Personal Point of Entry
In December 2008 the economy was at one of its lowest points. My company had just
laid off 1/3 of the company and those that were left were terrified of what was yet to
come. Though we had secured operational funds for the next 2 years, anything could
happen. If things got any worse, there might have been another round of lay offs. The
only thing I could think about was my income. In January, news had already begun to
break that California may have to issue IOUs instead of tax refunds. Each year I look
forward to my tax returns for my registered business. I had a $2000+ refund coming that
was going to cover some extra expenses I’d made in 2008 that had put me in debt. With
an impending potential layoff and a possible IOU from the state, I was pretty much
screwed. I didn’t get an IOU, however, my refund came 2 months late. I didn’t lose my
job, but this was the first time state legislature had any direct effect on me. At the time I
couldn’t understand why California would be broke? A sound budget solution had been
impeding desperate funding that the state needed to pull itself out of debt and give the
taxpayers their money.
Later, I heard about some of the budget cuts the governor was making on education to
compensate. I feel sorry for some of the families who would be suffering from this blow. I
remember seeing news stories about people donating books to public schools in Contra
Costa County. Though I heard that there were public school systems in the south bay
that weren’t having budget problems? I didn’t quite get it. Nor did I want to. Even though
I lived in Washington, DC for over 10 years, I tried to stay clear of politics.
Recently, after reviewing the issue more closely, I feel like state legislature will affect
more than my tax returns. It’s become more obvious that there are pockets across the
state with large concentrations of money and bipartisanship. Therefore, the two-thirds
clause seems to instill dirty tactics and massive delays in the policy proc