Gov. is not acting for our children

The very foundation of our youth is teachers, police officers and firefighters who provide us with civility and education.

Somehow, I feel perplexed that these components of our society are being placed at the back of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s priorities. Although some folks may howl at the thought of raising taxes and therefore letting more money into the system to pay for California’s bailout, there are some years to raise taxes, and when we don’t heed those times, the fiasco begins and takes hold.

The immense infrastructure cost of laying off teachers, police officers and firefighters brings California to its knees, perhaps bowing to Arnold as he is so familiar with from his movies. There are times when it is realistic and reasonable to raise taxes to prevent long-term financial woes and forestall a plethora of insurmountable catastrophes.

An educated mind is expedient to good citizenry and good ideas. An uneducated mind does not mean less or worse. It means chaos.

Without our teachers, our students do not have the educational opportunities to become good citizens, and could become criminals because without skills and professions, they might feel they have to commit crimes to survive.

The result of this poor planning is we law-abiding citizens might want to call the police to protect us from these lackluster, uneducated youths, and that brings up a second advisement.

The governor is reducing the police who would like to protect us from the criminals. A serious action proposed by the governor is releasing many criminals to go free, because we need more prisons, which the governor did not plan for when he took office.

Now we need more police to protect the good citizens who work, produce and contribute to society.

When will the governor decide to keep the firefighters? I suggest he keep the firefighters employed and train them to teach the criminals now set free by his order, to learn how to firefight and clear brush from hazardously overgrown areas.

However, this brings up another calamity. If the criminals could be released, they have no learning skills and a lack of education. The criminals Schwarzenegger wants to release might not be able to comprehend the instructions given by the fire service state-employed firefighters, and we’d be darned lucky if we have any more state firefighters since the governor is reducing their valuable services by firing firefighters and leaving them unemployed, instead of fighting fires.

Governor, you’ve acted your way through many movies as the Terminator, and most of them violent. I don’t know where you went to college, and if you learned about city, state and governing ethics, including actuaries (which is a profession within itself).

You reduced the income of the disabled (many of whom live in extreme poverty) and used your power to intimidate contributing members of society, and your social responsibility defeats your electoral agenda.

A good mind can barely survive starvation and I live with impoverishment because I have a disability. I write this letter to you, to speak for the California teachers, police and firefighters impoverished by your decisions. Find another way of balancing the budget without taking from the poorest of the poor.

SARAH MOSS lives in Costa Mesa.