Keeping an eye on the city budget
At a time when so much economic news is bad, it's nice to know that San Francisco is thriving. Anyone passing by one of the city's tourist attractions will hear the sound of conversations in a multitude of languages. Tourism is growing, tax revenues are growing, yet still Mayor Newsom faces a challenge in bringing forward a balanced budget. How can this be? There are several reasons, but one of them is the voters habit of passing ballot measures that set aside funds for specific projects. Voters have passed measures requiring certain amounts be spent on Muni, children's services, and other highly valued city expenditures. The voters' sentiments in passing these measures reflects their feelings that we need to continue to support public transit and children's services, but perhaps we don't go about it the right way. The League of Women Voters takes the position that money for specific services should not be permanent set-asides that prevent government officials from exercises judgment about spending when conditions change. Revenues go up and down with economic cycles, sudden disasters can completely wreck a budget and require unforeseen expenditures. The government has to have the power to allocate resources to meet needs as they arise. As voters, we may recommend policies and certainly express our views about which expenditures should be highest priority, but we only cause trouble when we set rigid rules about exact expenditures. Let's have a little common sense about ballot measures.
Costs of cars
One thing we are gaining from higher gas prices is increasing information about how much cars cost to run. Right now, when everyone is talking about the price of fuel, Kathleen Pender in the Chronicle has provided many facts about judging a car by its overall cost instead of just its gas mileage. Depreciation is a huge factor, of course, although that doesn't matter too much if you tend to keep cars until they become worth nothing more than a donation to your favorite charity. Then there is the added cost of cars that require premium instead of regular gasoline. And of course you have to figure out the amount you will save on a hybrid's fuel mileage as compared with the higher initial cost. Buying a car is more complicated than ever--a social statement rather than just a purchase. Wouldn't it be nice to go back to the days when we could just pick the color we liked and the most comfortable seats?
The war we have forgotten
On this Memorial Day all of us think of the wars the United States has fought and the men and women who served in them. Everyone who served in wartime has been changed by the experience, many have been injured either physically or mentally and others have survived more mature and serious. But the wars we remember are the big ones--the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and Vietnam. Other wars are almost forgotten although to the individuals who lived through them, it's not the size of the war that counts but the extremity of the experience.
The Korean War from 1950-1953 is one of the forgotten wars although thousands of troops served in it and more than 35,000 died. It was a harsh war in a bitter climate and was fought by the sons and younger brothers of men who had served in World War II, but it never caught the imagination of the country. Reading the books and looking at the websites about the war, we can see how important it was. One momentous change, although almost unnoticed, is that it finally led to desegregation in America's armed forces. President Truman signed the bill authorizing desegregation in 1948, but most of the units which entered the Korean War were completely segregated. The military was not eager to embrace a multiracial force until the dramatic losses in Korea made it necessary to replace many white soldiers. Gradually servicemen realized they could serve together as effective units. It was not until 1951, three years after Truman's ruling, that the Army finally announced plans for desegregating all units. Even forgotten wars can have far-reaching effects. So as we remember our service men and women let's include all of them from all the wars that have shaped American history.
Rainy day tips
The misty rain spreading over parts of the city today may not inspire thoughts of conserving water, but we all know this has been a dry season and we need to do it. The Chronicle today has a series of practical tips for cutting down on water use. No matter how careful you are in your water use now, there are probably a few tips here that will suggest something new. Who would have thought that washing dishes in a dishpan uses more water than using a dishwasher? And who would have thought of keeping as pitcher next to the sink to catch the water that runs down the drain while you wait for it to get cold enough to drink? On this long, lazy weekend we all have a little time to change our habits for the better.
Schools in trouble again
San Francisco schools struggle every year to keep within their budgets and at the same time meet the needs of their students. This year, as reported in the Chronicle, they expect to be ten million dollars in the hole in the Governor's new budget. The budget does provide more flexibility in using funds, but switching money away from building maintenance and into daily expenses is not a smart way to use money. Every homeowner knows how neglected maintenance can build up into massive bills as property gets more run down and needs more expensive repairs. Charter schools will fare even worse than the standard public schools as there are no rainy day funds allocated to them. Everyone who values education in San Francisco will have to keep a sharp eye on the schools and let public officials know about their concerns. Even while you enjoy your holiday weekend, don't forget that come Tuesday it will be time to pay close attention to public affairs, so rest and build up strength for the budget battles to come.
A different perspective
As gas prices continue to rise, it's hard not to get irritated at people who tell us that Europeans pay more for gas than Americans do so we should be grateful. It's difficult to be grateful when you are coping with unexpected bills for a taken-for-granted pleasure like using a car. Slate Magazine recently offered a new perspective on the cost of driving. Few of us realize that gas costs less now as a percentage of the cost of maintaining a car than it did in 1975. In that year gas was 33 percent of the cost of owning a car, now it is only 17 percent. Insurance, registration and maintenance costs have all gone up far more than gas prices have. Does it make us feel any better to know that even at four dollars a gallon gas is still a bargain? Perhaps not, but it's a mantra we can repeat to ourselves as we pump our gas in the hope that it will ease the pain somewhat.
Someone we'll miss
It's rare to have a media figure who remains in place year after year and can be counted on to give a sensible account of the day's news. Dennis Richmond has been just such a figure for 40 years at KTVU. Many of us cannot remember a time when he didn't appear on the evening news to keep us up to date on happenings around the Bay Area. Sometimes the news was bad--accidents, fires, even earthquakes--more rarely it was news that brought joy--a daring rescue, troops coming home, or yesterday's Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage. Through it all many listeners took comfort in Richmond's steady delivery and reliable presence. We will miss him and we wish him well in his retirement!
Lawn or car?
The Bay Area is facing another water shortage this summer and that is already forcing hard choices on some neighborhoods. Although San Franciscans haven't yet been asked officially to cut back on water use, our neighbors in the East Bay Municipal Utility District have been. Perhaps its time for all of us to start thinking about where we would cut. Watering lawns, especially if you can do it easily with a sprinkler system, is hard to give up, but then, would you be content to drive around in a dirty car? A casual scan of city streets suggests that lots of people don't mind that at all, although as a general rule the newer the car, the cleaner it is kept. Now is the time when homeowners who have invested in climate-friendly lawn planting are reaping the benefits of not having to pour water on grasses more at home in soggy Seattle than in California. We all benefit from water conservation and one thing we know for certain is that water will always be precious and rare in California. Instead of reacting to dry spells by temporary reductions of use, perhaps we should plan to keep our water use low every day and every year--it's the price we pay for living in one of the best climates in the world and well worth the trouble.
End of plastic
Now that San Franciscans have adjusted to grocery stores without plastic bags, they have to make the next change to drugstores without plastic. This next step shouldn't be too difficult, and may mark a further shift of many people to cloth bags instead of paper. That can't be too difficult. Still, we do wonder what will happen as the final plastic bags disappear from the city landscape. How will morning newspapers be delivered in the foggy reaches of the Sunset or during the rainy season without their jackets of plastic? And what will substitute for plastic for lining waste baskets or--even worse--picking up after our dogs? Is the Board of Supervisors thinking about these problems in a city without plastic? Perhaps they had better do that before a black market in plastic bags from less enlightened communities develops.
Good news for CA
These days it isn't often that we get good news about education, but today a new report has come out on the increase in new nurses graduated in the state. Thanks to sensible government action, sparked by Governor Schwarzenegger, there have been 23 nursing education programs created and an increase of almost 25% in nursing students. Once again the importance of government aid for students who want to get training for important jobs has been demonstrated. Community colleges play a vital part in preparing California students for nursing and other vital jobs in the community. Let's hope that taxpayers appreciate their importance and make sure they receive enough support to grow and flourish.
Voter ID causes problems
The national League of Women Voters objections to the Supreme Court decision that upheld Voter ID laws appeared to be at least partially justified in Indiana yesterday when some nuns who had been voting for many years were denied ballots. According to a news story these elderly nuns no longer had drivers' licenses and despite having voted from the same convent for many years, the poll workers informed them they would have to cast provisional ballots. Also denied a ballot was an 18-year-old California student who attends college in Indiana. She had a California driver's license, but that is not considered acceptable ID in Indiana, so she too had to vote provisionally. Is this any way to prevent voter fraud? Over-zealous lawmakers should not be allowed to deny legitimate citizens their right to vote.
Another voice for veterans
More media reports are calling attention to the debt we owe veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bob Herbert in the NY Times describes the bill, sponsored by Senators Webb and Lugar (both veterans of other wars) which expands the opportunities offered to veterans. It is a renewal of the kind of G.I. Bill that served this country so well after World War II and Korea. The bill has not received much publicity, but perhaps it's time for ordinary citizens to let legislators know how we want them to vote on this issue.
What do we owe the troops?
Although candidates and ordinary citizens complain about how the high price of gasoline and food is affecting Americans, most people go about their daily lives without much sacrificing many comforts. There is one group that does suffer and that is the men and women who are fighting, or have fought, in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are returning to a country that is more difficult and expensive to live in than it was when they left, and the benefits they get don't help a great deal. In today's S.F. Chronicle, veteran Patrick Campbell describes how the weakened G.I. Bill is failing to follow through on the promises made to people who enlisted in the services. Sixty years ago, when veterans were returning from World War II, society was transformed by the rush to education. A whole generation of new leaders were formed in the technical schools and universities that opened paths to new careers and a secure place in society. Now veterans, many of them from low-income families, are unable to get the college educations they have been promised because of the stingy benefits being offered. While the country concentrates on cutting taxes for the well-to-do, we are sacrificing our futures by not educating these young people for their proper roles as leaders in tomorrow's America. For every dollar spent on veteran's education, the economy benefits and society benefits. It's about time for taxpayers to demand that Congress bring the G.I. Bill back to somewhere close to where it was half a century ago. We owe our veterans that much!
Does caring work?
San Francisco's Care Not Cash program for the homeless was one of the most innovative programs introduced by Mayor Gavin Newsom. Now, four years after it began, a city audit indicates the program has been successful. According to a story in the S.F. Chronicle, the number of homeless people in the city receiving cash payments has dropped from 2,632 to 642. Instead of cash the recipients now receive housing and services. There is still controversy, of course, about whether the money the city now spends on housing provides as much help as the previous cash payments did, and the question of whether all homeless people in the city can be helped by housing and services is still open. Many of the homeless people on our streets have multiple problems and require intensive services which are not easy to provide. It appears that Care Not Cash has been a step in the right direction, but concerned citizens will still have to be watchful.
