Welcome to the August Green Business issue of
NorthBay biz. This month’s issue focuses on the world of emerging green technology. From innovations in best green practices to precise water irrigation monitoring,
NorthBay biz is at the forefront of local business happenings. In addition to all the stories, you’ll find more than a dozen local columns and special features in this month’s magazine—information about local business often unavailable anywhere else. As always, we welcome your input about how
NorthBay biz can continue to serve you and the local North Bay business community better.
In May 2010, California employment had a net gain of a little more than 28,000 jobs. You’re probably thinking, “Hey, not too bad. At least we’re finally moving in the right direction.” Not so fast—the public sector created 30,000 new jobs in that month, meaning that, once more, the private sector shed jobs—thousands of them. You might also ask how we can afford to pay for these new positions if the state has a $20 billion budget deficit. Beats me.
It gets worse. Over the past decade, the state workforce has grown 35 percent to total 360,000 employees. Currently, there are more than 10,000 former state employees earning more than $100,000 a year in pensions, with thousands more projected to be added to the retirement rolls in the next few years. The question that should be on the tip of every California politician’s tongue should be, How long will the electorate tolerate funding wages and benefits for public sector employees that vastly surpass what average workers earn in the private sector before they throw me out of office? These inequities are exacerbated by the state’s current economy and high unemployment levels, which only further fuels voter discontent.
As if things couldn’t get worse, looming on the horizon is AB32, which demands a huge shift in California’s energy production. It’s projected that this little beauty of a bill will mean billions more in energy, food, fuel and regulatory costs and, in the process, kill more than a million jobs statewide, all to impose arbitrary limits on statewide greenhouse gas emissions. Even if you accept the premise that man-made greenhouse gases are affecting the planet negatively, the California Air Resources Board reluctantly concluded that: “California acting alone cannot reduce emissions sufficiently to change the course of climate change worldwide.”
Potentially riding to the rescue, however, is the California Jobs Initiative. Thanks to the 800,000 plus voters who signed the petition, this initiative will be on the November ballot. Here’s what it will do if the voters approve it. The Jobs Initiative delays the enactment of AB32 until the unemployment rate returns to the level it was when the law was passed. In the process, passage in November would forestall the projected loss of jobs and increased energy costs. Some partial effects of AB32 would be: gasoline/diesel prices increasing by almost $4 billion, a natural gas rate increase of 57 percent and electricity rates growing 60 percent. Additionally, the cost of a new home is projected to increase by $50,000 to be in compliance with AB32. It might be a good idea to take the time to vote YES on this initiative in November.
Let’s continue to the end of this month’s column with these thoughts: Anyone remember the phrase, “consent of the governed?” Last time I looked, 70 percent of Americans agreed with Arizona’s proposed new immigration law that simply mirrors federal laws already on the books. Yet now the feds are suing Arizona. Simply cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants could solve this whole mess. As I’ve said in previous columns, no jobs equals no illegals.
The President has stated he’s committed to restoring the “death tax” to 55 percent in 2011. The tax is simply confiscatory, because the taxes have already been paid on this money when it was earned. Instead of allowing families to pass their legacy of hard earned assets on to future generations, the feds seem to be encouraging squandering your accumulated wealth in your lifetime instead of allowing the state to confiscate it. The overwhelming majority of Americans support the complete abolition of this tax. So the fed’s response to voter sentiment is exactly opposed to the will of the people.
The recent health care debacle proves once again that the ruling progressives in Washington are dominated by their ideology rather than the wishes of the American people. Against the wishes of 61 percent of the national electorate, health care reform was railroaded through Congress in back room deals, outright bribes and coercion. The new law provides subsidized coverage for millions who had declined to provide insurance coverage for themselves. It brings higher taxes, premiums and future rationed care to those who sometimes had to sacrifice to pay for their own coverage. Score another one for wealth redistribution.
Going back in time just a little further, the TARP bailout fund fueled by high-level fiscal legerdemain and unconscionable borrowing against our children’s future, government intervention propped up failed companies and simply took control of others. Never mind that the majority of Americans believed these troubled companies were best left to deal with the consequences of their own making. And in the process, government once again ignored the prevailing sentiment of the country.
The intrusive, ever-expanding, redistributive nanny state seems to know no bounds and cares not a whit what the preponderance of Americans believe to be in their and the country’s best interest. Continuing to propagate failed policies by expecting a different outcome is the opiate of fools. Underestimating the resilient wisdom of the American people to right the ship is the folly of the failed. Can’t wait for November.
That’s it for now. Enjoy this month’s magazine.
