530-993-4379
Sierra Booster
  • Home
  • Newspaper
    • Latest News
    • Letters to the Editor >
      • Submit Letter to the Editor
    • Old News Archive
    • Photo Tour
    • Events
    • About Us
    • SUBSCRIBE
  • Advertiser Directory
    • Advertiser Press Releases
    • Website Sponsors
    • Advertiser Area
  • Buy Ads - Services
  • Fishing Report
  • Contact Us
  • Admin Log In

Hope for California

8/13/2021

0 Comments

 
By Ted Gaines
Word count 551

When you add up California’s $5 per gallon gas, deadly forest fires, unaffordable housing, open air drug markets, brazen crime, exploding homelessness, highest state-income tax, non-drivable roads, Sanctuary Cities, and outlandish electricity rates, it’s easy to understand why the people chose to initiate a recall of Governor Newsom.
 
Recalls are born of anger and frustration and I share the resentment that’s fueled this political uprising, but I’m running for governor for an entirely different reason: Hope.
 
My family has been in California since the Gold Rush. My business is here, my children and grandchildren live here, and I want them to experience the confident, beautiful, and welcoming California I once knew. 
 
Necessary changes must be dramatic, big enough to meet the challenges driving the Recall.
 
That means undoing policies that have made California astronomically expensive.  Adjusted for our cost of living, California has the highest poverty level in the nation.
 
As Governor, I’ll push affordability. California has managed to turn staple goods into luxury goods and it’s chasing families out of our state.
 
California's gasoline prices are twice as high as other states because we tax it to death and pile on other fees and requirements that jack up the price. We need to slash the gas tax immediately.
 
Our electricity rates are 50-percent higher than the national average. While that might not affect wealthy elites in temperate Marin County, it’s a killer for young families and low-income workers in the blazing Inland Empire and Central Valley. We should make electricity and all other necessities as inexpensive as possible.
 
That goes double for housing. With a median housing price above $800,000, families are getting priced out of the California Dream. We need to reform laws, fees, and permit costs that make building too difficult and contribute to stratospheric housing costs.
 
The shocking crime videos circulating on the internet, showing fearless criminals victimizing innocent Californians and robbing stores in broad daylight, make it clear that we need to start punishing criminals again. I’ll continue to support law enforcement and make sure they have the tools, training and personnel needed to keep the public safe.
 
The size and resilience of our homeless encampments is a policy failure that is inhumane. Despite the rhetoric about most people being one paycheck away from homelessness, it’s clear to everyone who will admit it that most homeless are suffering from tragic addictions or serious mental health problems. Those most in need of our help are least likely to seek it out themselves or stick with it when offered. Some of the most beautiful urban spaces in our state have been turned into tent camps, their rightful use abandoned, and stolen from the public. We must mandate help for our homeless and reclaim our public spaces.
 
Those problems are serious, but they are all opportunities. We can turn the state around. California is every bit as gorgeous, and the weather is every bit as temperate, as it has ever been. But without vision, the people perish.

Senator Ted Gaines (Ret.) was elected to represent the Board of Equalization’s First District. He is a leading taxpayer advocate, defender of Prop. 13, and is committed to providing trustworthy and transparent representation for nearly ten million constituents in 30 counties of northern, eastern, and southern California. For more information, visit http://tedgaines.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    April 2014
    September 2009

    Categories

    All
    2015
    Sierra County News

    RSS Feed

    Vie
    ​w Old News

CONTACT US:

Sierra Booster Newspaper
PO Box 8
Loyalton, CA 96118
Phone: 530-993-4379
Fax: 844-272-8583
Email: jbuck@psln.com

Website Privacy Policy​
Picture
Local Weather
©Copyright Sierra Booster - Sierra County News - Editorial
Website by Chamber Nation