Gray Davis

* Re “With Pomp, Davis Signs $99-Billion State Budget,” July 1: It’s only fitting that Gov. Gray Davis would continue to waste more tax dollars on his grand announcement that he’s increasing state spending 18%, as if this wasteful spending actually helps Californians. Davis is so arrogant that he actually tries to position this bogus spending plan as “fiscally responsible.”

Let’s examine the facts. Last year’s state budget was $81 billion and it yielded a surplus of $13 billion. These are dollars raised by government that were never spent. Now Davis proposes an 18% increase in spending that will yield at least an additional $16 billion in state surplus. Davis actually tries to proclaim bipartisan support for the largest spending package in state history, when only one Republican bothered to show up for this budget fiasco.

With 50% of all state spending now dedicated to public education, has Davis not proven he is nothing more than a hack to the state’s teacher unions, which really control the public education debate here in California? State spending has nearly doubled since 1998. Public education has hit rock bottom in terms of accountability, performance and results. How does Davis even keep a straight face when he thinks spending billions on a failed monopoly will change anything?

NICK ANTONICELLO

Marina del Rey

*

“Davis’ Cuts Carve Into Republicans’ Favorite Projects” (July 1), on Davis’ punishment of Republicans, has left me with a few questions.

Whom do public servants serve? Only the people who vote for them? No, that would be a tyrant, not an elected official. If I remember my history, since 1776 men and women have been dying to safeguard the rights of Americans to disagree with each other.

We have a right to vote and by that method let our ideas be known. Now Davis jeopardizes this process by punishing people who voice an objection to his wants, the very people he has been entrusted with the duty of governing over fairly.

How dare he withhold tax revenue, which harms taxpayers, Democrats and Republicans alike, as a method of seeking revenge against the elected representatives who disagreed with him?

JEANNIE HARDMAN

Laguna Woods