It’s worthwhile every so often to look for the silver lining in the storm clouds over this state.  After all, we do have a new President!  That seems to be working out!  And his pick for EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, was confirmed last night.  Which means that it’s probably only a matter of days before California gets its long-sought waiver to regulate tailpipe emissions.

With a new occupant in the White House, California could soon start enforcing its landmark 2002 law requiring a sharp reduction in vehicle emissions.

State leaders and environmentalists are pressing for quick approval of a waiver that would let California and at least 13 other states impose tougher air-quality standards than allowed under federal law. The Bush administration rejected the request a year ago, but that could be reversed by President Barack Obama and his environmental team.

During the presidential campaign, Obama said he backed the California law. Last year, he co-sponsored a bill by Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California to approve the waiver.

“If I’m confirmed, I will immediately revisit the waiver,” Lisa Jackson, Obama’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, told Boxer at her confirmation hearing last week.

This would set in motion a program to reduce emissions from vehicles by 30 percent over the next seven years.  It would spur alternative transportation development like SUPERTRAINS out of necessity, and force the production of clean-energy vehicles.  Industry was not going to innovate on their own; they had 30 years to recognize this problem but they sat on their hands.  It’s not a question of whether or not we can afford to implement this; given the natural disasters like wildfires that hit the state with increasing frequency, given the melting of the Sierra snowpack which decreases our access to water resources, given the public health effects of dirty air (a recent report showed that clean air increases lifespans by up to three years), given all the ancillary costs of climte change, we can’t afford not to.

The Governor and state leaders have been lobbying for the waiver since President Obama’s inauguration, and I’m confident that we’ll see granting within the next week.

Californians cannot find work anymore.

California’s unemployment rate jumped nearly a full percentage point from November to December, settling at 9.3 percent, the highest rate in 15 years.

Only a year earlier, in December 2007, unemployment was 5.9 percent, according to twin surveys by the California Employment Development Department.

My guess would be that double-digit unemployment is on the way by next month, February at the latest.  Because the greatest problem with state government is that the tax structure is too closely tied to a boom-and-bust economic cycle, with no stable revenue sources (2/3 just enforces that insanity), less jobs means less income tax revenue, so watch that commonly cited $41.8 billion dollar budget deficit number to expand greatly.  So a lot of money from that State Fiscal Stabilization Fund will just fill the hole between assumed revenues and reality.  Then people who are trying to count on any money source are going to get an IOU in the mail instead of their tax refund.

We.  Are.  Screwed.

• The Senate Republicans have a slew of publications that they flood my inbox with every so often.  Mostly they are a series of missives based upon their ridiculous ideology. But on occasion they put a somewhat fact-based publication on balance billing. They still sneak some of their views in there, but in a subtle way.  But it is a fairly good concise discussion of the court decisions on the issue of billing patients for the difference between cost and insurance payments to hospitals.

• Larry Lessig and http://Change-Congress.org are doing a donor/supporter strike. You can join the strike right here.  The current leader is none other than our very own Dianne Feinstein.

• More horserace gubernatorial coverage, this time from SacBee.  And Newsweek.  Meanwhile, Rasmussen is running head-to-head matchups two years out showing Meg Whitman very competitive.  I’m going to wait until, I don’t know, people even recognize what party she belongs to, before putting any stock in a poll.  She isn’t even riding off her own name recognition, she’s riding off of eBay’s.

• Jeff Denham gets all nitpicky on rules.

• Some takes on the PPIC Infrastructure Report: Wildermuth of the Chronicle and Dan Walters of the Bee. As Robert mentioned today, we must create new revenue streams. I don’t know where they all come from, but we must look beyond simple gas taxes and user fees.  If we fail on infrastructure, our long-term business climate becomes increasingly bleak.

• Richie Ross, consultant to such notables as Carole Migden and Heather Fargo, has a pretty good take on Prop 8, comparing it to Prop 187.  While a lot of people thought Prop 187 was just good politics at the time, the GOP “Southern Strategy” isn’t really paying long term dividends.  Or, actually it is, but just for Democrats. Marriage equality will one day be the law of the land, and those who stood in the way will be nothing greater than a modern George Wallace.

In a missive sent out today, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s press team sent out an email for those of you who don’t regularly read the Flash Report.  In it they point to the recent article calling John Chiang “The Union Tool” by none other than John Fleischman himself.  I don’t know if Arnold is trying to promote John Chiang for higher office, because saying that Chiang stands up for the unions is a pretty sure way to win a Democratic primary. But that’s neither here nor there, as it is becoming quite clear that Chiang isn’t one of Arnold’s favorite political chums.

Anyway, Fleischman’s article goes on to point out that Chiang has a bunch of * gasp* union endorsements.  Oooh, that must make him a bad man and totally incapable of opposing a union. Maybe Chiang thought about signing a pledge to make sure his recalcitrance was complete.

A note to all you right-wingers intent on demonizing the (somewhat factionalized) union movement. Democratic leaders support California’s workers, and that is not going to change.  But unlike Republicans who swear an oath to recalcitrance over sound public policy, Democrats aren’t mindless vote zombies. There can be no greater sellout to the state than signng an oath which puts itself over sound policy.  You want to see a special interest tool, just check the Republican Legislative Roster.  We don’t need to name a long string of names to indicate their allegiance.  Special interest, thy name is Howard Jarvis.  

And as for you, Gov. InPocket DeCalChamber, those in glass houses and all that.  

The economic recovery that is currently being bandied about in Congress, particularly in the House, would deliver $4.5 billion dollars for infrastructure projects to California.  That’s 10% of overall infrastructure spending, which is in line with our population, but the overall pot for infrastructure is too small nationwide, and that kind of relief is not enough to make a dent in the budget nightmare.  The fact that money for tax cuts designed to snare Republican votes is crowding out infrastructure spending and job creation contributes to this, but the other problem is the deteriorating nature of our infrastructure, which could cost half a trillion dollars to fix properly.  All that money doesn’t have to come from the Feds, but with the bond markets unwilling to deliver for California until a budget solution is made, $4.5 billion over two years is a drop in the bucket, and the problem will grow worse.  This shows why floating bonds is a horrible way to fund government.

The report cites California’s dependence on bond financing as a chief reason the state can’t meet its infrastructure financing needs. California has increasingly used borrowing through state general obligation bonds to finance infrastructure projects. But the need for infrastructure investment far exceeds the capacity of these bonds, according to the report, Paying for Infrastructure: California’s Choices. Years of declining investment have left the state with crumbling classrooms, congested roads, and an aging levee network that puts many homes and businesses in harm’s way. Problems in the government bond market are making it more difficult to sell the bonds already authorized, and in the long term, large projected budget shortfalls will limit the state’s ability to rely on these bonds to meet California’s future needs.

We can of course see this right now, and the effects are widespread.  With the bond markets frozen, environmental projects all over the state have to be shut down, having a very real impact on the environment and public health.  Forget the more innovative projects we’d all like to see strengthened with fiscal investment – like the growth of the solar industry and even wave harvesting, the type of green jobs that can save our economy – we’re not even going to be able to clean the ocean this year.

If swimmers in Santa Monica Bay bump into trash or bacteria this summer, one culprit will be California’s budget impasse.

Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of voter-approved projects have been halted because of the state’s financial problems. That includes $12 million that the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission was counting on to prevent dirty storm water and filthy runoff from draining into the bay.

“People expect to be able to enjoy the beach and not come home sick,” said state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), chairwoman of the state Senate Water and Natural Resources Committee.

The money freeze has immobilized construction of new biking trails along the Santa Ana River in San Bernardino and Orange counties. It has stopped plans to tear down the Matilija Dam in Ventura County and restore the sediment-filled Matilija reservoir. It has impeded efforts to boost the populations of salmon and steelhead trout off the coast of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

These are not small inconveniences.  A new report from Brigham Young University scientists shows that cleaner air, for example, has a direct effect on increasing the lifespan of a population.  There is a cost to bad borrowing.  If we can’t fund infrastructure, the ports and the oceans don’t get cleaned.  Smog reduction projects may shutter.  The air gets dirtier.  And you die three years earlier.

California’s delegation needs to push for General Fund relief in the recovery package, as well as federal guarantees for our municipal bonds, which would frankly jump-start projects faster than anything.  If it’s good enough for the banks, it should be good enough for California.

UPDATE: OK, the CBPP has a more comprehensive report, and the numbers are much more in line with current needs.  They predict that California will get $11.1 billion in increased Medi-Cal spending, and $7.8 billion from a new State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, in addition to the infrastructure spending.  That approaches $20 billion over the next two fiscal years.

Now THAT’S better.

I was at work yesterday, working.  This has been a very big week on many fronts but the elation of a shiny new President Obama was going to end quickly.  I just gave notice that I would finally be cutting back my hours (And it scares the hell out of me, because I just kissed 25% of my income away) due to chronic illness.  It was time.

And my Mother has been dealing with issues related to my Grandmother’s health.  My Grandmother can no longer care for herself and it was a very tough time for my Mom, to know her Mother can never go back home again.

And then what?  I get a phone call from my Mother that she’d just been laid off.  She had been working at the same company for over ten years, underpaid and overworked and taken for granted.  And to top things off, they escorted her from the building, letting her know she could clear up her desk after working hours.

I understand the need to do this but I also feel it’s just cruel.  And to hear my Mother sobbing on the phone, my Mom who had already been dealing with so much recently, it broke my heart. She’s worked her whole life, she deserves better than this.

My Mom knows the reality of things, she knows that at 61 years old she will find it very difficult to get another job and she is just not ready to retire yet.  Unfortunately, my Mother doesn’t have much retirement savings and was hoping to really stockpile in the last few years of working.

My Mother is a young 61, she still goes to concerts and loves her life and her granddaughter very much.  I don’t think of 61 as “old”, not anymore.  And personally, I think it should be her choice.  It’s up to her.

The bright side is that she is technically employed until February 18th and she has health insurance, etc.  She is going to visit every doctor possible and get anything taken care of before her last work day.  She is also receiving three months severence and then will have a chance to apply for unemployment.  After she had had a chance to calm down (She told me through sobs that she had to pee and that they probably wouldn’t let her back in the building.  My Mom is a spitfire, she said she might as well just pee in their parking lot) she realized that she had time to find another job and time to help the transition for my Grandmother from her rehabilitation home to a new permanent home.

There is a lot to do, they have to clear out my Grandmother’s belongings (I’ve already been offerred her China and her sewing machine) so they can either sell her house or rent it out.  My Grandmother has two years savings to pay for her care already socked away and she’s one of those lucky ones.  My Grandfater worked for ConEdison for forty years, she gets his pension and his social security.  But we know times are different now.

But our whole family has already sworn that we would be there for each through thick or thin and that the next few months were going to be tough ones.  I told my husband the news and his first reaction was, “Do I need to clean out the spare room?”  Yes, he’s a good guy.  If it came to that, my Mother could move in with us and she could rent her condo and pay her mortgage that way.  There are always things to be done.

And so, when Barack Obama said that we’d all have to sacrifice, I knew he was right.  We all knew he was right, that we would all have to help each other.  I just think yesterday’s news was so out of the blue.  But just as many here have already proved, most of our jobs are not “safe”.

So please, say a little prayer, send a little thought to my Mother and Grandmother, they need it but I also know that it will all work out just fine.  

Both women have worked their whole lives, my Grandmother caring for her four kids and then my ailing Grandfater.  She’s always been there to help raise her Grandkids, she also deserves better.  She’s 4’9″ and a tiny little Italian lady, everyone thinks she’s just adorable with her chin hairs and her cooky hair cut.  She’s just my Grandmother.

Update:  I just got this email.

Toshiba/Tabs in Irvine and they laid off about 100 employess between Monday & Tuesdaybasically did the same thing walked them right out and wouldn’t let them get their personal effects they have to come back Friday after 6pm.

And a personal note since this is A California Blog, my husband teaches at Cerritos College and we’re not even sure he will get paid next month.  So how are we going to pay our mortgage with an IOU?