No, we're not a California-exclusive magazine, but this is where our offices are based, and SoCal is also home to many important players in the off-road industry. Our generally pleasant weather and variety of off-road terrain make SoCal a natural when it comes to off-road opportunities.
Budget problems have crippled much of the nation, and California is not unscathed. Despite the healthy amount of tax dollars that already reach the state capitol in Sacramento, the politicians have managed to squander their plunder and recently asked for new taxes in a special election. They lost.
Now they're trying to punish the voting public by threatening to cut back on social programs and services, education, and recreational opportunities in the state park system.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is among those state parks threatened with closure. It seems un-fathomable that a whole state park with 650,000 acres could be closed. Would that mean the trails remain open, but that the park's amenities (campgrounds, visitor's center) would be closed? Would that mean that the whole swath of real estate would be off-limits? Whatever form of closure would be enforced, it wouldn't be good.
I am not privvy to the numbers, but I'm convinced that there's a gigantic amount of wasteful spending happening in our state. Cutting wasteful spending is the way to fix the budget crisis. Don't punish the voting public by making life miserable for those who live and work here.
Politicians, please observe the biggest, fattest middle finger I'm capable of expressing. Quit flushing my tax dollars down the tubes and begging for more revenue.