The government is too big. It has too many employees, offices, and regulations. Since 2005, California has lost 1,298,700 private sector jobs, while there has been a net gain of 38,100 state jobs in the same period! Those government jobs cost more too. The average private sector job earned $55,000 in salary compared to an average cost of $90,000 for a government job.
The governor of California makes 3,000 appointees to agencies, commissions, and boards, that cost the taxpayers in salaries, per diems, and other costs, as well as new regulations that stifle businesses and individuals.
We can no longer afford to maintain this size of government, much less, grow it.
My plan to shrink the government includes:
· Taking a business approach to how the state is run and our budget is used. The money that the government spends is not unlimited, yet historically it has been spent it as if it were. Each law and regulation results in a cost to you and me so a cost to you and me so a cost/benefit analysis of each is essential and must not be ignored by legislators.
· Supporting legislation that eliminates, consolidates, and reduces the number of State agencies. We simply do not need as many as we have and those in charge must be capable of making decisions without out-sized support staffs, just as they do in the private sector.
· For those agencies and entities remaining, we need to be as efficient as a for-profit private entity would be through the use of technology and other resources that increase employee productivity year after year.
· Reduce the number of appointees the governor is entitled to make. 3,000 appointments is a sign that we have too many commissions, boards, and other regulatory bodies that are expensive and counter-productive to the goals that state must meet to prosper.
· Government salaries must be in-line with the private sector. There is absolutely no reason why a government employee should be paid more than the private sector rate or have benefits that are far superior. None!
There is no need to debate on how we got to where we are, but it does need to be fixed. Doing nothing would mean that California is not sustainable as an entity as the expenses are far larger than the revenue being generated. Government of itself is not self-sustaining because it does not produce anything. A government that grows too big stifles production by the private sector and eventually shrinks it so that it cannot support that government. That is where California is right now.
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