Prop 1 - 2008

I vote No.

Okay, before I begin, let's just say I don't like propositions very much and I tend to vote no. They are usually written by people who don't know how to write legislation, which can cause havoc. People (me included) don't understand how one thing affects another.  Part of what caused our budget crisis this year was the fact that previous propositions forced certain amounts of money to go there, and another amounts to go here etc., so that the legislature actually didn't have that much money to fight over.  

We elect people who have (supposedly) expert people as advisers helping them on these issues. A legislator relies on others because one person doesn't and can't know the effects of all the bills and what they may do. Yet, with a proposition, I am supposed to know enough to make an informed decision. Most people get their information off of commercials and are swayed by advertising. I would actually trust my legislator more then the average person in California. They probably have access to more unbiased info. than I. 

Propositions often change our Constitution, another thing I don't like and tie the hands of the people in office.

I could explain further, but I leave that for another blog.

Let's start on Proposition #1.

This proposition is for a high speed rail bonds. The legislature, and others, want to build a high speed train from northern CA to southern CA. They need money to do this, so they want to sell bonds totaling $9.95 billion.  Let me describe bonds a little bit. Basically, the state borrows money from anyone who will lend them the money in the form of a bond.  The state must pay the money back, with interest. After 30 years, the state must pay back $19.4 billion. This may be paid in a time when the economy is good or may not. 

For the most part, I don't like bonds, but there are times when I am for them.  In the right time and place , I don't mind the government using them. Get a big pile of money now and pay it off in small increments over 30 years. Many of us do such a thing with mortgages. Bonds can be used wisely and well. I've voted for them in the past. Of course, this current administration in CA thinks that bonds are a lifesaver and wants to use them for everything. Including paying off a deficit - we don't have enough money, so we borrow more money to cover ourselves, incurring a high interest rate. It's like paying off one credit card with another.

Again, I could go on about bonds. But that actually isn't my reason for a NO vote on this prop. I think this proposition is wrong. I know, I know. People are going to tell me that I am hypocritical. I always talk about the importance of public transportation. But when something comes up on the ballot, I vote against it.

Here's my reasoning. The ballot says the train is to reduce traffic. Is there really a lot of traffic between here and LA when compared to the amount of traffic within each city? A nice, high speed train is great and I'd use it, but I think more buses (there are no buses from Natomas to Downtown on the weekends), light rail, metros, BART stations, and bike paths are in order and are much more likely to be used on a regular basis.  Why don't we build an infrastructure that is going to be used by as many people as possible instead of the relatively few people that are going to LA on a regular basis? This is one of my problems with American society, we tend to think big and ignore the little, but important, stuff (I could go on and on about that topic in health care, but again, another blog).  This isn't going to fix our traffic problems. This isn't going to remove many cars from the road. In fact, many people who want a quick trip to LA may fly so they are already off the road. Its not that expensive. 

We need to spend money on public transportation, but not on this. We need a much more expansive and localized system that can take care of the traffic jams at rush hour in Sacramento, S.F, and L.A. and other cities. This will be a great plan sometime in the future, but not now.  Shelve it and support BART, Buses, Light Rails, Metros, Carpools, and Bikes.

Vote no on Proposition 1

Proposition 2 - Wednesday.