Ramblings of a Concerned Citizen

2010 is coming to a close and my oh my, what a year!  Many things happened this year which I would have never considered possible at the close of 2009.

Politically I was like most Americans, disgusted with the course of the country and the state at the hands of liberals and the left did not disappoint.  They overreached this year and the proverbial pendulum swung back to conservative.  The Tea Party and many other conservative people and groups took back the House of Representatives in the biggest sweep since 1938.  The rest of the loony left will be excreted in 2012 if all holds as we hope.

If America is to remain viable, we must get our spending into balance with the revenues.  We need to stop leaving IOU's in the Social Security "lockbox" and we need to stop funding grants and loans to organizations which undermine our very existence.  We need to help those that can't help themselves like the Christian country we are and the rest need tough love to get them back on to self sufficiency and off the public dole.

California is of course the anomaly to what has happened nationally.  The state had no turnovers in seats at the state and federal levels and it ms my fervent hope the "citizens"committee will un-gerrymander the state and provide for competitive elections, just like 1992 did. 

Locally, the county is in deep do-do because it does not have a diversified economy.  That stems from the attitude of no growth and the interference of laws and regulations which have and are sending business from the state.  Without a reining in of the regulatory burdens and the fees and exaction's placed on the producers and entrepreneurs, California will remain moribund and our countries Japan.

Politically, 2010 kept Grass Valley in the hands of a smart and business oriented Council, and Dan Miller, Jason Fouyer, Yolanda Cookson, Janet Arbuckle and Lisa Swarthout are fine examples of good citizens.  They understand the importance of business to the health of the community and as long as the bureaucracy knows who is in charge, Grass Valley will rebound and prosper.

Nevada City is another story.  Even with the smartest civil servant I know, Gene Albaugh, Nevada City will be way behind in bouncing back from their policies.  The Council is stuck in the past and has no plan for economics that I can see.  Hopefully, they will turn their city around before it becomes 1965 again.

Nevada County government is reflective of what has become the norm for all county governments.  They are the implementing slaves of the state government policies and if it weren't for a tiny bit of freedom in land use, the county would just be absorbed by Sacramento.  I favor a overhaul of the State Constitution to reinstate county  sovereignty so we can better decide our own fate.  Same for schools.  We need to throw off the state's smothering of local control and leave our property taxes to our local decision makers.  Same for school policy.  If anyone has seen the boondoggle of state controls regarding school construction and now, courthouse construction, you will better understand the reason California is bankrupt. 

But hope springs eternal in this 60 year old fellow.  I have seen America rise up and throw out the charlatans on the left, I am encouraged to see the concern about debt and deficits.  I know and see everyday the reason America, though having taken a slight diversionary step away from sanity, is the greatest country the world has ever seen. We will prevail here in Nevada County, California and the USA.  Reason and hope are back and the steamroller of freedom is unstoppable.

Merry Christmas One an All.  GOD BLESS AMERICA!