A Solution to California’s Problems
April 06, 2010
Marching for California's future
AFSCME members are championing the March for California’s Future to address the challenges that the state faces and to build awareness of the vital services state and local employees provide to keep their communities strong. The historic 48-day, 260 mile trek is supporting public services and public education, a government and economy that work for all and fair, progressive taxes to invest in our future.
Irene Gonzalez, a juvenile probation officer in Los Angeles and an executive board member of AFSCME Local 685, is walking from Bakersfield to Sacramento. On her journey, Gonzalez has witnessed the signs of a battered state and its people, as chronicled in a Huffington Post entry about the most recent leg of her journey.
If I have learned anything during this March for California's Future, it is that people in the San Joaquin Valley have lost their faith and their hope along with their jobs and homes. They have nowhere to go; no jobs, no prospects, and apparently no help of any kind. Where are the public services that could give these men and women a fresh start and a helping hand? The retraining and rehab centers? The medical clinics? The supportive services?Irene Gonzalez
Gonzalez points out that while the current economic crisis may have sparked many problems, California’s suffering is not new. She points to the causes and indicates that the solutions are within our grasp – really just a focus on investing in California’s future, rather than continuing with shortsighted thinking.
Over the years, we have failed to reinvest in the social and physical infrastructure that make life possible in a modern economy. Politicians of both parties have by and large chosen to prioritize tax breaks for multinational corporations and the wealthy over the rest of us--that is, anybody who has to work for a living. As a result, the human, social, and physical capital that once made California and our nation great have deteriorated along with our ideals of equal opportunity and fairness.
Gonzalez does see a solution, and is working for it. In her column she applauds the hundreds of public service employees, students, teachers, and local residents who are joining the March for California's Future to demand that the state’s leaders stand up for the California dream by supporting public services and public education.
This march is about restoring the California dream. At its core, that means restoring faith in the notion that we as a people will help those who need it, that justice and fairness are indeed for all, and that every individual has the freedom and wherewithal to reach their full potential. These are the ideals to which we as Californians and as Americans have pledged ourselves.
