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The governor who promised that he was environmentally friendly and would stand up to special interests has given into special interests at the risk of the environment. Governor Schwarzenegger removed fees from his budget proposal which would have gone to protecting forests. "Our position on the fees is we opposed probably all of them. Most of them we consider hidden taxes, said Sen. Dick Ackerman (R-Irvine) the Senate's Republican leader.
And when you have a massive budget deficit, and immediate pressing needs where is the money going to come from, Dick? While fees are ironic, we thought that Republicans would find them acceptable because they weren't labeled a "tax." But it appears those pesky special interests have caught on.
So as fires rage through Pine Canyon, LAist recommends Californians follow the advice of Smokey the Bear, because "remember, only you can prevent forest fires."
