Ahhh, the wonderful state of California...

Sorry that I haven't posted for awhile. There hasn't really been anything significant to post about since we got home from Vegas.

There is one subject I'd like to bring to light, however, because it directly affects me in terms of my field of study and potential career path. And that topic is the budget situation as it stands in California. As of today, the state is 66 days late on signing an official state budget. Consequently, the future job security and stability for thousands upon thousands of people in this state hangs in the balance. All part-time and temporary employees have been laid-off (which makes the dreaded annual trip to the DMV even worse than it has to be). Additionally, the individuals who are still fortunate enough (if you could call it that) to have a job with the state of California have all been cut down to minimum wage. The purpose of this monumental decision, according to "the Governator", was to apply some added pressure to the legislature in an attempt to expedite some sort of budget agreement. Incidentally, this blew up in good ol' Arnold's face. Instead of both sides approaching that center aisle, and each making a compromise for the sake of negotiation, neither side will budge. Here we stand, the grand state of California, where celebrities are aplenty, where one can visit the coast and go skiing in the same day, home of Disneyland and the Dodgers (the greatest baseball team of all-time, according to my older brother), and no state budget. Yet our legislators (the highest paid in the nation, might I add), continue to show up to work every day, to collect their $116,000 annual salaries, along with their $35,000 annual living expense stipend, and accomplish nothing! Forty-nine other states have been able to compromise and negotiate their way to a budget that both sides can live with.

Being someone who's job security depends on the decisions of others, this disgusts me! Have these legislators lost sight of what they were elected to do?????? Why should they care about the future livelihood of mere teachers, social workers, school nurses, and psychologists???? They can still show up every day to work, collect a hefty paycheck, and take their long weekends (because God forbid such upper-class individuals be required to put in a few Saturdays here and there for the sake of doing the job they are paid to do). I suppose this is just another example of bureaucracy at its finest. Like I've been saying to my good friends and family who live out-of-state, the longer I live here, the more convinced I am that this state is going to hell in a hand basket!





Thanks for reading my rant. :)