Go East Young Man

Yesterday California voters, by about 65%, rejected five propositions that would have raised our taxes. Why? Well, frankly we are sick of being taxed to death by an irresponsible government. And secondly, I read the fine print on those propositions and realized they would end up costing us billions anyway. So apparently, did everyone else who voted. How stupid does our Gubinator think we are?

He was in Washington yesterday, hat in hand, asking Obama for money. He knew the propositions wouldn’t pass. And guess what? Rush is right (again). Obama will not let California go bankrupt. Not this left-leaning heavily Democrat state. No, the Golden State will get a bailout and you all (sorry) will have to pay for it in the form of higher federal taxes. The situation here is far beyond surreal. I could stay and work for the Republican Party, but frankly there is no one stepping forward who is carrying the conservative banner. So what is left to do? Get out of Dodge, just like droves of people have already.

In Dec. of 2008, the LA Times reported “For a fourth year in a row, residents moving to other states outnumber arrivals from other states.” Those are tax paying folks who will take their 1040’s somewhere else. Why? Because the job outlook here is pretty abysmal. Our unemployment rate is now over 11 percent; one of the highest in the nation. The public sector (government) is one of the only sectors growing jobs. Businesses here are so hobbled by environmental constraints and other roadblocks they are leaving for more business friendly states. Our people are not far behind.

One guy in our church was gone about 2 weeks before I noticed. He had been laid off and immediately went job hunting everywhere until he found employment in Texas. He was lucky. I don’t blame him a bit for leaving. When I was laid off from my teaching job last year our district actually brought in recruiters from Arizona and Nevada. I don’t relish the thought of leaving my support system and making friends, finding a church, etc. outside California. But the thought of having to work until I’m 75 just to make subsistence wages in a state where reason has taken hike, is a bitter pill to swallow indeed.

When I Became Close Minded

A relative asked me after my last blog post when I became so close minded. Well, let’s see. In college I was the most liberal person in my family (so I’m told.) What happened? I grew up.

I became close minded when my eyes were opened to the direction this country was going and I wanted to get involved. I became close minded when I went against “conventional wisdom” (and the advice of nearly everyone around me) to make a very difficult decision in my life. I became close minded when my wonderful sons were born and I saw the negative influence of popular culture all around them.

I became close minded as they passed through public and private schools and I was able to draw comparisons about the good and bad of both. I became close minded when I ended a 16-year career in corporate America to become a public school teacher. I became even more close minded as I witnessed the level of deceit in Washington escalate a hundred fold under the Obama administration. Lastly, and probably most importantly, I became close minded when I stopped playing church and started living my faith.

Conviction does not equal close mindedness. My prayer is that I stay in the will of God as I stick up for my beliefs in a hostile culture.