Letters to the Editor

by Jim Buckley

Political Prostitution of Government Officials

What the heck is happening with elected government?

Talk with most voters, and they expect – at a minimum – that the people they vote for are supposed to be neutral and make decisions based on facts. The same voters want the appointed (hired) government employees to also be neutral.

What is that supposed to mean? Simply that these people should be making decisions based upon facts.

Do they?

No. 

Are they neutral?

No. 

Are they, and have they become political whores?

Yep. 

Are they strongly partisan?

Most certainly.

Appointed to be neutral?

Not in this county or state.

Voters expect and demand the elected to be rational when faced with failure. They expect them to change their positions and the path government is on, based on fact.

Does it happen? Far too often, it is ideology over fact, and of course the phrase CAB (Cars Are Basic) loves is “Failure of previous actions is because it has to be bigger.” You know, like shutting down streets and removing badly needed parking. Then stating the reason their “plan” has failed is because does not have a “bigger footprint.” Yeah, right. Just like shutting down streets in San Francisco and Santa Barbara was supposed to stimulate business and economic health. 

So, what works?  It sure isn't fair government. Fair government that is not at the State, County, and City level. A fair process is denied most citizens. It is prejudicial government overreach for their point of view. Just ask the good citizens of Huntington Beach. How else can you explain "Death Valley" (aka State Street in Santa Barbara) and a projected $7-10 Million deficit, after nearly a decade of shutting down streets. 

Outcomes resulted in death of commerce.

How else can you explain the County of Santa Barbara scrambling to cover both salaries and mandated stupidity from on high? How else can you explain the now tarnished State of California faced with tens of billions of dollars in deficits, and a crumbling agriculture sector that once fed the nation and created large tax revenues?

Voters are looking around and saying, "How did we elect these fools?" 

A distrust of government outcome is at every level in the State. A distrust because government tells you to shut up when faced with rebellion in the ranks.

RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) failed.

Bike paths failed.

Increased density failed.

Mass transit failed.

Welfare failed.

Corrupted voter rolls failed.

The list goes on. As a result, the middle class is crushed. You know the same voters/people the majority states they are protecting. This is nothing more than a money payola game, and you are paying for it.

When you do not demand that your elected officials take responsibility for failure, you are the problem. 

Scott Renz

Cars Are Basic (CAB)

(Editor’s note: You and we must realize that the bloated government sector and their bloated salaries, benefits, and pensions, take up so much of any California budget anymore, that there is virtually no money left with which to pay for the things that need doing in the state. That situation needs to be corrected and unfortunately it is the voting public in cahoots with public unions that has allowed it to happen. – J.B.)

Prices Are Rising; It Isn’t Surprising

We Californians are struggling with the same problems as the rest of the country, multiplied many times over. Our PG&E bills are rising 123%, and simultaneously PG&E corporate profits rose 25% in 2023. That is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. While the rest of our country complains about $3-a-gallon gasoline, at the station ours is twice that.

Yet here we sit with a wealth of oil and natural gas reserves under this beautiful land that used to be golden California. But under the misguided influence of the green energy mafia, solar panels spread across land which could produce food, and wind turbines that destroy bird life. All these materials are enriching China, and at the end of their productive lives become hazardous waste.

Then, let’s consider the batteries needed to store that electricity. Minerals needed for those batteries are dug from the ground, often by children, in poor countries around the world under hazardous conditions. Those batteries are built in China and become hazardous waste. When the sun doesn’t shine or wind doesn’t blow, the backup power must be hydrocarbons.

Electric cars are another boondoggle useful for virtue signaling. Their use is limited to short trips and totally impractical for long haul truckers, but they remain the goal of environmentalists. How about charging all those vehicles? Overlooked is the reality that the excessive weight of those batteries in cars adds to the destruction of our highways, already suffering from neglect.

There are some places where we really need the electricity which could be generated by natural gas or nuclear power. For cooking and heating, natural gas is a very practical and inexpensive power source, which has served us for many years, but now our government is pushing all-electric for new construction. Really? We already have brownouts when everything is shut down. So how is there supposed to be enough electricity to charge all those batteries?

Would we even have these alternatives for electricity were it not for the government subsidies provided to these companies? And aren’t we taxpayers the ones footing the bill? Remember the scam that was Solyndra? Every day we realize how wise Ronald Reagan was when he warned us against government coming to “help” us. Government seems to be helping those who invest in green energy but not we the people.

Gretchen Kieding

Solvang

(Editor’s note: Andy Caldwell’s Sunday column – coming out tomorrow morning – takes on this same subject and adds to your concern. – J.B.)

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