As a special Thanksgiving holiday treat, I am pleased to share with FR readers this outstanding column penned for the FlashReport by Dan Logue. Dan, an oustanding conservative from the North State was elected to the California State Assembly earlier this month, and will be sworn in next week. Once you read this column, I am sure you will agree with me that Dan is headed to Sacramento with the right philosophy and mindset to help provide real solutions to the challenges facing Golden State government…
DECENTRALIZE CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT
Throughout the recent election season, Californians have been hearing – and making their voices heard – about the need for change at the federal level.
Far less frequent, however, is discussion about the need for change in how Californians are governed at the state level.
I strongly believe that any debate about the state budget must include fundamental reforms that will free cities and counties from Sacramento’s inefficiencies, and greatly expand decision-making authority to our local elected officials.
No one can deny that California government has become ever more centralized and dysfunctional. For the past forty years, state government has accumulated political and economic power well beyond what is necessary or desirable from the vantage point of local control and individual freedom.
We must never forget that the more government is centralized at the state level, the more freedom is limited at the local level.
By its very nature, state centralization creates a culture of dependency upon our citizens and our local governance structure that is rigid, unresponsive, and ultimately far more expensive for the taxpayer. Whenever and wherever state power expands, local control and individual liberty contracts.
Furthermore, it separates the decision-makers from direct public access and accountability, and invites more bureaucracy-driven rules and regulations that burden our lives and businesses.
State centralization of power also hinders our ability to create wealth. The Fords, Wright Brothers, and other visionaries of our great nation were once allowed to soar, creating countless jobs, hope and opportunity through personal initiative and hard work. Today, if someone makes a profit and creates wealth by creating jobs, he or she is “rewarded” by state government over-regulation and higher taxes, and a litigation environment which may force out of business.
November 27th, 2008 at 12:00 am
“Should”–absolutely. “Can”–perhaps, but with great difficulty. Will–I doubt it.
(BTW, your headline kinda misses the point, doesn’t it? DEcentralize is the focus.)
November 27th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Excellent piece, and great way, Jon, to hi-lite one of our incoming leaders.
Thomas Jefferson made reference to the way to ensure good gov’t is to divide it among the many, not the few.
Also, I was wondering myself how a piece by an “outstanding conservative” could be about the need to centralize! Jon, do you want to fix the headline or should I?
November 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Decentralization is a good thing, but there is more to freedom than decentralization. The European nation from which we get our idea of limited government is England. The model decentralized federal nation of Europe is Germany. Too many conservatives are concerned about “decentralization” but not about the amount of authority City Hall has over their property and their lives. Tyranny from City Hall is only a slightly lesser evil than tyranny from Sacramento or Washington, only because I don’t have to move as far to get to another jurisdiction!