Inland Utopia

Due to a collapsing housing market, thousands of houses are in deep disrepair. Pools never drained filled with mosquitoes and disease, foreclosed residents treating their homes like dumps and or letting their lawns grow foot long weeds such as demonstrated by a local resident.

The irony that follows is the distressed homeowner has a house for sale, short sale sign on the front lawn. However the home is a lovely dump and does not scream the words “BUY ME” to the motorists passing along the street.

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I understand that our public university system is suffering due to the collapsing economy and lack of support from Sacramento. Unfortunately I am not in the condition to donate money at this time and would love to be taken off the solicitation list from the school until I am able to donate. Not all of us are scientists, attorneys or other professionals that could afford to give a few hundreds to help pay it forwards. I would love to help out, but when the student callers call over and over on the same day when they are told that I have no spare money it does not help the cause.

If the school wants to help make it possible for the next generation of students to get a quality education maybe for the students who are lost after graduation provide them guidance so they would be able to donate back and feel that their education was a worthwhile investment, not a debt.

Matthew Munson ’03

Face it the economy is in trouble and public universities are struggling hard. Alumni associations are trying their best to help support their schools with scholarships and supplemental funding.

My sister has over 20 thousand in school debt with a good amount of personal debt and she is still trying to find a decent job to pay off her debts from school and the alumni association is asking her for a 100.00 donation.

Just because someone graduates from a school means that they produced someone who is raking in the bank. There are case examples such as the part time retail worker with a BA in social sciences or a BA in art, the MA in education struggling to find a job as an educator due to the cut backs.

Maybe if the schools want to improve the donations from their alumni they need to offer better career guidance services even if the students do not actively seek it out. Maybe require a 1 unit course to be completed by the end of the student’s junior year to explore how will the student find a career that is related to their field of study.

I do not believe in being a miser even though I am not making much money. I carry my alumni’s association affinity debit card. At least I know a buck or two is given to the school and I am at least doing something.

Maybe if my sister’s school joined up with Bank of America for their debit cards, she could at least do her part despite the tough times many of us are facing right now.

I do not envy the students who get hired to do cold calls to boost the funding of the schools we have attended, but the administrators should figure out how to boost funds without having to harass the underemployed who are suffering just as bad.

California’s economy is one of the most struggling economies of the United States, thanks to the recently passed law AB 32. Californians will pay more for the goods and services needed for our daily lives.

If we want an economic stimulus to help provide the jobs, the growth of our economy and the opportunity to our people, we need to suspend this misguided piece of legislation.

All these taxes in the name of climate change, is merely a way for the government to extort more money from the struggling businesses and consumers of our state. Our state needs to be freed from these regulatory chains in order for our economy to excel.

The website is not a petition per say like to pass a proposition, but its a statement to the legislators in California that we want AB 32 suspended so we can restore our economy now.

Visit http://suspendab32.org for more information.