I notice that the Chron doesn't bother to go into detail about just how egregious the spending spree was.
Just three years ago, the state was flush with a $9 billion budget surplus. Republicans say the majority Democrats burned through that surplus by going on a spending spree, even when it was clear by 2001 that the state's economic boom -- fueled by in large part by dot-com earnings -- was over. Waste and inefficiency now permeate every aspect of state government, the GOP contends.
Speaking about the dot-com bonanza, veteran lawmaker Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, said: "Everyone got caught up in it. We did too. We didn't put enough aside in a rainy-day fund. That's not evil. We spent a lot of money on education." (Translation: We went on a spending spree withtaxpayer's money. Now the taxpayers have to cough up even more to pay for our extravagance. Shortsighted idiocy!)
In one of his first official acts as new chief of the cash-strapped Oakland public schools, Randy Ward has turned off 500 district cell phones used by employees and others who were chatting their way to $750,000 a year.
From the driver who delivers the milk to nearly all 100 principals, so many district employees were issued cell phones under the prior administration that when Ward asked for a list, just 200 phones could be matched up with individuals.
The rest were floating out there somewhere -- but still getting plenty of use.
"We'd get some bills that were $200 and $300 a month, and when we called the number associated with the phone, a stranger would answer and refuse to identify themselves," said Harold Lowe, director of purchasing for the district.