Nearly 80 percent of voters in California believe the state is heading in the wrong direction. This is according to a recent poll conducted by The College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at USC and The Los Angeles Times. The number is shocking, and even more shocking why isn't anyone doing something to stop this. This number screams for attention from California residents and its representatives. Yet somehow it seems everyone's numb from the shock. USC Professor Dan Schnur gives a possible reason why the people of California aren't doing too much. Schnur suggests that they tried to do something with the recall election, but failed. Sure things changed for a while but at the end of the day California is doing much worse and this doesn't seem to be the bottom.
The majority of voters might be disappointed and have given up, but what about those representatives they trusted. It seems they don't have an answer because they're too busy not doing their jobs, and the one shining star Gavin Newsom has called it quits on the governor's race leaving no hope for people of California in need. The only other candidates left to take the governor's seat are the same old politicians that have led California into the financial hole it is in today.
This state needs change and lots of it if it's going to survive. It needs bright politicians who are willing to break from the status quo of uselessness and do something that will change the state forever. The state needs leaders who will guide it in the right direction towards the light at the end of the tunnel which few Californians are able to see at this moment. This state needs to go back to financial basics - using only the money you have. If kids can understand this concept why can't a state that is one of the largest economies in the world.
Keep it Simple Stupid and the state will be return to its golden days.
Links to the poll can be found at :
http://college.usc.edu/news/stories/641/golden-state-yes-no-or-maybe/
4 years ago
After scrolling through the pdf file report of the complete survey results, it seems suspicious to me whether the voters responded this way because they ACTUALLY are disappointed in California-- and not just the sad state of the US. I believe that it touched only very generally on how favorable California citizens believed the current condition and direction the state was headed seemed to be. But in the midst of a national economic recession, it seems obvious to me that people are primed to respond negatively to all these questions. As the conclusion suggests, the results were pretty heavily one-sided but I think that voters were inclined to show their discontent with CA due to factors that are beyond the state level. Nevertheless, if the California people are unhappy with the current state of affairs then part of the blame definitely does fall on our state government.
ReplyDeleteI believe citizens are taking their anger-financial or otherwise-out on the government. The majority of the people polled didn't vote in the primary election for their party, probably implying that they are not too involved in the political system. Still, an even greater majority said they would vote in next term's primary. While involvement is definitely good, it shouldn't only be during an election. If people are so dissatisfied with the government, they should participate before conditions get so bad, not just after they are unhappy.
ReplyDeleteCalifornia voters are upset, yet they do nothing! There was a decent amount of grunt going around last state election, but we stayed the course. Now people complain again, but most ballot initiatives do little to help (or even go backwards a la prop 8). If people really are upset they should go out and vote for a change, not sit idly and hope someone else will do it for them.
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