Voters defeated three of four initiatives on the May 19 California Primary ballot by a huge margin, handing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Senate and Legislature a resounding defeat. Voters saw the ballot issues for what they were, another opportunity for the spend-thrift California State government to reach deeper into our already over taxed pockets.

Our career elected officials have spent the state into functional bankruptcy, and possibly actual bankruptcy, if the money is not raised or the budget is not cut to reduce the state’s multi-billion-dollar deficit despite huge tax increases last year.

The one measure the voters approved froze legislative salaries until the state’s budget is balanced which, more symbolic than effective, should in of itself let our elected officials in Sacramento know where the voters stand.

But the voters wisely decided to let the our elected officials, who recklessly put us into this mess, figure out how to fix the mammoth problems that they, themselves, have created. Here are a few suggestions as to where they can start. 

a) Immediately release anyone who is in prison simply for using drugs. I am told the largest prison population is comprised of offenders who have done no more that use illegal substances. This alone should save the state billions of taxpayer dollars each year.

b) Decriminalize the use of marijuana, regulate it, distribute it through legal channels, and tax it. We have to get over this hang-up we have about marijuana usage and act sensibly and reasonably in our own self interest.

c) Release citizens from jail who are serving long sentences for petty crimes. People should pay for their crimes against society but reacting to a mini-crime wave caused by the flotilla of 125,000 criminals Fidel Castro sent to our shores in 1980, we passed tough mandatory penalties, such as the Three Strikes Law, and our jails are now over-crowded with inmates who have been given overly harsh sentences for petty crimes.

d) Eliminate the use of government cars and all other perks for all but a handful of top state officials, such as the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, and President of the Senate. Have a carpool of government vehicles for use on official business only, and provide reimbursement for the use of personal cars for government business, with strict accounting rules and oversight like the rest of us. This will save millions each year.

e) Instead of cutting out teachers, who are charged with educating our children, and other vital services, start by cutting the fat staffs of our elected and appointed officials in Sacramento and elsewhere in the state. Private industry and non-profits are cutting staffs across America to survive this recession, so why shouldn’t our government officials do the same!

These are just starters as the voters have signaled that the spendthrift days are over. We’re all suffering due to a failure of our federal and state governments. Maybe with the next round of elections, voters will kick some of these career politicians to the curb and elect new people with fresh new ideas who will represent us for a change.

Send this editorial to our elected officials, while adding your own personal thoughts. Click on Community Links to get their addresses. And sent the Ladera Times your ideas for budget cutting and we’ll publish them. Maybe if enough of us speak up, the career politicians will finally get the message.

                                        Jim Schmitt, Editor and Publisher