Are Californians better off?
Just six short years ago, California's unemployment rate was a very low 4.9 percent. The state had the eighth-largest economy in the world. Total expenditures for the 2006-07 fiscal year were $130 billion and budget problems were far more manageable.
Given those numbers today, the Golden State would shine. However, now, the state's unemployment rate is the third-highest in the nation at 10.6 percent. A recent study shows the state's economy has slipped to ninth place. Even after facing multi-billion dollar budget deficits, the state budget has continued to grow and is now on track to reach $137.3 billion in 2012-13.
What changed?
Perhaps the 5,528 laws that the state legislature passed over the past six years played a role. While some of those laws may have been necessary, the majority clearly were not. Some of these laws include giving taxpayer-funded financial aid to illegal immigrants and maintaining costly defined-benefit pension plans for public employees and another, eliminated safeguards against food stamp fraud.
This year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed laws that range from same-day voter registration (without requiring a photo ID) to building a $68 billion fantasy train to nowhere. Ironically, he signed a law making California's tanning salons more secure than its voting booths, salons now have to check for photo ID to ensure that those under 18 do not tan.
Other laws added more and more business regulations, raising the cost of products and services.
For example, if you are a business owner fortunate enough to be in a position to hire, there's a law that prohibits you from obtaining a credit report to screen for the best prospective employee. Imagine the impact on background checks for new hires if you're in the banking, finance or security business.
The majority of legislators, almost all of whom have never run a business, passed laws like this in the often misguided hope they would make California better, not just more expensive and less productive.
We should not judge the legislature's effectiveness by the number of laws it passes, but by how and where it wisely spends our tax dollars. The legislature passed 5,528 new laws over the past six years, but do Californians truly believe that most have helped to improve their lives? What this barrage of laws has done in most cases is to erode our liberty, traditional values and economic vitality one law at a time.
I am more convinced today than I was six years ago of the need to return the Legislature to part-time status. I believe a part-time system made up of citizen legislators who must return to their districts and live under the laws, regulations and taxes they pass will result in a better, freer and more prosperous state.
As Reagan once said, "man is not free unless government is limited." Today, the people of California need to take their government back.
Assemblyman Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad, represents the 74th Assembly District in the California Legislature.
Just six short years ago, California's unemployment rate was a very low 4.9 percent. The state had the eighth-largest economy in the world. Total expenditures for the 2006-07 fiscal year were $130 billion and budget problems were far more manageable.
Given those numbers today, the Golden State would shine. However, now, the state's unemployment rate is the third-highest in the nation at 10.6 percent. A recent study shows the state's economy has slipped to ninth place. Even after facing multi-billion dollar budget deficits, the state budget has continued to grow and is now on track to reach $137.3 billion in 2012-13.
What changed?
Perhaps the 5,528 laws that the state legislature passed over the past six years played a role. While some of those laws may have been necessary, the majority clearly were not. Some of these laws include giving taxpayer-funded financial aid to illegal immigrants and maintaining costly defined-benefit pension plans for public employees and another, eliminated safeguards against food stamp fraud.
This year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed laws that range from same-day voter registration (without requiring a photo ID) to building a $68 billion fantasy train to nowhere. Ironically, he signed a law making California's tanning salons more secure than its voting booths, salons now have to check for photo ID to ensure that those under 18 do not tan.
Other laws added more and more business regulations, raising the cost of products and services.
For example, if you are a business owner fortunate enough to be in a position to hire, there's a law that prohibits you from obtaining a credit report to screen for the best prospective employee. Imagine the impact on background checks for new hires if you're in the banking, finance or security business.
The majority of legislators, almost all of whom have never run a business, passed laws like this in the often misguided hope they would make California better, not just more expensive and less productive.
We should not judge the legislature's effectiveness by the number of laws it passes, but by how and where it wisely spends our tax dollars. The legislature passed 5,528 new laws over the past six years, but do Californians truly believe that most have helped to improve their lives? What this barrage of laws has done in most cases is to erode our liberty, traditional values and economic vitality one law at a time.
I am more convinced today than I was six years ago of the need to return the Legislature to part-time status. I believe a part-time system made up of citizen legislators who must return to their districts and live under the laws, regulations and taxes they pass will result in a better, freer and more prosperous state.
As Reagan once said, "man is not free unless government is limited." Today, the people of California need to take their government back.
Assemblyman Martin Garrick, R-Carlsbad, represents the 74th Assembly District in the California Legislature.