We Need Legislators Who Can Govern

“Where Are the Grown-Ups?” (editorial, June 11) points out very clearly what the problem in politics is; mainly, instead of compromising, too many politicians would rather posture for the press. Governments have always had people who were self-serving egotists with little regard for what is right and for the greater good. I also know that there are still a few politicians who do care and will vote for what is right, not for what they think people want to hear.

With all the services we enjoy, and with all of the restrictions the government has on how it can spend our tax money, why do we feel that we shouldn’t need to pay for them? Our children’s schools, street construction, health clinics and other vital social needs are met through the state, not federal, budget. The half-cent temporary sales tax increase seems so minimal compared to the good it will provide in getting us out of at least a part of the state debt.

Edmund A. Velasco

Whittier

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Perhaps California voters should use the infamous name, Nero, when referring to Gov. Gray Davis and the sniping legislators. After all, while they fiddle around, we burn. Put the fire out, or the voters will give you a state exit exam that will put you out in the cold.

Daniel J. Meylor

Westminster

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It’s regrettable that the recall effort to unseat Davis can’t be expanded to include all the members of the California Senate and Assembly. Rather than face the budget crisis head on and resolve it in a timely manner, our legislative leaders are spending their days finger-pointing, name-calling and threatening each other.

Are we affected by this irresponsible behavior? You bet we are. Our state government borrowed $11 billion so that it could continue to pay its bills. It did so at a cost of $270 million, which as this newspaper noted (June 11), would cover the salaries of 5,000 public school teachers for an entire year.

If we can’t recall our legislators, we can certainly let them know that we are not happy with their refusal to work together for the betterment of our state.

Ross Thomas

San Francisco

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The proposed recall of Davis is economically motivated. Yet President Bush has created a huge federal deficit, for which taxpayers are paying trillions of dollars in interest. At least Davis has tried to balance the state budget.

The Republicans should be impeaching Bush instead of recalling Davis.

Jan Goldsmith

Van Nuys