STATE AND LOCAL FINANCE
Why does it matter?
The morning news details another mugging; it is news because, this time, it is in a "good" neighborhood. Pouring your morning coffee, you wonder why the police are not more vigilant. Later you hear that the mugger has been caught and this is not his first offense. You wonder what his probation officer has been doing.
Driving your grandson to school, there is additional graffiti on the overpass near the school, and last week's swear words have not yet been erased. As you leave your grandson at the school, you think about how large his class has grown, that the building needs paint, and that he has complained that there is no orange construction paper (and it's October!).
On the way to the grocery store you drive over another pothole. It is getting harder to avoid the corners where homeless folks stand with "Will work for food" signs.
You want to stop at the library on your way home, but realize that the library has cut back its hours and will not open until noon. You wonder why the city is not acting more quickly to solve the problems that are affecting your quality of life.
A cogent argument can be made that there IS a connection between the above thoughts and the fact that your community has fewer and fewer resources, and many of those resources have strings attached. The state's authority to allocate resources strikes at the very heart of a local government's ability to meet public demands and expectations. Although not "sexy," state and local finances matters more than we may have realized!
--LWVC, Adapted from the newsletter of the Association of Bay Area Governments
