The Way Things Are Done In California

As a RF engineer working for a national wireless phone carrier, it is my job to design, build, and optimize cell site towers and most particularly the associated radio equipment for each cell site.  I currently work in the politically and culturally conservative state of Utah, and although I am not a member of the predominate religious faith here, I find myself liking the area quite well.  Most of the people are courteous and the culture on the whole tends to celebrate traditional American values. 

A part of my job is to continuously improve our wireless network, and that will sometimes entail adding new cell sites to accommodate customer growth or fill in various coverage holes.  With zoning in some jurisdictions becoming rather onerous, we always try to co-locate our antennas on existing towers or taller commercial building rooftops first.  Unfortunately when we try to cover larger swaths of residential areas, existing towers and tall buildings are sometimes very hard to come by.  We thus have typically found a good solution to this problem for many residential areas.  We speak with local school principals and the associated PTA etc. as necessary and request to build a tower on school properties.  This usually works out quite well.  We are able to provide needed coverage to our subscribers in their homes, and the always cash-strapped schools are able to get a monthly lease amount of money.  Additionally, once a carrier goes to the trouble of leasing and zoning such a tower in a residential area, it usually isn’t too long before other carriers come along and ask to co-locate on that tower too thus providing even more rent to the school.  The school wins, the carriers win, and everyone is happy.  Or not.

About five years ago I proposed building a new cell tower to an elementary school principal who’s school lied directly in the middle of a dense residential area for which all carriers had trouble providing adequate coverage to their subscribers.  The principal was enthusiastic and on the verge of giddy over our proposal as he would only have to give up a 20 by 20 foot unused corner of his playground in exchange for a much-needed influx of cash to be used by the school as he deemed necessary.  He even negotiated for us to provide a new marquee sign at the front of the school as an added bonus for them.  We had completed a draft lease and agreed on all of the terms in theory.  The only hurdle was to get approval from a parent advisory board.  I showed up at the meeting and presented my case and answered all of their questions accordingly.  Everyone seemed well pleased with the proposal and were preparing to vote on the issue, when a middle-aged professional-looking lady arrived late to the meeting. 

I could tell right away that she was going to be a problem.  Her tone to me and others on the board was adversarial and condescending.  She proceeded to ask me many questions that had already been asked by the crowd.  I found it rather interesting and quite telling that neither the principal nor anyone else reigned her in and told her so.  Her biggest complaint was regarding the “safety” of my proposed tower.  She was certain that such cell towers, particularly ones placed at schools, would irradiate her precious little child and undoubtedly lead to cancer.  It was a question that had already been addressed.  Nevertheless I calmly and patiently presented her my independent studies AGAIN and explained that the site operated at frequencies and power levels that were orders of magnitude lower than what was required to even begin causing any health risk whatsoever.  In fact, the 1996 Telecommunications act even made it illegal to reject a new site based on RF safety concerns accordingly.  Of course, the lady began to pontificate on what a liar I was and that I was just a shill for the industry that wanted to make money and to hell with the consequences for the kids.  I could see that her ranting diatribe was irritating many of the other parents and making others rather uncomfortable.  When it appeared that most of the parents and staff weren’t buying her hysteria, she pulled out her trump card.  “As many of you already know, I am a lawyer who moved her from the San Francisco Bay Area last year, and I stopped many of these sites from being built out there.  The fact that you people would consider putting such a dangerous site in the middle of our school ground is ridiculous.  That is not the way we did things in California, and I am going make sure it doesn’t happen here.  If you proceed forward with this site, I will bring a lawsuit forward here too.”   Ironically, I noticed she answered her CELL PHONE and immediately dropped the call as she was leaving the meeting.

Anyway, the principal asked for a recess and said that we would postpone a vote until next month’s meeting.  I spoke to him two days later and he informed me that he was no longer interested in our proposal and that he was sincerely sorry.  It was a reminder of a lesson that I have seen repeated in various iterations time and again since then. 

  

California is dominated by large cities that are overwhelmingly progressive, and have basically ruined a once great state accordingly.  They have nearly bankrupted the state in their ridiculous and never-ending attempts to be the nanny to all constituents and involve themselves in every aspect of people’s lives.  Their state debt now dwarfs that of the nation of Greece’s accordingly.  Many businesses have fled the state to escape the confiscatory tax rates and regulatory burdens, including Fortune 500 companies such as Northrop.   According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, California ranks 49^th in unemployment at 9.8% as of December 2012.  The people there don’t seem to realize that there are ramifications for the burdens that the state places on those that provide jobs for the citizens.  People, families, and especially businesses are often times voting with their feet and leaving the Golden State accordingly. 

The problem is that many of these fine people move to new states, such as Utah.  They then get involved with city councils, PTA boards, and state governments.  All of that would be wonderful if they would use and proclaim the lessons they should have learned about living in an intrusive hyper-progressive state and how destructive it becomes to prosperity and freedom.  Unfortunately, they often seem to forget the conditions there that were the catalyst for them moving from California in the first place.  I have since heard time and again that old refrain I heard from the Bay-Area-lawyer Lady years before of “that’s not how we did things in California.”  Many of these folks want to seemingly re-create the mess that they fled in their previous home state. 

I’ve got a suggestion for all such progressive Californians.  If you don’t like the way we do things in our conservative state, stay in your own progressive swamp.  At the very least, do NOT come to our state and tell us how we are doing things wrongly. 

That is especially true for Utah.  We have been ranked #1 for three years in a row for “Best State for Business and Careers” by Forbes Magazine.   We have also been ranked first for “Economic Dynamism”, and the “Top State for Volunteerism” for seven years in a row.  Our state unemployment has remained considerably lower than the national average and far below California’s.  Our cost of living is well below the national average and our culture of family values tends to be far more traditional and conservative than the nation’s as a whole.  The state has been recognized as one of the best managed states governmentally and according to the recent census, Utah was ranked 3^rd for “Overall Economic Health”.  In other words, I think Utah has a pretty good handle on things judging by any number of objective standards;  all of which are far better than California’s.  In other words, if you good California folks want to move to Utah and other conservative states and work to productively contribute to it, then I am sure you will be happily welcomed.  When you come here and tells us we are doing wrong and use your state of California as the model, we are going to laugh at you uproariously.   

I had a beloved uncle that died a few short years ago that lived in Oregon most all of his life.  He was not one for being politically correct, and always insisted that it was the government’s obligation to build a very secure border fence – a fence around the borders of California to keep them in there.  I laughed at the time, but in retrospect I am beginning to think that he was right.

The Two Different Americas as Seen in California vs. Texas

It would seem that the nation has become so polarized these days that often times conservatives and liberals don't even share a common language anymore.  While the following example is meant to be somewhat funny and tongue-in-cheek, there is definitely more than a grain of truth to it all.  That said, our polarized nation is neatly characterized by the typical Californian's vocabulary as compared to that of the typical Texan's.  (Austin notwithstanding.)  Cheers y'all!

Denair, California Middle School Boy Originally Told Not to Fly American Flag on His Bike Due to "Racial Tensions"

In Denair, California, a 13 year old middle school student named Cody was told by the campus supervisor of his school that he needed to remove an American flag from his bicycle that he had been flying on it since returning to school this Fall.  He complied with the instructions to remove the flag while on school premises but re-installs the flag on his bike when going home. 

Evidently, according to the school's superintendent, the boy is now able to keep his American flag on his bike.  He was originally told to remove the flag because of "racial tensions" from supposedly Hispanic students that were still upset over some issues since Cinco de Mayo. 

The outrage generated in the press from this has evidently been huge, and understandably so. 

My question, is why was this not originally used as a teaching moment?  Even though it is California, it is STILL a part of the United States and no one should ever have to be in fear of flying our nation's flag within its boundaries accordingly.  The flag represents our nation for ALL races that comprise our American population, so the racial tension argument is fallacious to begin with, for me. 

Now if these tensions are being raised by foreign nationals that are attending our schools, then they need to be taught that they are indeed living in our country as legal guests (hopefully) and need to show the proper respect for the country that is providing them an education.  If they are not here legally, then that is entirely different subject that I won't digress upon in this posting for now.  Needless to say their feelings on the issue should not be heeded at all under such circumstances.

Regardless, this is where school officials should have stepped in and discussed this with the individuals that had problems with Cody flying an American flag on his bicycle in Denair, California, The United States of America.

Thankfully they have reneged on their original request and Cody is once again proudly flying the star spangle banner from the back of his bike!

See the full video here.

Governing America based on California/New York or Texas/Utah Models

With the rapidly approaching mid-term elections less than two months away, we have reached a crossroads where there will finally be a referendum in our country on how we the people wish to govern our nation.  We can either take the socialistic big-government-is-always-the-solution approach like what has been done in California and New York, or we can take a more limited government, business-friendly approach such has been done in Texas and Utah as our models.

Let's start by looking at California.  California has long been governed with an eye towards progressive policies where the state government was the place that most people looked to for answers to all of their problems.  The results of this have been utterly devastating.  Indeed if California were a country, it would be the equivalent of either Greece or Iceland.  It is effectively bankrupt.  The state has long been over-governed, over-taxed, over-regulated, and over-unionized, with incredibly excessive spending and entitlement commitments that it will never be able to meet.  If current trends continue in California, the rest of the country will have to rescue it from the deep abyss of debt that the unsustainable spending and governing of this state has wrought.  Currently and most disturbingly, it would seem that our federal government is using California as its model on how to govern the country. 

New York, largely due to the huge population center of New York City, is the east coast sister of California.  Seemingly there is no problem that occurs that the people of New York don't look to the government to solve for them.  The result of this reliance upon government has created a climate where New York is the 49th worst state for business in the entire country.  It is directly preceded by California at the 48th spot.

Chief Executive magazine recently conducted a survey of CEOs who rated California as the worst state in the country for doing business. It was awarded a grade of “F” in the category of “Taxation and Regulation” and was the only state to receive this grade.


New York is seemingly trying to follow suit where the taxation and regulatory burden for businesses has surpassed absurd proportions.  In New York City, it is now even against the law for restaurants to sell any food containing trans fats.  Yep, big brother is looking out for everyone there!


In contrast, the CEO's in that same survey rated Texas as the number one state in the nation for doing business. Comparatively to California, it is a low tax, low regulation, right-to-work state, where unemployment is is several points below the national average.


So where does Utah fall in this equation?  Utah is arguably one of the most conservative states in the union both politically and economically in the way it has been governed historically. It has indeed trended towards more progressive governance in recent years from its past where in 1992 Bill Clinton came in 3rd place behind George H.W. Bush, and Ross Perot in presidential balloting, but overall it still has strong bonafide conservative principles.


That conservative governance has resulted in the 6th best corporate tax index rank in the country, the 2nd best property tax index rank, and the tenth best in overall tax burden for its citizens compared to eleventh place for Texas, and again as opposed to 48th for California and 49th for New York.  Furthermore Utah is predicting having a balanced budget in fiscal year 2011, whereas California has a shortfall as a percentage of the state budget of 53% this year and 26% in 2011.  New York projects a nearly 39% shortfall this year and a 27% shortfall for 2011.

The bottom line is quite apparent.  When a state government over-extends itself to regulate and govern all aspects of life for its citizens other than just the basic functions that private companies or citizens cannot feasibly do upon their own (utilities oversight, state roads etc) then the burden of having such a hyper-intrusive government becomes so costly that the ultimate destination for these transgressions will necessarily result in insolvency of the state government.  Bankruptcy.  California is already on the precipice of this problem.  New York is not far behind.


In contrast, while Texas and Utah do have their own distinct problems as related to state governance, overall, the more business friendly climate and the overall lower taxation and lesser regulatory burden on the people there have created states where businesses have not fled in droves, thereby keeping unemployment numbers decidedly better than the nation as a whole and far better than California in particular.


So the question now remains, are we as a nation going to continue to vote for politicians and policies to govern our country in the models of New York and California, as we have been doing particularly under the Obama administration, or are we going to reject these obviously failed policies for those that have been fruitful in states such as Texas and Utah? 


Early sentiments seem to suggest that a large majority of the population has awoken and realizes that absolutely when it comes to government, less is more.  I have to assume that the good people of this country have indeed reached this conclusion, because the California/New York model is unsustainable and the results are apparent for anyone looking to see this fact.  It has now become crucial that we adopt the Texas/Utah model if we are to restore our country and undo the massive damage already done by the tax & spend & regulate crowd that is reflected in the California/New York model.  We will hear from the people on this matter very soon!


sources: taxfoundation.org and statehealthfacts.org