Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 6, 2010

12

OPINION

 Mountain Views News Saturday, November 6, 2010 

STUART Tolchin..........On LIFE 

My Turn

HAIL Hamilton

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Two years 
ago (October 
31, 2008) 
I wrote an 
article entitled 
‘Maybe It’s All 
For The Good?’ In the article 
which came out right before 
the Presidential election, I 
had the temerity to suggest 
that all the hardships facing 
the country might in the long 
run be considered a benefit. I 
suggested that these hardships 
might convince the electorate 
to vote against a continuation of 
the unbelievable incompetence, 
arrogance, and ignorance 
which characterized the Bush 
Administration. Furthermore, 
I speculated that with the 
election of a qualified individual 
as President, America might 
awaken from its slumber 
and realize that change was 
necessary and that all of us 
would have to become more 
aware of the consequences to 
our own actions.

Well its two years later and 
Americans have voted again. 
In much of the country voters 
have chosen, at least according 
to my view, to return to those 
halcyon days of incompetence, 
arrogance, and ignorance. 
Sarah Palin- endorsed 
candidates have been elected 
throughout much of the United 
States. These newly elected 
legislators certainly must be 
seen as a protest against present 
policies. I think it is undisputed 
that today’s results demonstrate 
that Americans did not like 
the bail out programs which 
seemed to help the rich and 
ignore the needs of everybody 
else. Americans feel that too 
much money is being spent and 
too little is being accomplished. 
Probably, most Americans feel 
that President Obama’s focus on 
passing a Health Care Bill was 
untimely in that more attention 
should have been focused on 
the economy and the creation 
of jobs.

Certainly there has been an 
unprecedented expression of 
displeasure with incumbents 
and control of the House 
of Representatives is now 
in the hands of the dreaded 
Republicans while the 
Democratic majority in the 
Senate has drastically dwindled. 
Guess what; I think the election 
results may well portend a 
positive future for this Country. 
First, as my wife continues to 
stress, the Republican majority 
in the House may well be a 
good thing. Republicans will 
no longer be able to content 
themselves with the opposition 
to every Democratic backed 
bill. The Republicans in the 
House may actually have to try 
and pass some legislation and 
to do that they will be forced to 
try and cooperate with the still 
Democratic controlled Senate. 
You must remember that old 
term “cooperation”. Maybe we 
will see its return. After all both 
parties must recognize that in 
today’s world there is no such 
thing as party loyalty.

All right; let’s analyze these 
results. Let’s look at California 
where a new kid has been 
elected Governor. Well, at least 
he was a new kid Governor 
almost 40 years ago. If the 
electorate wanted a new face, 
a genuine political outsider, 
good old Governor Moonbeam 
would not have had a chance. 
He was elected not just because 
his opponent was seen to act 
dishonorably towards her 
housekeeper but, according to 
exit polls, his election resulted 
from voter confidence based 
on his experience. No more 
Schwarzenegger fantasies, 
Californians now recognize 
that it is necessary to elect 
someone who knows what he 
is doing. Look at the California 
results. Barbara Boxer, a 
hard-working liberal (that’s 
right LIBERAL) Senator re-
elected. Propositions backed 
by tremendous amounts of oil 
money (out of State Oil Money 
at that) was insufficient to fool 
the voters. GREAT NEWS-
money will not necessarily 
determine the outcome of 
elections. Of course, California 
is a progressive State but not 
so progressive that it does not 
frequently elect Republican 
Governors. No, I think the 
California election results 
are predictive of the national 
election results in 2012. Voters 
will awaken and no longer allow 
themselves to be fooled by the 
vague and mainly substanceless 
statements of Tea Party-like 
candidates. Even in the State of 
Nevada, extremely hard-hit by 
economic woes, voters had the 
sense to re-elect Senate majority 
Leader Harry Reid whose 
efforts were largely responsible 
for the passage of the dreaded 
Health Care Act. 

All right, so far there’s nothing 
in this article that’s particularly 
revelatory. Here’s one final 
prediction, Sarah Palin is going 
to disappear from the political 
scene before the next election. 
Why? Because it will become 
clear to almost everyone that 
she is in this thing all for herself. 
She quit being Governor 
because she didn’t want to do 
the work and wanted to make 
scads of money. Well she’s done 
that. She’s famous now but she 
reminds me of Kato Kaelin. 
She will disappear but might 
achieve her ambition to become 
a talk-show host despite the fact 
that she has almost nothing to 
say.

Well, the next two years will 
be interesting. Perhaps we’ll 
see an attempt at impeachment 
or attempts at overturning the 
Health Care Bill- but I doubt it. 
I predict that America is going 
to start working (that means 
jobs) again. We’ll see. 

California’s ‘Economic 

State of Emergency’ 

IS IT ALL FOR THE BEST?


Democratic governor Jerry Brown 
must act quickly and decisively 
when he takes office in January 
or California’s "economic state of 
emergency" will get even worse 
because state government shows no signs of becoming less 
hostile toward business and because more companies are leaving 
in droves to relocate elsewhere--taking tens of thousands of 
good paying jobs with them.

 The exodus of jobs and capital has reached such an alarming 
point that California ought to declare a “state of economic 
emergency” just as we have emergencies resulting from floods, 
fires and earthquakes. Raising taxes or creating new regulations 
should be out of the question. 

Unless there is a reduction in the hostility California directs 
toward businesses, we will see more commercial enterprises 
calling site selection companies for help in finding friendlier 
states in which to locate.

 Joseph Vranich, the Business Relocation Coach, has compiled 
a list of 129 companies which have left or “de-invested” in 
California due to its hostile tax, environmental and business 
climate. Joe keeps track of this information as best he can 
through published data. Conveniently, the state of California 
keeps no such records. 

 In addition, Vranich reports that 25% of California’s 
manufacturing jobs have left between 1990 and 2007.

 With California’s regional unemployment rate at 12.5% to 30%, 
the Golden State is now the Golden Parachute State. California 
is hemorrhaging jobs, despite $85 billion of federal stimulus 
dollars being pumped into the state. California’s Republican 
governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has morphed, in 8 years, into 
a tap-dancing Obama marionette, and is being accused of being 
oddly disconnected from the economic pain which surrounds 
him.

California’s new year of 2010 got the gong in January when 
Northrop Grumman announced it will move its headquarters 
and several hundred well-paying jobs to Washington D.C. 
from Los Angeles. Southern California, where the aerospace 
industry was born, suddenly has not one single, major military 
contractor.

And this is just the beginning of the business exodus from 
California this year.

 Governor Schwarzenegger, who has recently been groveling 
before President Obama for more federal funds, says the federal 
stimulus funds California has received since 2009 have saved 
150,000 jobs in the state since last year.

 Yet, unemployment has continued to rise during that time. 
The state auditor of California begs to differ with the governor’s 
numbers. Elaine Howle reported in December 2009 that three 
major state agencies actually have misstated or made up their 
numbers.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation claimed that 
it saved 18,229 jobs with $1.08 billion in stimulus money, even 
though the department had issued layoff notices for just 6,962 
corrections employees.

 The California State University system said it saved 26,156 
jobs – half its entire work force – with $268.5 million in federal 
stimulus money. Caltrans reported it saved or preserved 1,590 
jobs -spending $26.7 million. Howle says the jobs numbers 
were overstated by at least 56%.

 While 20,000 workers from the New United Motor 
Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), the automobile manufacturing 
plant in Fremont, California get ready to go on unemployment, 
Governor Schwarzenegger was blithely breaking ground on one 
of the largest federal stimulus fund projects in the country on 
Wednesday.

 The project would be laughable if so many people weren’t losing 
jobs in other parts of the state. The project is a $230 million “fish 
freeway” near Red Bluff, California which will allow salmon to 
safely reach their breeding grounds, while dam water is being 
pumped to farm fields. Half the money will be federal stimulus 
funds, the rest of the project will be paid by Californians who 
already have a $21 billion state budget deficit.

 How many NUMMI jobs could have been saved with $230 
million? Why would a “fish freeway” be more important than 
people? This is yet another example of how environmental 
wackos drive the Obama administration and this state over the 
financial cliff. 

 While the Republican governor of California toadies to a 
Democratic president for “freebies” from a bankrupt federal 
government, China is wooing the best and brightest technologies 
of the highly-desirable “green” industries and stealing thousands 
of jobs from the state. Did Governor Schwarzenegger even 
notice?

 Let’s hope Governor Brown will notice and stop the burgeoning 
loss of jobs by creating a business-friendly environment that will 
encourage new jobs and new technologies to stay in California. 
The time for words is past; the time for action is now!

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RICH Johnson

Ahh, Stuart, Stuart, Stuart! 


I got an advance copy of 
Stuart’s article entitled, “Is 
It All For the Best?”

 That Stuart. His column 
in this week’s paper 
includes such phrasing as 
“Dreaded Republicans”. 
Also “Unbelievable 
incompetence, arrogance, and ignorance 
which characterized the Bush Administration.” 
“California…not so progressive that it does not 
frequently elect Republican Governors.” He 
compares Sarah Palin to Kato Kaelin (who you 
may remember was the do-nothing guy who 
lived in O.J. Simpson’s guest house during the 
murder of Nicole.) 

 How can someone, especially one with a 
superior intelligence, compare Sarah Palin to 
Kato Kaelin? Silly me, I would have thought 
getting elected governor of a state and being 
selected from amongst 300 million people to be 
a vice presidential running mate would show 
that Ms. Palin had to have had something on the 
ball. But according to Stuart, “…she has almost 
nothing to say.”

 Actually Stuart’s wife Irene displayed keen 
insight when she pointed out that Republicans, 
now wielding greater power, will have to try and 
make Congress work. Republicans in power may 
actually help President Obama in his bid for re-
election. If the next two years don’t bode well 
there will be another gang on the block to share 
the blame.

 There is pretty liberal use of the word 
“obstructionist” leveled against Republicans over 
the last few years as they threw up roadblocks to 
certain pieces of legislation. Does “obstructionist” 
only apply to Republicans? I wonder…will 
anyone call Congressional Democrats or 
President Obama an “obstructionist” if they 
stifle or veto legislation pushed through by a 
Republican dominated congress? 

 Were there Democrat obstructionists during 
the Bush years? Did Democrats (as well as 
Republicans) block meaningful immigration 
reform? Did Senator Tom Daschle hold up 
judicial confirmations? Remember when, 
in 2005, Senator John McCain tried to alert 
the country to serious problems with Fannie 
Mae and Freddie Mac. He and 3 other Senate 
Republicans sponsored the Federal Housing 
Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005. 
Designed to reign in and exercise more control 
over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this bill 
would have gone a long way to spare us from 
the mortgage meltdown. Were Democrat Senate 
Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and 
Democrat House Financial Services Committee 
Chairman Barney Frank obstructionists as they 
killed any chance of this bill from becoming law?

 Many know my big pet peeve is what I consider 
a double standard. We are told the Bush years 
were filled with rife arrogance. Yet the first two 
years of the Obama presidency were ubiquitous 
with secretive back room dealings that excluded 
elected representatives who just happened to 
be elephants and not donkeys. Sounds awfully 
doggone arrogant to me.

 I don’t know. What do you think?


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