gone so terribly wrong in this state.
No comments:
Post a Comment