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California Governor's Race: Vote for Simon, Save Your Job Patrick Mallon This article is the latest in the ongoing weekly series on the California governor's race. See previous articles:
Commissar Davis and the People's Press (10/21) Demonstrating how far out of touch Davis is even within his own party, national headlines have recently proclaimed, "Democrats aim to turn economic woes into votes," employing an offshoot of the "It's the economy, stupid" formula. Funny thing is, that shtick isn't playing too well, especially in California. This would explain the deafening silence on business-friendly policies and fiscal accountability a commonsense person might expect from a chief executive in charge of a failing enterprise. California is broke. The state has authorized the issuance of billions in new bonds to defray the $24 billion deficit. The budget signed over the Labor Day weekend is purely "smoke and mirrors," a condition that can be satisfied only temporarily by massive tax increases (er, revenue "enhancements"). Employers and Employees Get It – Why Doesn't Davis? Anyone in California considering "economic woes" would be wise to give Mr. Simon a chance and increase the likelihood that their already imperiled job will have a fighting chance at surviving the state's dramatic downturn. As it stands, should Davis win a second term, taxes will rise, employees and employers will pay more to Sacramento, and businesses will require any of the following crucial decisions to survive: Consolidate and/or close operations, dramatically cut payrolls and wages, reduce employee medical benefits, move to a more financially attractive state (or out of the country), or close down altogether. Even employees are getting it. United Airlines on Monday, Oct. 21, said it will lay off 516 customer service employees in San Francisco. On Oct. 26, the flight attendants union for UAL announced it will accept a 3.6 percent pay cut as part of a plan to save the parent company $5.8 billion. Sure beats being unemployed. Fear and Loathing in San Jose An Oct. 13 San Jose Mercury editorial, "As economy keeps dragging, things start to feel scary," described just how bad things are, in a very real and visceral sense: "It's like we're lost on some winding road through the dark woods. We know when we left, but we don't know exactly where we're going or when we're going to get there. No map. No signs. And what was a bump in the road now seems more like a path off the cliff." "I have not quite seen something like this and I've been in Silicon Valley since 1987," said Panita Pandey, chief executive of NetCustomer, a San Jose company offering customer-support technology. As industry analysts attest, "Things could get much worse." A Davis re-election would accelerate the trend. There Was a Time When Newspapers Weren't Leftist Rags There was a time when newspapers actually reported news, connected consequences of policies and results, and held public officials answerable for action or inaction rather than giving a blanket hall pass to lefty politicians who they agreed with. For example, this writer was attending high school in Detroit in 1973, the year the auto industry was hit by the triple whammy of gasoline shortages, quality issues and competition from Japanese imports. The number of manufacturing plants closed and jobs lost was staggering. Almost overnight, the city was clobbered by an economic hailstorm. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press were riveted by the story, and both did a remarkable job in doggedly holding the feet of state leaders to the fire. Day after day they hounded. Commendably, Gov. William Millikin and Senators Phil Hart and Robert Griffin all took it upon themselves to formulate and adopt policies in an attempt to stem the loss of thousands of jobs. They drafted programs for worker retraining, tax assistance and incentives to keep struggling plants open, and any other measure that would soften the blow. There was no other choice; their re-election hinged on the real or perceived effectiveness of their response, and the press framed the issue. Today, all a candidate in California has to do to gain cover in the media protection racket is to say: abortion, gay rights, gun control, environment. And like lap dogs, the press folds the tents and all objective critique goes poof! Since 2000, Santa Clara County alone has lost 88,000 jobs, mostly related to the tech sector. Yet Gov. Davis and Senators Feinstein and Boxer can all stay arrogantly silent as the California economy falls apart. If anyone has read a substantive policy pronouncement promoting business, increasing jobs or delivering business-friendly tax incentives from these stilted socialists, please forward. Disdainfully, these "leaders" can hide behind their pathetic kryptonite-like shield of liberal activism while average citizens reach deeper into their pockets to weather the storm. There is no journalistically honest, watchdog, call-it-like-it-is newspaper in this state, at least not one that will call out a Democrat on the economy. The LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Orange County Register, Sacramento Bee, each and every one of them, has the license to commission an exhaustive, multi-part series on any subject they want. And still, the sounds of silence. The Economic Time Bomb That Is Illegal Immigration Earlier this month, the Times delivered a laborious six-part series titled "Enrique's Journey," about a boy who risked life and limb to sneak across the U.S. border from deep in Mexico to be with his mother in the states. How touching. What is the likelihood that Enrique's mother files state taxes by April 15? By law, the state of California is obligated to educate Enrique, and you, the taxpayer, the guy or gal at risk of losing your job while paying the highest sales taxes in the country, pick up the tab. No disrespect toward the Mexican people is intended whatsoever. We should all welcome those who wish to live and contribute in this great country by following the law. The urgency of this issue goes directly to reasonable limits and fundamental fairness to people who live here legally. As well, politicians must address the financial implications, and neither Simon nor Davis says a word about it because the press doesn't demand it. California is estimated to be home to 7 million illegal immigrants. Care to guess how much that costs taxpayers? Who knows. The newspapers bury it. But demographic experts have stated that the tab is upwards of $5 billion annually by conservative estimates. Now, what was that budget deficit? Consider the contemptuous indifference to poll after poll on illegal immigration (70 percent to 80 percent of Americans call for ending illegal immigration), and still the Times stuffs its agenda into the chops of every one of its readers. Despite Lame Campaign, Simon Deserves the Opportunity There is no question Simon has run a terrible campaign, but this is not necessarily out of ineptitude as the press has so characterized. What conservative politician in this state would stand a snowball's chance if they were to directly say, "Close the borders, get back to fundamental values and personal responsibility, cut taxes and balance the budget." The left would interpret these words as hate speech. As well, Simon was on the receiving end of unnecessary criticism over abortion (a federal issue) and gay rights (a problematic set of challenges dogging the left and right nationwide). Despite little positive reportage, Simon has said he would not raise taxes to eliminate next year's projected state budget deficit, a pledge Davis dodged during the one and only governor's debate. This week, during a meeting at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, Simon said, "If we have a $20 billion deficit, I'm going to make a prediction: Davis will raise taxes by over $10 billion. I will not raise taxes. That's a clear difference between the two of us." There is indeed a clear difference between Davis and Simon. Simon has advocated policies that would help people retain their jobs and expand growth opportunities for businesses. Davis has forced a burdensome family leave policy on businesses, as well as increasing workers' compensation premiums. Any Democrat who would place defense of ideology over financial survival must ask themselves the following question: Do I hold my nose and vote for Davis, or do I open my eyes, stay employed, and give Bill Simon a chance? Read final article in series: Final Hours for a Failed Governor You may e-mail Patrick Mallon at patrick@newsmax.com.
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