• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

All You Need to Know for Yes On X, Part I

October 6, 2013 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

More tea, anyone?
More tea, anyone?

Arguments against Measure X fall into two categories. The first category consists of those who are against taxes and against government, period. Call them the Grover Norquist crowd.

Norquist’s wish to reduce government, “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub,” has come true in many places, especially California cities hard hit by the Great Recession. As government continues to shrink, however, many Norquist supporters have had to rethink their pledge to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”

In fact, some local conservatives, including State Assembly member Kristin Olsen, have renounced the Norquist pledge altogether. That’s most likely because it’s become more and more evident that even the best-intentioned actions can go too far.

And lest anyone forget their lessons in U.S. history, one of the primary reasons for forming government in the first place was to protect private property. In our cities, that job is given to police officers. And when there’s not enough money to pay for police officers, it’s a sign that government is near collapse, but not the kind of collapse even Grover Norquist would wish for.

In Modesto, a city beset by poverty, high crime rates, and ongoing revenue shortfalls, our police force is now operating at a per capita number far below the national average. In the last five years, the police force has been cut by fifty-five officers.

But the clearest evidence of our need for law enforcement is our own eyes and ears. Most of us know someone who has been burglarized, and many of us have ourselves been robbed. We have tended to blame the lack of a prompt police response on the police force, without really thinking through what happens when “government” shrinks, “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”

When we shop at a store without enough employees to provide good service, or sit in a restaurant without sufficient servers, we experience a sense of neglect. But in those cases, we don’t blame the help, we blame the owner.

We’ve forgotten that we’re the owners of government, and, like the proprietor of the restaurant, we need to hire enough help. The Norquist crowd will always claim the problem is the result of government waste, but Modesto and Stanislaus County have had a long succession of ultra-conservative leaders. They cut until there was no more to cut, then they cut some more.

There are plenty of strong arguments against Measure X, but those made by Grover Norquist’s acolytes are not among them. The anti-government hysteria of the last thirty years has not resulted in a better quality of life for America’s middle class, and budget-cutting has not brought Modesto a safer or stronger community.

Like those who would close down the federal government, the Norquist crowd’s loyalty is not to Modesto, but to a failed ideology. Their reality is skewed by tea party principles that seek to rise above law and gravity into an airless realm where the rules don’t apply.

Meanwhile, we need more police officers. It’s that simple.

Next: The second category: Strong arguments against Measure X, and why they aren’t strong enough.

Filed Under: Featured, Politics Tagged With: Modesto Measure X, Yes on X Modesto

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

California's coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: 'The devil is already here'
California’s coronavirus strain looks increasingly dangerous: ‘The devil is already here’
California’s coronavirus strain is more transmissible than its predecessors, is more resistant to vaccines and may cause more severe cases of COVID-19.
www.latimes.com
More Than 150 Biz Leaders Endorse Biden's Sweeping COVID Package
More Than 150 Biz Leaders Endorse Biden’s Sweeping COVID Package
More than 150 business leaders from various industries have signed a letter backing President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief…
talkingpointsmemo.com
Exclusive: Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP's voters
Exclusive: Defeated and impeached, Trump still commands the loyalty of the GOP’s voters
www.usatoday.com
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump Is Coming Again
In the growing community of charismatic Christian prophecy, faith in Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House is a new dividing line.
www.politico.com
AOC raises $1 million in Texas relief, heading to Houston as Ted Cruz douses Cancun flames
AOC raises $1 million in Texas relief, heading to Houston as Ted Cruz douses Cancun flames
The New York congresswoman said she would travel to Houston to highlight the problems faced by Texans hit by power outages and freezing weather.
www.newsweek.com
Rush Limbaugh Did His Best to Ruin America
Rush Limbaugh Did His Best to Ruin America
How the right-wing talk radio icon corrupted the Republican Party, spread hate, racism, and lies, and laid the groundwork for Trumpism
www.rollingstone.com
?I Don?t Trust the People Above Me?: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection
“I Don’t Trust the People Above Me”: Riot Squad Cops Open Up About Disastrous Response to Capitol Insurrection
Interviews with 19 current and former officers show how failures of leadership and communication put hundreds of Capitol cops at risk and allowed rioters to get dangerously close to members of Congress.
www.propublica.org
Opinion | Trump’s Non-Vindication
Opinion | Trump’s Non-Vindication
He may run again, but he won’t win another national election.
www.wsj.com
Convicted or not, Trump is history – it's Biden who's changing America | Robert Reich
Convicted or not, Trump is history – it’s Biden who’s changing America | Robert Reich
Republican infighting has created a political void into which Democrats are stepping with far-reaching reforms
www.theguardian.com
Lancet: Trump Policies Responsible for at least 200,000 COVID Deaths (vital/detailed/devastating/referenced) ? Veterans Today | Military Foreign Affairs Policy Journal for Clandestine Services
Lancet: Trump Policies Responsible for at least 200,000 COVID Deaths (vital/detailed/devastating/referenced) Veterans Today | Military Foreign Affairs Policy Journal for Clandestine Services
www.veteranstoday.com
Trump?s Lawyers Mocked Democracy and Reasoned Debate
Trump’s Lawyers Mocked Democracy and Reasoned Debate
Rationality and demagoguery fought it out on Senate floor, but the better arguments won’t convince most Republicans.
www.thenation.com
Biden Halts Trump Rule That Gutted a Landmark Bird Protection Law
Biden Halts Trump Rule That Gutted a Landmark Bird Protection Law
The rollback of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was set to take effect February 8, but now the new rule is in trouble.
www.audubon.org

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design