Parks and Wreck; Beauty and the Waste

I paid California income tax for thirty years, and it was my understanding that a portion of that was to go to maintaining and improving the state parks. That system was in place before I arrived, but I felt it was justified, and, in fact, I even paid an entry fee on several occasions to supplement my contribution.

Over the years, however, the lawmakers (for most of whom I didn't vote) have allowed the parks to fall into disrepair, and they are now closing some of them. You know where much of that money has gone instead, and we all know how much of it has been wasted.

For several months now I have been receiving solicitations from the California State Parks Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to doing the job the Legislature has abdictated. I am deeply saddened that future generations may be deprived of some of the beauty I have enjoyed, but I am very angry about what the government has done, and I want them to fix it instead of forcing me to "hire" someone else to clean up their mess.

(My earlier suggestion to cut the size of the Legislature in half would probably fund the whole thing, if not more.)