Troubled Times in the Golden State
By: John Frank
Chaos in the streets, fires destroying communities,
people losing their jobs, and a government in disarray-if these scenes
evoke a picture of a life from a disparaging novel such as 1984, then
you might want to look a little closer to home. For those of you who
live in California, these descriptions are common place nowadays. In
a time of financial struggle for the whole country, it seems that the
Golden State has taken an even larger hit. In addition to the financial
crisis, we are now overburdened with raging fires in the southlands.
While I am fortunate enough to live in an area outside the destructive
path of the fires, many people have lost family or property. While everyone
feels sympathy toward these people, the fires bring an even bigger problem
to the state as a whole. The economic situation is causing millions
of dollars per day in excess of the overspending already occurring in
the state. This may seem like a cold-hearted way of looking at the situation,
but everybody knows that when the money is short in the government and
larger corporations, it causes everyone to lose jobs and pay higher
prices due to inflation. These economic problems just seem to grow worse
by the day.
To some it may seem hopeless but to others, a brighter future can be
seen. A change in the governor is soon to take place, and this can be
a good thing or a bad thing. Whether personal opinion agrees or disagrees
with the new gubernatorial policies, everyone has to admit that the
economy is on a downward spiral.
Now, if you live in California, then you obviously know the consequences
of all these problems, but if you don't you may wonder why you should
care. California has one of the largest economies in the world. This
means that if the state falls into a steeper recession, it will affect
every economy in the country. Plus, who doesn't enjoy the humor created
in the media about our "Governator"? Basically, the state
is in a condition that is causing confusion, if not discomfort for the
residents, and may potentially affect the economies of neighboring states,
and thus creating a domino effect that will hit everybody in the nation.
While I do not propose any specific solutions to these problems, I think
that if everyone becomes aware of the severity of the problems, it would
at least help bring more ideas, so that a fairy tale ending might result
from what appears to be a nightmare.
