Downward Decline

Southern California Water Agency to Cut Water Supplies by 10%
The issue over the water supply in California has been a rising concern for Californians and their economy. In previous blogs I touched upon how the state is in dire need of rainfall in order to avoid droughts. They have established several possible solutions, however, this action the government is implementing in Southern California is not one that was previously mentioned. The Southern Californian government has decided to cut back the flow of water from Northern California to Southern California by 10% for environmentally friendly reasons. This seems like an odd action considering that Southern California faces the threat of drought and needs every possible ounce of water it can get, however, the state must also recognize the current economic crisis. The state has decided to cut its water shipments from Northern California, which will cause the Metropolitan Water District to impose penalty rates in order to make up for their loss in profits. Los Angeles will also force its citizens into reducing their water consumption by 15% and local utilities will be penalized for surpassing their allocation levels. Although statewide water conditions are slightly better this year, overall the water supply of California is much less than a few years ago. The Colorado River basin's storage of water is less which affects Lake Powell and Lake Mead's water supply which are large contributors to California's water. The Metropolitan Water District has continued to have lessened business and is continually facing increased costs due to the water crisis, and California's strict policies in regards to the environment. This crisis could be a serious detriment to California's economy. Although the state is making efforts in reducing their negative effects on the environment, I think it is important that they protect their people first by ensuring that these possible droughts do not hit the California population too hard. I am impressed by Southern California's diligence and attention to the issue, however, I would like to see California act more on some of the other possible solutions they had posed earlier such as the creation of another reservoir to catch water. Although the creation of another reservoir may seem threatening towards the environment, this is not true because the reservoir they proposed to create was almost already in place naturally and could be easily finished with a little man power and little damage to the environment. If anything this extra water could end up helping the economy more because of its ability to allow the land to flourish. This problem seems like it will continue to be an issue especially as summer is right around the corner and the warm weather continues to pose a threat to the water supply and causes concern over possible droughts.

State Revenue Falls Short of Projections
As tax day looms closer, the economy and state budget has been more focused on. The California government reported a few days before the income tax filing deadline that the state's revenue has fallen drastically in the past two months and is much below the projected number for this year. This shortfall is a serious indication of how severe this problem is. The state's revenue for March is billions of dollars below the projected value of the two month old budget. This indication is very scary for California citizens because it really shows how dire of a situation we are facing. However, state officials are trying to downplay the severity saying that the reports of these numbers are very different throughout the year however at the end of the year they will all balance out. Despite state officials nonchalant attitude, other state officials are claiming there will be severe repercussions due to this budget and economic crisis. The state may face large state cuts such as in the closing of schools and parks. The article also discussed how the state have several measures on the May ballot that address the financial situation of California that could greatly aid or harm the economy. The outcome of these measures may determine the fate of California's future. The budget issue within California is a serious problem that needs to be addressed and contained immediately in this unstable financial environment throughout the country. As the United States faces an economic recession as a whole, a state wide economic crisis will spin things out of control for that state's citizens. This article shows how severe this situation in California is despite many people's desire to downplay the severity. I think this article does a good job in informing its readers about how important it is to address this issue. It really puts it into perspective when it gives examples such as closing schools and parks to the citizens because it allows the citizens to feel the effects rather than just reading about an economic crisis that seems distant to them. Last week I blogged about how Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Laura Chick to oversee the California budget. I hope that this recent appointment will help slow the budget crisis and the decline in state revenue. I do not think anyone should judge Laura Chick's abilities until a month or two because she has barely just begun her job in this newly created position. This serious crisis is not something that can be fixed within a short period of time but rather is an issue that requires a long term recovery.

Donors elude state's limits
Despite Proposition 34, which was passed in November 2000, that created strict limits on campaign contributions, political interests have found ways to get around these limits and surpass these contribution limits. These contributions pose a threat towards representative democracy as more individual interests are able to push their own ideas. It is allowing for the power of the wealthy and more elite to push their issues and wants by contributing more money than the dis empowered people. The limits have only been placed on campaign and re-election committees, leaving other candidate controlled committees available to receive mass amounts of contributions from special interest groups. Despite many peoples concerns about these contributions, nothing can be done about them because they are not technically illegal. These contributions still follow the laws because these groups have been able to find loopholes to get around the laws in order to contribute millions of dollars to campaigns. The FPPC has continued to overlook these massive contributions and has not placed a high value on restricting them or changing the rules. Instead, they say that regulation is too difficult because loopholes will always be found and that these contributions do not directly influence the election or re-election of political leaders. Some examples of these contributions are how Arnold Schwarzenegger is tied so closely to the particular ballot measures he supports, which are supported by big companies such as Chevron. Another problem within proposition 34 is that it restricts individuals or individual companies rather than political parties from contributing past limits. These contributions raise a serious problem within politics because it supports the elite and wealthy. Not only can the wealthy special interests push their interests by influencing candidates by their large contributions, but also these rules encourage candidates to bankroll their own campaigns. This issue of campaign contribution is not only within California, but is spread all over the country. However, this issue may have particular interest in regards to California's certain economic situation because if it allows the wealthy to push their interests, the gap between the rich and the poor will continue to widen drastically especially in a time of economic recession when the gap is steadily increasing due to rising unemployment and other factors. California is facing many issues similar to other states, however, the effects are felt much harder in California due to its especially sensitive economic climate.