Mike Pouraryan
California's Wake-Up Call
California, the largest US State and the 8th largest economy in the world, is in the midst of another election season. As I write this, I am profoundly concerned about the State. I have written about it extensively in SP's sister site, outsider views. When I read about Justice Kennedy's admonition at a Pepperdine Law School Forum, I nearly fell off my chair.
Justice Kennedy wrote the infamous Citizens United Decision which I also blased in a writeup in Outsider Views. What Justice Kennedy and the majority did was to usher in Government of the Corporation, by the Corporation, For the Corporation. I regard it as having institutionalized what Chris Hayes of the Nation recently called Corportaism in a major way. His comments, though, about the State of the Prison System was telling. I think he at least told the State to wake up and realize what was happening.
The statistics on the Prison System are staggering. The State of California has 189,000 inmates and spends an average of $ 32,500 per year to house the inmates in one of the worst conditions ever. The State Prison System has been under Federal Court Supervision for quite some time. Changing this will require overcoming some very powerful lobbies including the Prison Officers--which is not an easy thing to do.
There are no easy answers. All the major candidates have pledged not to raise taxes and eliminate waste and inefficiency. Unfortunately, as this drama unfolds, As this spending continues, the onslaught on public education goes on. Capistrano Unified School District in Orange County, California is in the midst of negotations with teachers. From what I have heard, the Board wants to shove at least a 15% pay cut for the teachers and in essence dismantle one of the best School Districts in the State under the guise of fiscal responsbility. Yet, they are spending money right and left on legal fees and fighting to keep their jobs as district trustees.
In all these political games, the only people losing are the children. Don't they deserve more? Shouldn't education be a right? Although law and order is critical, many of the challenges we face will be easier to face if we understood and embraced the importance of education. This seems to be lost as they go after teacher salaries. This frustruation led me to put together a write-up on Smart Schools that I sent up to the New America Foundation especially after I saw that the Government of Paraguay gave out laptops to the entire student population of the country. Shouldn't California kids deserve just as much? Should we give teachers what they need to do their job so that we can truly create the future? These are the kind of questions that should be asked from those who wish to be Governor. Will they have the courage to answer such questions? I wonder.
Justice Kennedy wrote the infamous Citizens United Decision which I also blased in a writeup in Outsider Views. What Justice Kennedy and the majority did was to usher in Government of the Corporation, by the Corporation, For the Corporation. I regard it as having institutionalized what Chris Hayes of the Nation recently called Corportaism in a major way. His comments, though, about the State of the Prison System was telling. I think he at least told the State to wake up and realize what was happening.
The statistics on the Prison System are staggering. The State of California has 189,000 inmates and spends an average of $ 32,500 per year to house the inmates in one of the worst conditions ever. The State Prison System has been under Federal Court Supervision for quite some time. Changing this will require overcoming some very powerful lobbies including the Prison Officers--which is not an easy thing to do.
There are no easy answers. All the major candidates have pledged not to raise taxes and eliminate waste and inefficiency. Unfortunately, as this drama unfolds, As this spending continues, the onslaught on public education goes on. Capistrano Unified School District in Orange County, California is in the midst of negotations with teachers. From what I have heard, the Board wants to shove at least a 15% pay cut for the teachers and in essence dismantle one of the best School Districts in the State under the guise of fiscal responsbility. Yet, they are spending money right and left on legal fees and fighting to keep their jobs as district trustees.
In all these political games, the only people losing are the children. Don't they deserve more? Shouldn't education be a right? Although law and order is critical, many of the challenges we face will be easier to face if we understood and embraced the importance of education. This seems to be lost as they go after teacher salaries. This frustruation led me to put together a write-up on Smart Schools that I sent up to the New America Foundation especially after I saw that the Government of Paraguay gave out laptops to the entire student population of the country. Shouldn't California kids deserve just as much? Should we give teachers what they need to do their job so that we can truly create the future? These are the kind of questions that should be asked from those who wish to be Governor. Will they have the courage to answer such questions? I wonder.
