Effects of The Economy on California

Crime Down in Los Angeles, Other parts of Southern California

Despite many peoples expectations that crime would quickly rise our nation and state's economy plummeted, crime in Los Angeles has actually decreased. This trend is also seen in other major cities such as New York, Chicago, and Houston. However, the rest of the country has not fared as well as these major cities. In Los Angeles, property crimes are down 6.4% and violent crimes were down 4.9%, however, there has been a slight 1.9% increase in robberies in Los Angeles. The most impressive thing about the decrease in crime in Los Angeles in comparison to other large cities is the fact that Los Angeles' economy has been hit the hardest and the unemployment rate has decreased by 12%. They have attributed this decrease in crime rate to the LAPD's diligent efforts. LAPD has been increasingly been improving their police force. In 1991 and 1992, the last time the economy was struggling, Los Angeles experienced a severe increase in crime rates throughout the city. The cocaine epidemic soared, and violence erupted throughout Los Angeles. However, it seems that Los Angeles has learned from the past and reformed their department in order to better deal with the crime that occurs in a large city. A criminologist at the University of Michigan, however, questioned the LAPD's ability to continue to succeed in keeping crime rate low if the economic situation continues. She also stated that because of California's budget problems, police department and law enforcement may face budget cuts which could deter their ability to fight crime. However, currently residents support the LAPD's efforts and have cited that they feel that their lives are significantly less touched by crime today. Although LAPD has made significant advances and had a lot of success in controlling and reducing the crime in Los Angeles, the continual worsening of the economy could hinder their progress. This possibility depends on the future of our nation's economy, and more importantly how it affects the state of California. This article was very interesting because it contradicted my experiences while I was at home. Over spring break, there was the murder of four police officers in Oakland, CA, which is also a large city in California. The killing of these police officers was a tragedy and really portrayed the violence that has been occurring in Oakland. I was very surprised by this article because it doesn't seem like the crime rate has changed significantly in the larger cities near my home such as San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. I would be curious if Northern California has had as much success as Southern California in minimizing crime. Also this article is very interesting because earlier when California was in the heart of its budget crisis in search of a remedy, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed releasing one third of California's felons in order to reduce prison costs and give California's budget more leeway. This proposal was never put into affect however I wonder whether it would have reversed their efforts and caused the crime rate to spike. California's economy is still struggling, despite its resolution in regards to its budget. If the national economy as well as the California economy does not improve, I would not be surprised to see a gradual increase in crime rates.

Perspective Needed on UC Salaries

During this nationwide crisis, states funds have been cut and these states have not been able to allocate as much money to certain programs as before. An area that is paying a heavy price is the educational systems. Currently the UC system being underfunded by $450 million, which significantly impacts their own budgets and ability to provide quality services to their students for the same price. The UCs are being accused of raising top salaries and giving perks rather than using this money to bolster the areas that their decreased funds cannot support. However, this article is written in response to these accusations to give other pieces of evidence in support of the UC's efforts in light of their underfunding and the current economic situation. It states the the UCs have froze all their salaries on senior managers, cut bonuses and incentive pay and curtailed their faculty recruitment. They are placing the costs on the faculty rather than the students. They are employing less faculty that are not educators and are limiting the teachers' budgets in regards to their travel and other benefits. Some employees of the UCs have been required to take on the work of two jobs but only receive the salary for one. Others are being paid well under what most other individuals performing their jobs are receiving. The UCs have also stated that they will continue to provide financial aid and scholarships because they pride themselves in their abilities to provide students with an affordable education. They have gone to great lengths in order to shift the costs away from the students and onto the employees instead. They need to do this in order to remain competitive with private universities within the state, and other universities in other states. I think this article describes how often the public is quick to criticize government operated systems, especially in times of economic recession. However, this image of our government as exploiting and corrupt is not always true as this response has portrayed. The actions of the UCs to maintain their credibility and affordability is honorable. The administrators, educators, and other employees of the UCs should be held in high respect for the sacrifices they are making in order to allow the students to have better educations and not face the burden of the budget cuts. Elon University also tried to follow this path by not increasing tuition greatly. These actions make these universities more respectable and desirable for future and current students and their families. It displays a high level of trust between the students and these schools.

California Bond Sale Could Revive Public Works

In light of the current economic crisis especially in the state of California, California has began to find a solution to aid in their budget short falls. Recently California has sold $6.5 billion in bonds, after an uphill battle in attempt to sell them. This $6.5 billion exceeds their expected goal of $4 billion. This lucrative yield will allow California to invest in public works projects that before seemed unrealistic due to the national budget cuts, and California's recovery from its budget crisis during the winter. California's success may influence other states to follow suit in order to raise their own bond yields to improve infrastructure. Government officials have realized the dire situation of this economic problem our country is facing and they have realized the necessity of turning to new ways to earn money in order to continue improving their own states. Government officials are hoping that this excess in bond sales continues to be a trend because it would provide the state with much needed assistance in order to continue to improve its infrastructure and overall economy. With this new money, California will repay loans, earmark $1 billion for transportation, water, school construction, and flood control projects, repay for prior projects, and restart recently halted infrastructure projects. All of these efforts seem to be putting California back on the road towards success as they slowly climb out of the whole they dug themselves into. Because of this initial success in bond sales, another sale is expected to occur later in spring in order to raise more money. Although this action may seem to be beneficial, I believe that it has possible negative effects in the future. In the future, the state government may face difficulties in repaying individuals for these bonds which would cause them to end up where they started. However, the benefits reaped in the short run are not in question. Hopefully it will help boost California's economy, and allow them to continue on a positive road to escape their economic woes.