Leaving California: Letters to the editor, Feb. 14, 2020

Hey, think twice about leaving Cali

After a 10-year hiatus from California following a fabulous career to Oregon, Arizona and Virginia, my wife and I have returned to our home state and Valley. The question we receive most often is, “Why on earth would you voluntarily move back to this awful state?”.

I have learned to immediately inquire as to whether the questioner has actually lived outside of California, and 100% of the time the response is, “Well no, but we are leaving as soon as we can!” After researching and experiencing this several times, my conclusion is this: these people are spoiled rotten.

Other states have their pros and cons like everywhere does, but California outdoes them all. Mild climate, Sierra, coastline, orange trees, a wonderfully diverse culture and great people make it the best place to live. Since our return, we have noticed cleaner air, more responsible water use and, Fresno seems to be “more hip” than when we left.

I hear about the air, I hear about the homeless and the trash, I hear about the crime. All too true, sadly. But what I don’t hear from all the doubters is what they are personally doing to help!

Climate bills may bridge divide

No climate legislation will help unless it passes Congress. It must be bipartisan to pass a divided government and continue working as parties trade power in future elections.

Democrats have some good ideas in the Green New Deal, but they will not pass unless liberal Democrats sweep the 2020 elections.

Republicans have some good ideas about tax breaks for business innovations. They could be included in a legislative package, but will not be viewed as enough by themselves.

Currently Congress is considering five bills that place a fee on production of coal, petroleum and natural gas. Authors and co-sponsors come from both parties. Some use the money to reduce payroll taxes, or pay for climate-related infrastructure, or help displaced workers such as coal miners. But the most popular idea is to give dividends to the people. This has broad backing from both conservative and liberal economists.

HR 763 is the bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. With 75 co-sponsors, this legislation has the most support in Congress.

Both parties want to reduce carbon emissions. This bridge issue is an opportunity to show they can work together to solve problems. This is what Americans want.

Valadao had his chance in Congress

In his recent letter, Richard Tipton accuses TJ Cox of failing to represent his constituents by blindly following the lead of Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi in voting for the impeachment of the president, citing his personal issues and purported absence of local roots for his lack of action on behalf of District 21.

Since Representative Cox has been in Washington, he has sponsored or co-sponsored numerous bills, including money for fixing the Friant-Kern Canal, funding for safe drinking water to Valley towns, laws providing easier access for medical care for veterans, grants securing several million dollars for Kings County-area rural transit agencies, and programs addressing issues related to Valley Fever.

His apparent opponent, however, Hanford farmer and former incumbent David Valadao, who had his own financial issues, accomplished almost nothing during his tenure as our representative, voting nearly 100 percent of the time with Republican colleagues Kevin McCarthy and Devin Nunes supporting Trump's agenda, including stripping thousands of his constituents of their health care through repeal of ACA and cutting funds for SNAP, despite representing one of the poorest congressional districts in California.

In November, District 21 voters will decide who is working for them now and who had his chance.

Democracy requires constant vigilance

For students of history let’s do some comparisons. In the 1930s the demagogue Hitler convinced a large percentage of the population of Germany to buy into his view of the world at that time. His view of the world seems somewhat similar to what is going on in the United States today. I would argue that an attempt to scapegoat a minority by blaming them for the ills of society was similar to Hitler’s blaming the Jews, a minority, for the ills of his society. He created a society of suspicion, hatred and fear, especially for those who did not follow in lockstep with him. We have a leader today who’s creating suspicion, hatred, and fear. He vilifies those who are in his mind disloyal, and do not march in lockstep with him.

Think it could not happen here, think again. We are not immune from succumbing to evil. A democratic society requires constant vigilance. Hitler’s evil did not emerge overnight. It took patience and cunning to erode civilized society. But once he found enough followers, that is what happened.

Think it can’t happen here, guess again. In fact, it might already be happening.

This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Leaving California: Letters to the editor, Feb. 14, 2020."