It
appears California’s state legislators are set to zero in on yet another critical
problem facing its citizens. The article describes the cauldron of injustice:
“Visiting the coast has become too expensive for the average family – A bill
aims to lower costs.” Assembly Bill 250’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Lorena
Gonzalez (D-San Diego), announced: “I grew up in a working-class family and got
to enjoy the beach. There was easy access then. Now people who grow up like I
did don’t have that opportunity – it can be cost-prohibitive to enjoy the
beach.”
Just
like Ms. Gonzalez, I too can recall back to my teenage years when money was
hard come by. My job as a drug store soda jerk, paying 67¢ per hour, didn’t
enable me to enjoy the high life. As I lived nearly twenty miles from the
ocean, the prospect of bicycling there seemed a tough way to go. So, if my
friends and I wanted a day at the beach, we figured out how to do it. The Pacific Electric Red Car tracked line,
which rattled noisily along from 1901 until 1953, wasn’t terribly expensive and
could get us to Venice or Santa Monica.
As for grub, it was usually a choice between the almost digestible 5¢ hot
dogs from a seaside vendor or the brown bag sandwiches we could whip up and
take with us. And a “day at the beach”
proved to be exactly that, for we always returned the same day. The thought of plunking out four hard-earned
dollars for a motel room was out of the question.
Today’s
poor people are better represented than we were, thanks to the political muscle
their champions muster. No need to wait for public transportation; just drive
there and enjoy subsidized parking. As for food, with millions of our less
advantaged citizens on the California Food Assistance Program (CFPA), there are
plenty of the finest delectables to go around. And finally, the trip to the
beach needn’t end as the sun goes down. Thanks to Ellie Sanders, Vice Chair of
the Coastal Commission, there will be more lower-cost rental accommodations
available, as “The commission takes this very seriously because it’s getting
difficult for even average families to visit our coast.”
A
final comment: Neither my friends nor I ever resented the effort we went to for
a day at the beach. None of us looked to someone else to provide us with simple
luxuries. Whether America is a better
place today because of the pandering practiced by our elected and appointed
officials is questionable.
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If you enjoy this
weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly
Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, Roadway to Prosperity
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