June 14, 2017 The Julian News 13
California Commentary
The California Caste System
After the Legislature imposed
billions of dollars in new car
and gas taxes on Californians
last month, a friend emailed me
to register his disappointment
and disgust: "It's like we live in
an apartheid society where the
politically powerful live in luxury
and laugh at the working people
of our state."
Sadly, his point is accurate. The
separation between the ruling
class and the rest of Californians
is becoming more extreme by
the day. So much so, in fact,
that California is beginning to
resemble a society based on a
caste system, meaning a formal
structure of social stratification
(usually associated with India)
deriving from the hereditary
division of the population into
the highest caste (Brahmins) and
various castes below.
California's high cast Brahmins
reside primarily in coastal
enclaves including the San
Francisco Bay Area, Santa
Barbara, Malibu and the west
side of Los Angeles but they
are also numerous in the Silicon
Valley and Hollywood• These
elites tend to be high income
or wealthy and can afford to
separate themselves from the
trials and tribulations suffered by
average citizens• This immunity
from "..;real world" problems allows
them to Obsess about issues
like bathroom access, climate
by Jon Coupal
compensated state and local
workers in all 50 states -- are
constantly seeking more pay
and benefits• And because the
politicians are constantly trying
to consolidate and expand
their influence, they establish
a symbiotic relationship 'with
the unions to keep campaign
contributions rolling in that
guarantee reelection• (Some
electeds, who have spent years
living off the taxpayers' dime,
genuinely fear they may not be
qualified for work in the private
sector and so will do almost
anything to keep a grip on power.)
These politicians will parrot the
concerns of the Brahmins about
matters like the environment, but
they do not have a committed
belief system• They trip all over
themselves in their rush to make
environmental law exceptions for
projects like stadiums that are
backed by wealthy interests or
unions in a position to secure or
advance the politicians' careers•
The next rank on the scale of
who's who in California are the
non-working poor. While the
upper classes do not want to
rub elbows with them, they are
regarded as useful because their
votes can be purchased through
extensive entitlement programs
that are paid for by the very
lowest class•
On the very bottom rung of
the stature ladder, the equivalent
of the Indian's "Untouchables,"
change or the president's hair. are working Californians, and
Thevlack respect or compassion the lowest of these workers is
- - - anyone who labors at a job that
for essl fortunate ct zens and,
..... . .. ' r _ requires perspiration -- these
IT [rutn De Known, tBey nno .........
thos" ,=...: .... ,.. ,.. are regaroea as iiHle more man
upt ,u tu beasts of burden
annoying. When the elites bother to
And a'gastax?Thistaxtothem consider members of the
is nothing,:whe ey can avoid working class, they regard them
paying it by plugging in their as a source of tax revenue and
$120,000, taxpayer subsidized little more. Ideally, to their way of
Teslas! And if their cars do run thinking, they exist to pay taxes
on gas, they never even bother to and not make waves.
check the p ice. These are folks A massive new gas tax
who Wouldnt be cauaht dead in adding to the burden of working
• ..... Californians. Why it is just the
a vvalmart
Ne "" "; . . price of being able to share a
XI In me caste nlerarcny are
beautiful state and great weather
the politicians and members of with their social betters
government employee unions• *** "
While the Brahmans may help
to elect the politicians, as do the Jon Coupal is president of
unions, this second tier caste the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
is much Association -- Cafifornia's largest
less secure because
• grass-roots taxpayer organization,
they still have to scrounge for dedicated to the protection of
financial advantage. The unions Proposition 13 and the advancement
-- representing the highest of taxpayers rights•
R.ED. • bU Mike Marland
Crossword
ACROSS
1 Space
4 Recipe meas.
7 Lass
8 Luster
10 Calcutta's
land
11 High, wispy
cloud
13 Orphan
Annie's
benefactor
16 Really messy
place
17 Frogs' hang-
outs
18 Whopper
19 Crooked
20 Witnessed
21 Represen-
tative
23 Dervish
25 "Two and a
Half Men"
role
26 Oodles
27 Cacophony
28 Colorado
tribe
30 Chum
33 Spider's
cousin
36 Certain
winner
37 Assessed
38 TAles
39 Iowa State's
home
2 3 4 5 6
17 18
__m __
19
2O
23 24
26
iim
->8 29
34 35
37
39
-- mm
40
m m
41
-- i
40 Scepter 8 Meager 24
41 Scratch 9 Centers
10 Egos' count-' 25
DOWN erparts 26
1 Ughtheartedly 12 Downhill
silly athlete 28
2 Dry 14 Refuseto 29
3 Nursery item 15 D.C. fig.30
4 Bronze 19 Stilleror
medalist's Affleck
place 20 Firmament 31
5 Belgrade 21 Rap sheet 32
natives entry
6 Uma's land 22 Best Picture 34
7 Summertime of 1982 35
pest 23 Bambi, for one
© 2017 King Features Synd.. Inc.
30 i
28-Down, to
Tokyo
Toss in
Io and Gany-
mede, e.g.
Japanese city
Homeric epic
Heavenly
gate keeper
St.--
Census stats
1960s hallu-
cinogen
Entrance
Dalai -
10 Acres WeB Views! $177K
Pine Hills Gem. 3 bed, 4 bath, gourmet kitchen,
vaulted wood ceilings, 2625 SF home. 1 acre with
panoramic mountain views. $659,000
Pine Hills. Beautiful views, decks, tennis court, ver-
satile interior design. 3 bed, 3 bath, 3022 SF, 1.5
acres. $499,000 ACCEPTING BACK UP OFFERS.
Water Septic plan $85K
Chefs kitchen, hardwood floors, granite counters
2048 SF, fireplace in great room, country views.
Offered at: $420,500
Pine Hills 1031 SF Custom studio with kitchenette Private with views of Hoskins ranch and the Wynola valley. Five bedroom, 3 bath home
fire lace sk li hts Lower level 2 bd/l ba 716 SF' on 3 acres Can be configured as 2 separate units or l 'large home Quiet location on a
P , yg . • . -
apartment + 2 car garage. 1.81 acres. $350,000 pnvate road. Offered at: $489,000 .
..... Juhan -----
Monday closed II ,
Tuesday 9:00-,1l ysamantha wea? er U J..il.uJr- /
Wednesday 9:00 - 61[ / • Itwas SirArthurConanDoyle, beloved creatorofSherlock Holmes, Hitr~oct Per{arraign
Thursday 9:00 - 6 IJ J who made the following sage observation: "1 should dearly love that "'.!
¢aturda--Friday 9.,o-5119:oo5II the world should be ever so little better for my presence. Even on this Graduates*
small stage we have our two sides, and something might be done by
.... I11 throwing all one s weight on the scale of breadth, tolerance, charity, 1. ]aoan
ounaay Closea ,
Ill temperance, peace and kindliness to man and beast. We can t all ,) ,l
Ill strike very big blows, and even the little ones count for something." L..llllLtllU ,
/ oo "t'ore l'o'urs 1 II • In France, writing a bad check is not just bad form --it's illegal. 3. Netherlands
I Tuesday - aturdav IIII Violators of the "cheque sans provision" law are subject to criminal 4 An£trnli9
\ 11 m _ "2 il I fines and can be banned from writing checks for up to five years. - .....
Ill • You might be shocked if you came across the term "lust-house" in, 5. Norway
7 ou Ntgnway a n ' '
....... JI / say,ewspaper. You shouldn t be, though -- it doesn t mean what (
/00 UJ/U u J~i iuiii
" ___ you think it means. The term '
; 7--------- "----" --'-- "--'----" comes to us (unsurprisingly)from 7. New Zealand
----- German, where the word might ]r~ l
1
5 lano
, .. I.I., O I I I • refer to either a country house or " g
O!dlJ J a tavern with a beer garden. 9. United
,# • There was a time when the
-- game of checkers was commonly
• --. -- ,, -- and condescendingly-- called
Dy Llnaa/nlstle "chess for ladies"
• Avian veterinarians agree:
Week y
One of the main health problems Weekly SUDOKU
7 1 faced by pet parrots is obesity. Answer
Evidently, Polly wants more than
8 3 9 just a cracker. 9 £: 6 g 17 8 t /- £
• It's interesting to speculate L £ Z 6 9 g 8
whether American singer, Z 8 t {:£ 9 6
5 7 4 3 songwriter and record producer £ L Z 6 9 8 £
Kid Rock would have met with as
9 much success had he kept the6 9 g 8 I. Z £
name he was given at birth, Bob t,8 (3].£ 6 L 9
Ritchie. £ 179 8 Z (36 L
1 6 ***
Thought for the Day: Z69£g L 8t/
"Wear your learning, fike your 8 £ L 6 9 £ Z
3 watch, in a private pocket, and do
not pull it out and strike it merely ---- Crossword --
6 to show you have one. If you are Answers
asked what o'clock it is, tell it, Solution time: 25 rains,
3 7 4 but do not proclaim it hourly and
unasked, like the watchman•" I
-- Lord Chesterfield -o
7 4 9 © 2o17 King Feat .... Syndicate, Inc. )~ (]
Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way IN
N El
that each row across, each column down and
each small 9-box square contains all of the o -II
numbers from one to nine. a
(. ~ V I
DIFFICU LTY THIS WEEK: 4)
d V
© 2017 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Moderate Challenging
HOO BOY! Major League Baseball rule 301c If you'd know the power of money,
says that umpires must rub down go and borrow some
© 2017 King Features Synd., Inc. six dozen baseballs to dull their --Ben Franklin
shine before a game can start. ,,,
