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How can Schwarzenegger campaign for his water bond while slashing salaries?

Posted by: Maven on July 31, 2008 at 11:09 pm

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger must live in a parallel reality from the one that Californians actually live in.

The same Governor who is working relentlessly to pass a budget-busting $9.3 billlion water bond today, with absolutely no sense of irony, issued an executive order slashing the salaries of 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $ 6.55 per hour and immediately laying off 20,000 temporary workers until California passes a budget.

“Today I am exercising my executive authority to avoid a full-blown crisis and keep our state moving forward,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “This is not an action I take lightly, but we do not have a budget, and as Governor, I have a responsibility to make sure our state has enough money to pay its bills.” …

On Schwarzenegger’s watch, Central Valley king salmon have collapsed to the lowest recorded population level, due to the Governor’s zeal in increasing water exports to his buddies in corporate agribusiness. The same increase in water exports is also the key factor in the collapse of three pelagic species – the delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass, and threadfin shad – as documented by a team of federal and state scientists.

The same Governor who is slashing Governor’s salaries last week spoke at a Capitol rally touting the “benefits” of a $9.3 billion “compromise” water bond sponsored by him and Senator Dianne Feinstein. The proposal, opposed by a coalition of fishing groups, Indian Tribes, conservationorganizations and Delta residents, includes two new dams and a peripheral canal. The bond would build the infrastructure to export more even more water out of the Delta, further imperiling collapsing salmon and other fish populations.

Read more from Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org by clicking here.

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Legislation - State & Federal

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