NEEDLESS BONDAGE
by Thomas M. Sipos, managing editor.
[October 13, 2006]
[Hollywood
Investigator.com] Let me debunk two myths
underlying every bond measure on this November's ballot -- two big myths
that make it ever less affordable for you and your children to live in
California.
Myth One: Bonds are
freebies. You get something without paying for it. Someone
else pays.
Fact: A bond is a loan. When California "sells" a bond, it's actually borrowing money from the
bondholder. Then the money is repaid -- with interest. With
your taxes. So you not only pay for the bond after all, you get to
pay extra.
But why
worry about tomorrow? |
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For The Kids: A Century of Great Political Lies and Betrayal of Trust at Amazon.com!
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Well, that's the attitude voters had when they
passed bond measures 10 and 20 years ago -- for which you're still paying
today. California suffers from a debt crisis and crumbling infrastructure
partially because much of today's high tax revenue is used to pay off old
bonds, leaving less money for today's expenses.
Want to do something
"for the children"? Then don't pass a new bond. Otherwise you'll
either cripple them with even higher future taxes or drive them (and your
grandkids) out of California when they grow up.
Myth Two: If a bond doesn't pass, our schools, highways, hospitals, and libraries
will go unfunded.
Fact: The money's already there to pay for these things.
Think
about it. Ever notice that it's the popular items that appear on
bond measures? You never see bonds for overpaid supervisors, diversity
consultants, and teddy bear giveaways. Yet California wastes money
on such nonsense -- money it can easily shift to schools, highways, hospitals,
and libraries. But the politicians don't want to.
It's an
old trick. The politicos collect X amount of tax money. Some
of X goes to popular items. Some is wasted. But there's never enough
money for everything. What to do? The politicians and bureaucrats
don't want to cut the waste, and they know you won't approve bonds for
waste. So they instead cut back on the popular stuff, then whine
that there "just isn't enough money" to fund them. Not unless you
pass a bond measure.
They lie. State and local government is rolling in money. Just read the report
from Citizens
Against Government Waste & The Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Foundation.
Then read
the report from the California
Taxpayers Association. These reports itemize billions of tax
dollars in fraud and waste. Consider some choice items:
* In 2004
the city of San Jose contributed $815,000 to subsidize the Champ Car World
Series -- a $3 million private auto race.
* In 2004
the
Los Angeles Community College District announced plans to spend $240,000
a year to the MWW Group public relations firm for an "image-boosting" campaign.
This in addition to the $340,000 it spends every year on its six in-house
PR
staffers.
* In 2005
the High Desert School District approved a $1.2 million compensation package
for Victorville's elementary school superintendent, Ralph Baker. This package included a $250,000 first-year salary with $10,000 annual
raises, plus a $200,000 bonus, plus benefit packages for him and his wife.
* In 2005
the State Auditor reported that some school districts don't reassign students
into regular classrooms once they become fluent in English, because they
want to keep state subsidies for their English Learners Programs. "The total funding for the three largest English learner programs in California
is
estimated to be $605 million in 2003-2004."
* In 2004
the city of Livermore spent $40,000 on a ceramic mural outside a library
-- a mural that had 11 misspelled names, including Van Gogh, Einstein,
Shakespeare, and Michelangelo. The city council then approved an
extra $6,000 to return the artist, Maria Alquilar, from Miami to make the
corrections.
* In 2003
San Juan Capistrano spent $275,000 on archway etchings, metal cutouts of
swallows, and other decorations for a freeway wall. Council Member
David Swerdlin said the artwork "breaks up the monotony" for motorists.
* In 2000
the DMV spent $125,000 on a promotional teddy bear giveaway.
Yes, I
know it's only $10,000 here and $100,000 there, but I've barely grazed
the
surface. Check those websites. The fraud and waste add up to
billions.
Don't
let politicians, and their activist and government union shills, scam you. Vote down every bond. Then demand that they cut the waste from the
budget and instead fund our schools, highways, hospitals, and libraries
-- minus the fraud and abuse -- with the huge amounts of tax money we've
already forked over.
Copyright © 2006 by HollywoodInvestigator.com.
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