open letter

to whom it may concern:
as the days pass without a budget in california, my mind turns to the well being of others--of people i don't know and probably never will. fear often accompanies my thoughts. what will happen to people with disabilities, families on welfare, people without health care coverage, homeless people, and communities of color who continue to live in depressed areas? when we are asked to find cost-saving measures by cutting unnecessary or "wasteful" programs, i fear for the gaping hole that is left from such cuts. i fear that through the only lens of budget, we lose sight of our values and see people as waste.
when california has no budget, who suffers most? when a budget is accepted, to what degree will the most underserved populations diminish and die--in spirit and in the flesh?
while we are in such a dismal time, i feel like an outsider to the state of california, my native and current home. it is hard to fathom the hypocrisy of our state, our governor, and the messages we put out about who we are as a state. so little is being done, real solutions and governmental decisiveness is so slow. accountability and responsibility seems lost in the current system. the california public universities are held in such high esteem, yet continue to receive less and less state monies. commercials invite people to work in california, yet our unemployment rate is among the highest in the country.
these are the current issues. poor planning, little action, and the apparent need for social status quo is what has turned california spiraling into a downfall.
unfortunately, people who get the least amount of support will get less and the systems that tend to bring the most equity socially, culturally, and economically (namely, schools, community colleges, and universities) are being whittled down, unable even to strive for equity. while people who directly contributed toward california's political and economic decision-making still have jobs.
it saddens me that when the economy slips, so does the value for equity. how can we be the land of opportunity when we can't offer any? how are we the golden state; progressive, aware, and multicultural when we are lackluster in our standards?
we are not who we say we are, and that saddens me the most because we have such great potential.
i hope for our potential to be realized even in the face of adversity.
--concerned california citizen