So Cal Update

First up, a "perfect storm" . Am I referring to the heat, the Santa Ana winds creating horrible conditions for fighting the fires that surround us from San Diego to San Bernardino.

Perhaps, but I was thinking of the growing storm of strikes by unions in our area. The workers representing over 2/3s of the supermarkets. The MTA bus drivers and mechanics. The county sheriffs going on blue flu. All of the county workers ready to take actions soon.

Coincidence, that we are on the eve of Governor Davis's departure. I don't know???
But the storm still grows while county and state deficits mount, the workers comp is in arrears, and we look at a health care crisis. For the strikers demands are for cutback in health benefits, workers comp is a kind of health benefit, recent legislation that major employers must offer health benefits, and deficits are in some part (with 20 to 40 billion depending on how you calculate, there's a lot of parts) to California medic-aid to the poor and to the illegal immigrants.

But instead of being interested in helping the poor get health care (not to mention not caring if they have transportation or get groceries) as well as any reasonable incentives for businesses to keep jobs in California, they protest having to pay part of the rising costs.

It's not unreasonable to assume it is a political move more than economic especially the timing. (Of course I must admit in the scheme of things, the world is a better place as the Iron Curtain began to crack when the Solidarity union in Poland made political as well as economic demands, and it is alleged that truckers unions made the difference in turning out Allende in Chile)

Anyhow, it will be interesting to see how Arnold makes his presence known if this "perfect storm" continues and grows.