Editorial

Once upon a time we all lived in a Great American Society. We
sent Peace Corps volunteers all over the world. We declared war on
poverty in Appalachia and our inner cities. We supported land
subsidies to small family-owned farms. We completed the amazing
Interstate Highway system and we put a man on the moon.
Today we live in a society that is closing libraries and parks
and is cutting days off the school calendar to save money. Our
roads go unrepaired. Programs for the poor, elderly and unemployed
are being reduced or eliminated.
We no longer live in a Great Society and we don’t seem to care.
Collectively, as a government — or as a nation of proud Americans —
we lack both the vision and dedication to be great.
Many of us don’t want to pay more taxes or support our public
treasury. We complain about “big government,” wasteful spending and
too much politics. We don’t trust “big business” or Wall Street or
foreign competition either. We don’t trust Democrats and we don’t
trust Republicans. Tea Party followers make us squeamish, but we’re
not sure why.
With our silence and lack of civic action we are allowing our
elected officials to raze our once-golden government institutions
and standards. Partisanship and self-interest has replaced
statesmanship, public enterprise and bold social initiatives.
What will it take to be great again? Where will new leadership
come from? How can we inspire a new generation to aim higher and
not accept the pitiful conditions of today’s local, state and
federal governments?
No one seems to have these answers. The 2012 presidential
election threatens to be a very unimaginative affair, disabled by
dishonest political charges and countercharges, lacking any hint of
new ideas, courage or vision.
At home, we have saddled our city and county leaders to be
“budget managers,” forced to cut services and jobs and operate our
governments from “paycheck-to-paycheck.” Almost all of our savings
have been spent and our credit rating is at a record low.
The county budget approved last week includes 16 – 25 percent
cuts to most county programs. Another 171 positions will be cut,
including 39 layoffs, to balance a shortfall that would have
totaled $42.8 million in the $386 million General Fund.
Looking to the future, budget chair and county supervisor
Valerie Brown predicts five more years of budget shortfalls,
ranging from $17 to $31 million per year. This does not include any
additional “takeaways” the state government may impose.
All city governments, where the bulk of general funds must be
used for public safety and municipal employees, now face a
near-complete depletion of reserve funds. And, of course the
California budget is still unresolved and faces a $10 billion
shortfall.
Before adding more cuts to fill this $10 billion deficit, the
state legislature has already imposed $3.4 billion in “deferred”
payments to local schools and has cut $650 million from state
colleges and universities. Specific funds for local road,
infrastructure and human service programs have been made over the
past three years, with the bleak picture of a diminished government
expected to continue.
Our society is still trying to recover from the worst economic
recession since the 1930s Great Depression. Republican congressmen
blame President Obama. Many economists blame the “too big to
fail” mentality on Wall Street. Liberal Democrats are still blaming
former President Bush for making tax cuts and starting two wars on
borrowed money and trillions of new debt.
Wherever the fault lies, any economic solution lies in the
future. Our Great Society rebounded from the 1930s Depression and
we were made even greater by a new generation of leaders in the
late 1950s and 1960s.
We can be great once again, but it will take a collective
economic will to invest in one another and stop blaming one
another.
— Rollie Atkinson