more on national defense the federal
government or state governments now
that’s an easy one right everybody knows
the federal government is in charge of
national defense
they spend all the money there second
question who spends more money on K
through 12 public education the federal
government or state governments well
that’s an easy one to write States spend
about ten times more than the federal
government this year states will spend
about six hundred billion dollars on K
through 12 education the federal
government will spend about 70 billion
California this year will spend ninety
billion on K through 12 education for 6
million students and only nine percent
of that will come from the federal
government public education is very much
a state function out of federal function
next question who incarcerate the most
prisoners the federal government or
state governments another easy one
states incarcerate about five times more
prisoners than the federal government
does in fact it was a state California
that was played a major role in
launching the incarceration epidemic in
our country that started in the late
1970s that’s a subject for another talk
last question who has more employees the
federal government or state governments
state governments five times as many the
federal government has about four four
and a half million employees as one
pundit once put it the federal
government is like an insurance company
with an army that’s because the federal
government spends most of its money
70% of its money goes to third parties
it goes for example to finance Social
Security it goes to under a voucher
system to health care providers 70% of
the federal government goes to people
like that very little goes to direct
service providers the largest service
provider of a direct nature in the
federal government is the military state
governments have 20 million employees
state governments are the opposite of
the federal government there are armies
of public employees providing the vast
majority of domestic services in this
country this year California will
educate run an education system that is
the largest enterprise in the state the
K through 12 public education system is
a state operated enterprise
with six million customers 300,000
teachers and some administrative staff
and the state will guarantee public
safety for nearly 40 million residents
the state will provide public education
at the University of California in
California State University and the
community colleges for another 3 million
residents now why do you think I’m
asking you all these questions it’s
because I’m guessing that more of you
know what Donald Trump tweeted yesterday
or this morning that know the facts that
I just told you the vast majority of
Americans pay attention to federal
issues and federal politics even though
under our federalist system under our
federalist system states are responsible
for the vast majority of domestic
services in this country if you’re
especially if you’re a non rich person
and you go to public schools you write
public transportation you rely on public
health your jobs are regulated by
legislators that regulate your
industries your lives are more affected
by your state legislators each of you
has two of them if you live in
California then by your federal
representatives yet I’m guessing more of
you know the named leaders US senators
that know the names of your state
senators let me give you an example of
what this translates into California is
a very blue state as I’m sure you all
know I full disclosure I’m one of those
Democrats the state is dominated by
Democrats the Legislature’s dominated by
Democrats most of those Democrats talked
a very progressive talk but when you
drill down into how they vote they vote
very often in a regressive manner in
2011 for example the state legislature
voted three times to cut funding for the
university of california california
state university welfare courts and
parks it was a very tough budget year
but somehow they found enough money for
a compensation increase for prison
guards who were already the highest-paid
prison guards in the country over the
next four years they found money for two
more salary increases for prison guards
the net result is is that this year our
state our progressive state will spend
more money just on the compensation and
benefits
for fifty six thousand five hundred
employees in the corrections department
who supervised only a hundred and twenty
eight thousand inmates then the state
will spend our state will spend in total
on more than 700 thousand undergraduates
attending thirty three campuses of the
University of California and California
State University let me say that again
and put it in another way this year our
estate will spend more than a hundred
and thirty thousand dollars per
corrections employee versus ten thousand
per undergraduate student your
legislators count on you not knowing
that they’re engaged in that kind of
voting behavior
now look prison guards have very
difficult jobs this is not about them
and we should all be grateful that
they’re willing to take on those jobs
there are also a business interests most
of the people in this audience probably
seek the highest possible compensation
for the work that they do the same thing
is true of the pharmaceutical companies
the doctor and nurse associations the
hospitals and the others who this year
will pull out more than a hundred
billion dollars of spending from our
state under a voucher system to provide
health care it’s true of all the other
government employees who will pull out
together with those health care
corporations seventy percent of state
spending this year they’re perfectly
entitled to seek the highest possible
remuneration for the services they
provide just the way Apple Computer is
for its computers or the phones we all
carry or whatever but that doesn’t mean
that the state legislature has to give
it to them even Berkeley probably the
most liberal district in the state plays
this game the representatives in
Berkeley again they’re only two voted
for those budgets in 2011 thirteen and
fifteen to give those increases the net
result is the University of California
whose flagship campus is located in
Berkeley its share of the state budget
is 14 percent lower this year than it
was 10 years ago even though state
revenues are up dramatically compared to
ten years ago UC will get about the same
amount of money this year as it got ten
years ago even though it’s hosting more
students now do you think that the
representatives of Berkeley are walking
down the streets of Berkeley telling
their constituents that they’ve been
voting too
prison guards increases and healthcare
and other corporations more voucher
money at the expense of the University
of California you can bet your bottom
dollar that they’re not and they count
on their legislators not knowing that if
these lights are up and I were to go
about this room and point it Cyril you
and ask you what’s the name of your
state legislature I’m guessing the vast
majority well this is a pub you smart
audience a lot of you would mention your
US senators or your Congress people or
whatever and then it’s a no no I’m
talking about your state representatives
and then a few of you might know but the
vast majority of Californians don’t know
yet their lives are more affected by a
state senator a state assembly person
from this district than they are by the
Congress person from this district or
the US senator from the state for the
vast majority of services that affect
their lives especially if they’re not
rich and they can’t afford to send their
kids or private schools and they have to
take public transportation and you can’t
live behind gates and walls and wreck
create in second homes and depend on
public parks and that sort of thing look
I know it’s very hard for people to know
what their states are doing in
California this year we will spend more
than 250 billion dollars our state
legislature which consists of only a
hundred and twenty people will spend
more than two hundred and fifty billion
dollars they will write the education
code the Criminal Code the business and
Professions Code the environmental code
and much more but you should know at
least the basics
after all states are responsible for
public education public health public
safety public transportation safe
drinking water court systems that work
parks that are open for people to use at
reasonable fees laws and regulations and
make it easy for people to find jobs and
get growing wages that’s all within the
bailiwick of the state legislature at a
minimum that’s what you should know but
right now your legislators count on you
not knowing on the other hand the
corporation’s unions and associations
that are collecting those billions from
the state government know the names of
every one of those state legislators and
exactly how they’re voting your
legislators know that too so it’s hard
to know but you should know and the good
news is is that you can know and you can
have an influence
started an organization called govern
for California that supports exceptional
candidates for the state legislature
that care about something greater than
themselves you don’t have to join our
organization you can form your own
California laws make it very easy for
you and your friends and associates and
a family members and community members
to assemble enough money small dollar
contributions only to support great
legislators and keep them in office you
just have to start caring and then you
have to start focusing so get to know
your state legislature get to know what
they’re doing when they’re up there and
how they really vote and then get them
to walk their talk thank you very much [Applause]