Evaluate All Entitlements
By Hilbert Morales
El Observador
Federal programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medi-Cal are entitlements provided to eligible individuals. Many other entitlements are subsidies provided to corporations. These are all the subsidies, which government agencies provide for a variety of reasons and may have been reasonable when enacted. Unfortunately, most entitlements, except those for human services, are not reviewed and evaluated on a periodic basis. This needs to be done by both Congress and state legislatures, especially the California State Legislature, because of the influence of lobbyists and their special interests.
The Land Bank program of the Department of Agriculture needs such a review along with its distribution of food. Another is the prescription drug industry, which today enjoys a non-competitive national market wherein pricing is not subject to market competition.
In California the most important entitlement that needs full disclosure and review is that of water allocation. Some years ago, a book entitled "Cadillac Desert" revealed how large amounts of government subsidies were used to create water storage (dams & reservoirs) and distribution systems (aqueducts, canals, and pipelines such as the Hetch-Hetchy, which feeds Crystal Springs Reservoir). The local Santa Clara Valley Water District is often accused of having a 'golden faucet'.
Water is the most critical resource in California because life and many industrial-processing industries require it for proper operation. The recent issue of National Geographic (April, 2010) is totally devoted to Water and the reality that most peoples throughout the world do not have reliable, secure, and accessible water.
California agribusiness uses 70 percent of all potable water, which is a volume that could be reduced significantly if the most efficient irrigation drip methods were applied. This will be necessary soon because of population growth projections, which indicate that 10 million more persons will soon reside here. All levels of government are involved (federal, state, local) in resolving the reallocation of the current water entitlements. An economic approach alone is not enough. A holistic approach is needed which includes the need for potable water for the people coupled with a need to have no negative impact on the environment; and the need to do what is reasonable, fair, and affordable. The proposed peripheral aqueduct around the delta as well as the proposed upgrading of Crystal Springs Dam are just more of the same old technologies applied to ensuring adequate available water resources.
Locally, potable water needs to be recovered from all that sewage treatment plant effluent which is 99 percent water and 1 percent suspended solids. This technology is already being used in Orange County and San Diego County. It takes about 8 to 10 years to build the facility needed. That needs to begin very soon despite its cost estimated at $40 billion. This project will provide for all kinds of job opportunities as well as ensure future potable water supplies.
Another entitlement that is very basic is the use of land. It is criminal to pay landowners to keep agricultural land fallow when the food, which could be produced, is needed in the world market and could provide for import/export revenues as well as jobs. The current practices of the Department of Agriculture need to be re-evaluated and redirected. This item is an example of an entitlement, which would help reduce federal subsidies and therefore reduce the federal budget deficit.
Education is viewed as a right and entitlement. However, over time it has been forgotten that the proper mission of education is to enable each individual student with the capability of reading, writing, and arithmetic coupled with knowledge of local civics and social teamwork skills requiring communication capability. K to 10 instructional programs need to focus on these basic skills. It is up to each individual to prepare for professional and vocational capabilities to earn a living. It is time for parents to begin to direct and influence the course content provided by their local school districts because much of the current course content does not relate to the reality to be faced by the developing student who then tunes out and drops out. Many programs such as 'No Child Left Behind', 'Race to the Top', and STEM (a program focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics) do not include any effort to include, inform, and engage the parent who is very influential with the guidance a child receives. This is a very local public policy issue.
So, if we want to reduce the budgets of local, state, and federal agencies, which are all currently facing deficits, there is a great need for all elected officials to ignore the guidance of special interests (unions & lobbyists) and begin to review and re-evaluate all existing entitlements.