If you want to see the giant redwoods...

[Charlene]

provided that a new donation program tied to vehicle license tabs brings in adequate revenue to operate state parks.

The powers that be are smart enough to know that most people don't even read their bills, just pay them, so the public won't realize the $5 charge for parks is optional.

[herbivore12]

I think that most Californians would agree with you on that. That's one reason the recent ballot measures failed. Folks are tired of throwing more and more money at Sacramento, only to keep hearing "we have to cut this" or "we can't do this unless we raise property/automobile/income/sales taxes."

Actually, I think precisely the opposite: the problem is the voters and the referendum system in which they can get to make decisions that have serious consequences without having to confront those consequences. Then, you send your reps to the statehouse with conflicting demands, and when they fail to square the circle, you blame them for it.

The people of California have expectations of their government that aren't merely "unreasonable", they're "impossible".

As a lifelong CA resident, I think s1m0n's right, here. The referendum system has resulted in: expensive mandates with inadequate funds, hamstringing the legislature in terms of spending and creating/managing a budget, and poor laws that often reflect short-term passion more than long-term thinking. We force lawmakers to spend X billions of dollars on measures passed by referendum, and then tell them to also provide all the other services we expect of government with what's left over (and there's not much left over). Sometimes money earmarked for specific projects mandated by referendum sits there unused because the folks in charge of said project can't spend it fast enough, but because the money's earmarked it can't be used for anything else. Sheesh. Sometimes I wonder why we bother with a professional legislature at all.

[Infernaltootler]

It all seems extraordinary.

I have a British friend currently living in California and she works a lot with the school as a volunteer fundraiser. I'm amazed that the money she works so hard to get is actually to pay teachers' salaries and buy books.

In the UK we fund raise for extra computers and playground equipment and if you don't give the hopscotch is two squares shorter or the printer is black and white. With her, if they don't raise $17,000 at the Rennaisance Fayre the library closes. Astonishing.

[Redwolf]

It all seems extraordinary.

I have a British friend currently living in California and she works a lot with the school as a volunteer fundraiser. I'm amazed that the money she works so hard to get is actually to pay teachers' salaries and buy books.

In the UK we fund raise for extra computers and playground equipment and if you don't give the hopscotch is two squares shorter or the printer is black and white. With her, if they don't raise $17,000 at the Rennaisance Fayre the library closes. Astonishing.

Is is amazing. And another sad thing...often if a teacher doesn't buy such things as pencils, erasors, paper and crayons our of his or her own pocket, the children have to do without. Some have parents who can afford to buy them for them, but children from poorer families don't. Teachers have to spend an astonishing amount of their own money to run a classroom. It's criminal.

Redwolf

[I.D.10-t]

I often wonder how many of these things, the popular public programs, are threatened as a distraction. Point at the redwoods, while they pick your back pocket for their own pay raises, knowing that funding will be added at the last minute to cover the popular programs.