Save California: Twitter your suggestions to the Governator
Filed under: Saving Money, Technology, Recession
Got a good idea for how to pull California back from the brink of financial failure? Twitter it to Arnold.Last month, Governor Schwarzenegger visited Twitter's HQ for a live chat and announced the launch of MyIdea4CA.com, a state Web site that lets Twitter users submit their ideas for improving California.
Ideas can be submitted through a Twitter account with the hashtag #myidea4ca. Check out the Web site, and you'll see the various areas state government oversees that you can suggest improvements for, from Education and Elected Officials to Volunteerism and Water Management. People have been sending in some good ideas (in my politically moderate opinion); here are a few of them:
- For education: "Steep limits on advertising during children's programming, bring back School House Rock!"
- For elected officials: "Sarbanes-Oxley Act makes corp. officers sign off on their books. Apply same standard to state officers -- make leadership certify budget" and "Furlough them and make them go COBRA for healthcare."
- For energy and alternative fuels: "Build state-owned generators on the aqueducts. That water never stops flowing. Use it!"
- For the environment: "Mandate that developers install solar panels and energy efficient windows on all new sprawl homes."
- For government waste and fraud: "Create "float" job positions that work 6 months in each dept to clean it up."
- For health and human services: "Build more parks and sports complexes for outdoor activities and to keep kids off the streets."
- For healthcare: "Tax food that makes us fat: high-fructose corn syrup, sodas, etc. should cost more."
- For jobs: "Open up water desalinization plants in CA and sell the water to neighboring states(Nevada and Arizona)."
- For volunteerism: "Have people who receive state aid do community service, not just get money for nothing."
So Tweet your ideas now. Who knows? Your suggestion could help the sun rise once again on the Golden State.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-09-2009 @ 10:16AM
Dianne Bowen said...
Mr. Governor,
First, start with a clean pack of index cards. Write all the areas the state currently funds (schools, roads, health care, national guard, etc). OK, a case of index cards may be needed. Lay these out on a large conference table. Now list all the levels of spending for each category and the spending amount. Lay those below each category header in order of importance. Add all that up. Starting at the bottom, remove the least important spending in each category. At this point you should still be well over your spending limit. Now ask yourself, which is more important, schools, roads, and commerce, or pandering to every special interest group that is burying your state with stupid ideas you cannot afford? If you can honestly answer this, grab a trash can and file the waste where it belongs. If your total exceeds this year's expected income, man-up and cut some more. Now reduce what's left by 5%. After all, you've got to work yourself away from the bankruptcy table.
Now, get rid of all those ridiculous laws that are driving business away. And don't forget about the fees, levies, and tax structure. Remember, people cannot eat "do gooder" ideas. And they cannot live in homes that have been burned because a group of ignorant people have made laws and rules preventing the reasonable management of brush and forest.
Finally, write letters to the unions and tell them it's been nice. Hope they have enjoyed the ride but it's time to get off the bus.
Respectfully submitted,
Dianne Bowen
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9-09-2009 @ 4:00PM
Neva Cochran said...
As a registered dietitian, I'd like to respond to the suggestion to "Tax food that makes us fat: high-fructose corn syrup, sodas, etc. should cost more." No single food or ingredient is the sole cause of obesity. The primary cause is eating too many calories and getting too little exercise. High fructose corn syrup has the same calories and composition as honey or cane sugar, about half glucose and half fructose. Excessive calories, from whatever source, can promote weight gain. The real key to healthful eating and preventing weight gain is to use all sweeteners in moderation as part of a balanced diet with a variety of foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meat and low fat dairy products in appropriate portions. Neva Cochran, MS, RD, LD
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