Taxpayers cool to costly climate bond

In addition to last month’s recordbusting $310 billion budget, the Legislature is also advancing a $15 billion “climate bond” to appear on the ballot sometime in 2024. This “climate bond” should be viewed with a great deal of skepticism by California voters for several reasons.

First, why is a bond — any bond — necessary? Despite a drop off in state tax collections, California continues to produce massive amounts of tax revenue from the highest-in-the-nation income tax rate, highest state sales tax rate and highest gas tax. Taking on further debt makes little sense.

Moreover, this proposal is inconsistent with the principles of sound debt financing. Bond financing can be justified where the cost of a major infrastructure project — at either the state or local level — is greater than could be funded directly from general fund revenues without making significant reductions in service. But proponents have not made the case for why this grab bag of various projects couldn’t be financed from the general fund.

Second, an important consideration for the issuance of public debt is interest rates. Borrowing costs today are higher than they have been in years and while Wall Street bond brokers and bond holders will profit from more California debt, voters have to decide if it is in California’s best interests.

Third, under Article XVI of the California Constitution a statewide bond measure must be limited to “some single object or work to be distinctly specified in the act.” The “climate bond” here is authorized by Assembly Bill 1567, which is titled the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, Clean Energy, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2024. This bill is a 25-page listing of various projects ranging from restoring the Tijuana River to providing residential housing for California Conservation Corps members. Even under the most liberal interpretation of “single object or

Letters to the Editor

El Dorado Trail project

EDITOR:

To the El Dorado County Department of Transportation, Engineering Division:

In September 2022, when news of the improvement for the access ramp to the El Dorado Trail on the west side of Missouri Flat Road was released, I along with my cycling group were very excited. Unfortunately it took longer than anticipated and we were very understanding of this as most of the delays were due to weather.

However, when this portion of the trail was finally complete, the access was not much better than it used to be, but we were able to maneuver the sharp turns. What is very frustrating though is the portion of the sidewalk that is still incomplete. We must get off our bikes and roll them off the curb, which is very inconvenient.

Is there any update as to when this project will be completed? Or has El Dorado County Department of Transportation dropped the ball?

You asked for our patience and understanding and we gave it to you. But my patience is running out and I don’t understand why it is taking so long to complete. I’m sure I am not the only person who is frustrated.

SUE DREDGE El Dorado

Forest health and mangement

EDITOR:

The truth about lumber production has been right there all along.

I know there’s going to be a whole lot of sobbing and eye-wiping by the tree-huggers and others who are uneducated about nature, forests and wildlife, but Congressman McClintock just shed light on the subject during a recent House Natural Resources Committee hearing.

The findings? Wildfire emissions in 2020 were twice as high as California’s entire greenhouse gas reductions between 2003 and 2019.

Why? Because of lack of forest maintenance.

It is just staggering that the trillions of dollars that we, the taxpayers, have paid in gasoline fees to lower emissions — along with increase costs to food packaging, house building, insulation and every other part of our daily life in California with fees tacked on for the “environment” in 16 years — were, in many cases, for nothing. It was undone in one year by wildfires.

Certainly there are environmental projects that are very important and, surprisingly to some, the management of forests is right up there on the top. But it needs to be left up to professional foresters, not environmental wackos who want black forest where nothing can live and when a fire goes off it’s an inferno that takes decades to re-establish.

Clear cuts are highly beneficial for almost all species of wildlife and for the forests themselves. Fortunately, forestry practices now allow for islands of trees within the clear cuts and a variety of tree species left standing within. The clear cuts allow for the growth of grasses and forbs, berries and buck brush, places for rabbits, quail, turkeys and deer to find food, while the island thickets provide cover, bedding and refuge.

Next time you see a member of the U.S. Forest Service, or a someone in the lumber industry, give them a thumbs up for keeping your forests alive and healthy and providing a needed service that is not appreciated by some.

BILL KARR Placerville

What’s the message?

EDITOR:

Here’s a funny thing. I grew up in a time when contraception and even abstinence were in common use. My mother told me that our own Catholic church permitted only the rhythm method; she said it ruined many marriages. The rhythm method was known to fail frequently, but I suppose that was the point. I wonder what the clergy used?

At the county fair this year there were many lovely young girls in skimpy outfits. They didn’t have boys with them; the boys probably didn’t want to attract the attention. I worried about the girls’ safety. Even n See letters, page A5