KILLCARB.ORG - Mark Leno

Sent: 11/01/09	Reply:
11-1-09 Sent to: Senator Mark Leno Assembly Member Jared Huffman Senator Dianne Feinstein Senator Barbara Boxer Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger From: Jesse Owings Kaposi Marin County, California Subject: Budget- Reduce Government Waste and suggestions to help I am a citizen of California and I live in Marin County. I was born and raised here. I am a 30 year old busy student. I don’t have as much time as I would like to write you a letter. I am concerned about the State budget and I have some suggestions to help with the problem. I see many agencies using up billions of dollars with little benefit to the people of California. I’ve worked at numerous municipalities where I saw first hand thousands of dollars of waste every month. I see inexcusable tax dollar waste rampant through out our state and federal governments. There are hundreds if not thousands of state agencies in California that have little or no benefit for the people of California. Not only that but these agencies make my life more difficult by fining me or forcing me to pay fees and adding additional cost to products and services that I need. For example, gas in California is more expensive then anywhere else in the nation. Smog checks on my car cost me about $100 which is going to increase in 2010 because the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is going to rule that all current dynamometers must be replaced to meet new, more stringent regulation. I can’t burn wood in my fireplace to keep my home warm on a “spare the air day.” I burn wood because I can’t afford to heat my house with a heater. These regulations are increasing the cost of living in California so high that I could wind up on welfare. Side Note: Wood burring is carbon neutral. The burning process just speeds up the decomposition process. Government workers on the public payroll don’t seem to understand that when they regulate everything in sight the extra cost of doing business is passed down to me, the consumer, as in increased prices for gas, services, energy etc. I’m having trouble naming any state agency that has proved beneficial for me except for the department of education, law enforcement and the fire department. I hear commercials on the radio advertising the mere existence of state agencies. These agencies are spending our tax dollars to create public awareness of their existence. Why is this allowed? This is an inexcusable waste of our tax dollars! It is not necessary for the DMV to advertise itself, so why is it necessary for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and CARB to do so? Another agency responsible for tax dollar waste is the California Water Resources Board. They want to spend billions of dollars on AB 885. We already have regulations locally enforced by our counties that manage these regulations. Not only that but if this bill passes it means that people using a septic tank will have to pay an annual $325 inspection fee. For what benefit? People maintain these tanks on their own otherwise they wouldn’t be able to flush their toilet. On a federal level I found out that Nancy Pelosi has been provided a private jet to fly back and forth from San Francisco to Washington at a cost of $60,000 a week while she promotes policies that limit the amount of resources I should use. Consider all of the pollution created by these government agencies who manage our air and water quality. They occupy huge administrative buildings full of thousands of people producing pollution through their energy demands: lighting, heating, cooling, maintenance, machines and etcetera. And the people have to get to their workplace DRIVING CARS. Consider all of the manufacturing that goes into production of pamphlets, fliers, pens, and bumper stickers used to advertise and “educate the public.” Consider the manufacturing of all of the equipment used by these agencies: chairs, desks, computers and so on. There are about 340 employees in the Bay Area Air Quality Management District alone (wikipedia). And the California Air Resources Board operates on a $759 million annual budget (wikipedia). Whatever happened to cost vs. benefit analysis? I’d say all of the so-called benefit and reduction in pollution attributed to the effort of these organizations is negated by their mere existence. If the employees of these organizations got a job in the real world, they would benefit our community instead of taxing it and levying fines on it to pay for their existence. In closing: What’s next? I can’t mow my lawn, smoke a cigarette, BBQ or drive to work on a “spare the air day”? I’d say that I don’t own my house any more. I’ll just mail my mortgage payment to the government every month. The money spent on wages and benefits of most government employees could be spent so much more wisely to help reduce pollution. Again, whatever happened to cost vs. benefit analysis? The money could be spent insulating and weatherizing people’s homes, or to create a fund that would help people pay their PG&E bill and therefore not have to burn wood to keep warm, or to create a fund to assist people in purchasing an EPA certified wood stove to replace their non-compliant stove, or to create a fund that would assist Chinese manufacturing companies to become less polluting by funding the implementation of more green practices. Remember, we all live on the same earth. Lastly, why should government workers have a state provided car? Why can’t you drive to work in your own car and pay for your own gas like everyone else does? You will not receive my vote in the next election unless you actively work to disband CARB and stop excessive regulation that only benefits the growth of government. I will educate other people about this problem and your position on this issue. I am dependant on my government representatives to make good decisions but it seems that many of their decisions are made in their own self interest. Jesse O. Kaposi Resident of Marin County CA.	From: <Senator.Leno@outreach.senate.ca.gov> Date: Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 12:42 PM Subject: From the Office of Senator Mark Leno To: Jesse Kaposi Thank you for contacting my office to express your comments regarding funding for the California Air Resources Board (CARB). I appreciate your taking the time to voice your opinion on this important issue. California continues to be the leader on environmental issues. The policies that we adopt are emulated throughout the United States as we strive to improve the health and quality of life of our residents, both present and future generations. As we begin the process of reviewing the various departments and agencies of our government, I will keep your comments and concerns in mind. Thank you again for contacting me. If you have any further questions or thoughts regarding this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (415) 479-6612 (San Rafael), (415) 557-1300 (San Francisco) or visit my website at www.senate.ca.gov/leno. Sincerely, Mark Leno Senator, 3^rd Senate District