JUL 2013 – President’s Article by Daney Bachiu

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I love history. It was my favorite subject in school. On July 4th, I usually reread the Declaration of Independence (ok, not all of it, but the first few pages) When I go to the fireworks at the U of R, I get all lump-throated and teary eyed as they play all those patriotic songs. This year, I decided to reread the history leading up to the Declaration of Independence. I am amazed at the correlation between then and now. Then as now, we have a governing body that makes all the rules. Then, was a Monarchy, King George III.  Now, we have Washington DC. Then as now, there is a huge debt that the governing body is trying to get paid. Then, it was the war debt from the 7 Year War with France. Now it’s a multi-trillion dollar debt caused by a government out of control. Then as now, the ruling party is taxing the masses in order to pay off said debt. Then as now, “we the people” have no representation in this taxation. But wait you say, we DO have elected officials who represent us. Do they really? True, we elect them, but they do not represent the majority of the American people. Unless you hold the purse strings to a huge money filled purse, you might get a pat on the back, or a form letter thanking you for your concern, but little more.

The fact is, our elected representatives are only going to do what gets them elected or re-elected, and if that means ignoring the will of the majority in favor of an affluent minority then so be it. Then as now, those in power heap on tax after tax, law after law, crushing the American people.

Then, there were 7 Acts passed in a 10 year time span that gravely affected the Colonists.

1764, The Sugar Tax (OMG! who says history doesn’t repeat)
1765 The Stamp Act,
1765 The Quartering Act,
1766 The Declaratory Act,
1767 The Townshend Act,
1773 The Tea Act
and 1774 The Intolerable Acts.
 
Now, there are so many Federal laws, that after a 2 hour search I could only come up with the fact that there are  23,000 pages of Federal laws. The Council of State Governments in Lexington Kentucky reports that 14,227 laws were passed in 2010. This is an average of 284 laws per state.  California takes the prize for the most with 745 laws passed and this was a slow year! (It is usually upwards of 1000). This last “then and now”, is sadly, worlds apart. Then we had a citizenry that rebelled against an unfair and unjust ruling party. They said, Enough! and did something about it.
 
Now, we are apathetic, the majority of us don’t even vote…shame on us! Oh, the American people nowadays, we still get riled and we still get mad. We complain to family, friends and neighbors, we might even attend a City Council meeting to voice an opinion. And then, the majority of us drop the ball, put on our comfy slippers, turn on the TV and forget all about what we were upset about and think it all just goes away. We all know it doesn’t go away, something else just comes along to take its place and off we go on another tangent.
 
If you do not like the Government and what it is doing, don’t get mad at the politicians, it’s not their fault. We have exactly the kind of government we deserve, because we do NOTHING to hold our politicians accountable.  Every law that passes that adversely affects us, our loved ones, our businesses, and our freedom is OUR fault because we allow it to happen by doing nothing. The saddest, most dangerous and biggest threat to our country and our freedom is that we are
setting this horrible example for our children and grandchildren. They see us do doing nothing to change what is wrong and they will follow in our footsteps, getting mad, getting vocal, and doing nothing.
 
For the sake of generations to come, pick something you want changed,  it doesn’t have to be earthshattering, and act upon it. Keep on it until you actually see the change happening. Make sure your children or grandchildren see your actions and perhaps participate in your endeavors. This is such a tremendous legacy to give them, knowing they have the power to effect change in this world. Or, we can keep doing nothing and 2 or 3 generations down the road, they will be celebrating July 4th as “Picnic in the Park Day” and nothing more. God Bless America, Land that I Love. She really needs our love.

 

JUL 2013 – City News by Council Member Bob Gardner

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If it’s summer it must be time to consider the City of Redlands budget.   This year we finished our work on the 2013-2014 city budget June 4, much earlier than other cities.   Our budget discussion included meetings with our city manager and department heads, and review of several options for both increasing and decreasing spending.

Details on the final budget approved by the City Council are available on our city website.   From my perspective, the budget meets what I call “The Big Four” criteria I use to create a good and responsible budget.  First, it is balanced, meaning we are not spending more than the revenue we anticipate receiving during the fiscal year.  Put another way, we are living within our means.  Second, we are not using any funds from our General Fund reserves.  This is important because we need to continue to build our reserves for future security and for insurance for unforeseen events.   Third, we are not using any loans from other funds to balance the General Fund in this budget.   We have reduced the loans outstanding to the General Fund, and I hope we make more progress in reducing loan balances generally as we look to future year budgets.  Finally, we have no tax increases in this budget.   This is good for our residents who of course do not want any tax increases.  More discussion will be needed in the future as to how the city will expand its revenue base beyond economic growth to pay for needed improvements, especially infrastructure.

I am pleased that we have been able to get this budget approved on time and that it provides the necessary services and programs to keep our city a great place to live, work, and play.   I welcome any input on our city budget from residents and business owners.