I have stated and repeated that I like feedback on any topic I write about. I have had two readers now who have written letters stating that I was wrong in my views of Governor Newsom's and his role in the failing of SVB. As far as I knew the Governor had no role in the failure. After reading the published accounting of the bank failure I see his name wasn't mentioned in the causal factors. I never alluded he had a role in the failure. My point in the article and the response to the first reader's letter wasn't about the Governor's roll in the bank failing, but what he did afterward. Our President stated “there would be no bailout.” Then after Newsom went to Washington and lobbied for the sake of the depositors and stock holders, the President changed his position. The problem with this is our Governor had large deposits in that bank and most of the Shareholders and Depositors were large donors to the Governor's campaign. California State Law forbids Public Officials to lobby or otherwise campaign for actions in which they hold an interest without disclosing the interests. That's against the law and that's my point. Forget the fact most of the people who were about to loose large sums of money were liberals who were donors to Newsom's war chest, He couldn't lobby for the bailout without disclosing his interests in the bank.
On to more important news. President Biden announced his intentions to run for reelection in 2024. Don't think for a minute he will actually do it. The reason for the announcement is to prevent him from becoming a lame duck president. He has much more clout if Congress thinks they may have to deal with him after the election. This will also eliminate some of the weaker candidates who don't have the money to challenge him and other strong candidates. If he does continue to the election, I see him selecting another candidate for Vice President. They're a thousands of Democrats who won't vote for a ticket with a very senior citizen who might pass and leave us with Kamala Harris who has failed at most everything she has been assigned.
Meanwhile on the Republican side. Trump still has his crazy far right following, but he's not electable. Most GOP and almost all Independents won't vote for his craziness again. The only way the can win is to pull their party together and run an electable person. The far right won't vote Democratic and the Independents will vote for a good candidate who has the ability and backing to fix the problems.
Addressing the problems should be the focus of both parties. They will have to have a plan and not just say they will fix the problems. Beware of the candidate who says the problem wasn't theirs but they are in the process of correcting it. Good example is the border. For three years the current administration has left the border wide open, importing a good deal of bad element plus the worst fentanyl epidemic ever. Their solution is to call in the military to help the border patrol. So why did it take three years? I always think outside the box. Why not hire 87,000 border patrol agents instead of IRS agents?
Back to California. I read for every middle or upper class person leaving California there's a low income person replacing him/her. So, instead of collecting income taxes and probably corporate taxes from this person, we will be paying welfare, medicaid, food stamps, or other forms of support. If you own a home, you can expect the value to decrease substantially.
For those who think I'm leaning to far to the right, your right. I'll try to return to the middle. I'm not in favor of cancel culture, nor do I think you should change history. ou should learn from it.
We complain when our children are fed gender bender ideas in the classroom. Teachers cramming socialist ideas to every student. Should we complain or worse, file suit? What would a liberal do if teachers starting baptizing students in class without telling parents much less asking for permission? I used to love it when they graded on the curve. Remember that. If the best grade on a test was 85 and you got a 60, you would probably pass. Two things wrong with this. First the teacher didn't succeed in his/her attempts to help the student learn. Second, the student who got a “B” now has a false sense of worth.
My wife used to teach in the L.A. inner city. The students didn't want to be there, The teachers were despised. The faculty wasn't supportive and the parents didn't care. An all around bad situation. After she witnessed a teacher fall in front of her with a butcher knife sticking in his back we moved to Simi Valley. She now had a job, good students, good parents, and better pay. It did increase my commute to 47 miles one way, but it was worth every mile. She was a good teacher with a good work ethic but the situation made all the difference. The kids were respectful, faculty supportive, and the parents would support any worthwhile idea or effort to help educate their children. I think the important lesson here is without support from the home, two parents who are good role models, progressive management in faculty (another column about the Eli Broad foundation coming), the learning process can't succeed.
Bill White is Retired Air Traffic Controller/Commercial Pilot who lives in Springville.
