Pat Brown: Father of Modern California? (Sacramento, Ross: schools, taxes, live)

[Chris Balducci]

Did Jerry Brown's father Pat lay the groundwork for making California the "progressive" haven it is today?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Chris Balducci

Did Jerry Brown's father Pat lay the groundwork for making California the "progressive" haven it is today?

He expanded upon policies put forth by the two moderate Republican governors who preceded him. His education policies and his view of infrastructure and development to help build up the state were merely furthering efforts by Warren and Knight to help build up the state. West Coast governors of that time regardless of party shared in that pro-development consensus ; Washington's Democratic Governor Al Rossellini and Oregon's Republican governor Mark Hatfield followed similar policies.

California still possesses the infrastructure - the highways, roads, aqueducts, and schools - that the elder Brown built, but his California seems lost now. CA under the elder Brown - and the two Republicans who preceded him - today seems like a lost paradise, almost a mirage that from today's standpoint seems "too good to be true". While Jerry played some role in shaping policy as an adviser to his father, he is a very different man. He has fiscally conservative instincts his dad did not have, and an environmental consciousness his dad did not have. His father was the last governor to have the old part time legislature to deal with, and the old part time legislature managed to get much more done than the current broken full time legislature despite the frat house, boys' club atmosphere in Sacramento at the time. Politicians of both parties back then, whatever their personal failings, had more of a desire to serve the state and their constituents. Even compared to the legislature that Jerry had to deal with when he was governor the first time around, the current legislature is a dysfunctional hyperpartisan mess scared of taking any measures to save the state.

Most importantly, Pat Brown (and his GOP predecessors and successor) did not have Prop 13 as a shackle. If he did, he could never have gotten anything done and California would have declined much earlier than it did.

[Curmudgeon]

Not to mention he seemed smarter than his son!

[BayAreaHillbilly]

He laid the groundwork for a progressive place (in the late 19th century sense of the word) that has long since vanished. Replaced by a crazed, millenarian, quasi Trotskyite / quasi Democratic Republic.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by majoun

California still possesses the infrastructure - the highways, roads, aqueducts, and schools - that the elder Brown built, but his California seems lost now.

Pat Brown built those for 15M people. Jerry pretty much put an end to capital investment in his first stint as governor. Now we have 37M people working with an aging infrastructure designed for less than half that. Jerry also allowed government workers to unionize during his first governorship. So instead of our taxes going to build things we can all benefit from, they go to pay people $100k/yr to not work for 25 years. I'd say Jerry is the father of California's present reality.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

How many of us remember things that lived here during the time are the Elder Brown spent all our money and put us into debt.

We were able to climb out of debt and had a reserve when Ronald Reagan started running things.

When the younger Brown took office (the first time) he was able to spend all that money in the reserve fund.

When Deukmeigan (spelling) took office he was left with no money and left office with a reserve.

Not sure what the Browns have done for the state, other than to spend all the money and tax us to death.

Sure does make a case for reading history now doesn't it. Then again I am sure many of you will actually vote for the tax increases that Brown is pushing.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Pat Brown built those for 15M people. Jerry pretty much put an end to capital investment in his first stint as governor. Now we have 37M people working with an aging infrastructure designed for less than half that. Jerry also allowed government workers to unionize during his first governorship. So instead of our taxes going to build things we can all benefit from, they go to pay people $100k/yr to not work for 25 years. I'd say Jerry is the father of California's present reality.

Given the state's population growth, perhaps Pat's policies were too successful in that they created other problems. Pat himself said that his biggest mistake as governor was supporting the building of the California Aqueduct, given that it alienated his Northern Californian supporters while it did not get him support in Southern California.

Not only was collective bargaining for state workers - a mistake which occurred under Jerry's governorship in the '70s - a mistake, but Proposition 13 occurred right in the middle of Jerry's governorship - which has damaged the state more than anything else. Young Moonbeam IMO was a good governor but he had his flaws. Sadly, Old Moonbeam has to deal with a state whose politics and economy are totally broken, and it is beyond his ability to put it back together.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

How many of us remember things that lived here during the time are the Elder Brown spent all our money and put us into debt.

We were able to climb out of debt and had a reserve when Ronald Reagan started running things.

Via the largest tax hike in the state's history coupled with budget cuts to demonstrate to fiscal conservatives that he was serious about dealing with the state's budget.

As for Jerry now - as I predicted what would happen, John Perez is much more difficult for him to work with than Leo McCarthy or Willie Brown were when they were Speakers, due to Prop 13, term limits and the special interest takeover.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

He laid the groundwork for a progressive place (in the late 19th century sense of the word) that has long since vanished. Replaced by a crazed, millenarian, quasi Trotskyite / quasi Democratic Republic.

Rather than the first of his kind, in a way he was the last of his kind in Sacramento.

[18Montclair]

The passage of Prop 13 did far more damage than anything Pat Brown did.