California Politics An Introduction with Suggested Online Resources

California Politics

An Introduction with Suggested Online Resources

A single mother is raising two young children. One of them has a serious illness and needs medical treatment. Her job pays enough for her to feed her children and rent an apartment, but she does not have health insurance.

An 18-year old student graduates from high school. She is not sure what she wants to do for a living, but she is pretty sure it will involve a college education.

A young couple is looking for a home. They both recently got jobs in downtown San Diego, but they really want to live away from the big city.

These people all have something in common. Each of them is likely to benefit from decisions made by our state government.

The single mother might be eligible for health insurance programs that are funded largely by the state. Even without health insurance, she could bring her child to a county hospital emergency room.

The young student can attend any community college in the state for only $36/unit, just a tiny fraction of the real cost of her education. She also might be able to attend one of the campuses of the California State University or the University of California, where the tuition is higher but the state is still paying a large share of every student’s education.

The young couple will end up living in one of a variety of communities that have been developed according to state and local guidelines. If the community was well planned it will have schools, parks, a library, and other things people value. To get to work they will either drive on state funded roads or use state funded public transportation systems.

State government has a tremendous effect on our daily lives, whether we realize it or not. I think more people need to understand what our state government does and how we can work to make our state more effective. I hope you find this introduction helpful.