It's election day in California
For the first time in years I get to vote in an election where the victor might actually eventually get to decide real policy. This is a refreshing change from voting in DC where my whole crew got worked up about who gets to shuffle around the scraps tossed to the city by the federal government. Ah DC politics...
But election day here comes with its own quirks. Today is the primary election for the upcoming elections in November so turnout will be very low. Californians are suffering from what pollsters and pundits are calling election fatigue. This caused in large part by the fact that there have been statewide elections at least once a year for the previous five years.
The last election we had here took place just as I was moving so I didn't have time to go vote. Fortunately, the state voted the way I would have wanted them to: No on all referenda. This state seems to lead the nation in goofy direct-to-voter initiatives. Because I'm from Illinois I have no trouble abdicating governing authority to a largely corrupt but effective group of professional politicians and bureaucrats. Here in California the residents seem to think they can do a better job than the representatives they vote for, often on the same piece of paper.
Today is no exception. In the Democratic primary for gubernatorial candidate, real estate developer cum State Treasurer Phil Angelides and eBay executive cum State Controller Steve Westley have spent the last month throwing mud at each-other. When you cut through the negative politicking these are essentially two true-blue liberals who differ only on what approach to take to solving the state's budget crisis (oh, that...).
Westley proposes cutting waste by increasing efficiency and stopping corruption and Angelides wants to increase taxes on Californians pulling in the big bucks and mega-corporations. I'm down with both of these ideas and think we should probably be doing both of these things to solve the state's problems. However, the ballot today also includes some pesky initiatives.
There is a proposal to fund libraries by issuing bonds because the state has dropped the ball on keeping them going with regular old tax revenue and there is a proposal to fund universal pre-school by taxing Californians making more than $400,000. Libraries are good for everybody and preschool is good for kids but how will Westley or Angelides (or Schwarzenegger for that matter) be able to get the state out of this mess if the voters are supporting them while mandating spending in this way? Aren't these the same rich people that Angelides wants to tax? Are we creating new programs that Westley will need to clean up? Are these more opportunities for Schwarzenegger to screw things up in Sacramento?
It seems counter-intuitive to have representative government and direct democracy in the same system. But I live here now so I have to suck it up and when I go to the polls after work decide if I trust the state to fund libraries without borrowing money or whether I can count on my governor to provide universal preschool without forcing his hand. Ah, California. Having my vote actually count for something is a heavy responsibility and a welcome one!
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Who is this guy?
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