Below a letter from Lou Solitske
Don’t Defund Refund
I have witnessed, firsthand, how thin the veneer of civilization can be. Effective, caring and honest protection of the citizenry by well organized, well trained and well-equipped law enforcement agencies is vital. I believe the reform needed goes well beyond our police and sheriff departments. When Ronald Reagan was governor of California, he decided to save a ton of money by closing most of the state’s mental hospitals and drastically reducing funding to other mental health programs. Soon other states all across our country greatly reduced their support for mental health as well. So now more and more people in dire need of psychiatric care are in the communities and on the streets and have become a problem for the local police jurisdictions. The nationwide tax revolt sparked by California’s Jarvis-Gann Initiative (Prop 13) passed in 1978, resulted in the defunding of social programs all across our country. Economic dislocations have made it ever more difficult for the lower and middle classes to keep their heads above the rising tides of insolvency. So, the police now have to deal with dramatically increasing numbers of homeless individuals and families. And, what I consider to be the cherry on this dysfunctional societal sundae is the rampant use of alcohol and drugs, once again, a problem we expect the police to handle. Short sighted politicians have withheld money from numerous social programs intended to address numerous societal ills and have dropped most of these unaddressed issues into the lap of the police. I believe that all lives matter but until they matter equally to those we trust to keep us safe, there can be no justice. Absent justice; there can be and should be no peace. What happened in Minneapolis to George Floyd, makes it harder and way more dangerous for the vast majority of decent, caring cops to do their jobs. While reforming, retraining and effectively policing the police is critical, it will be all in vain if we do not refund (as in fund again) the programs which are essential to the maintenance of social tranquility and order. Every day while suiting up to hit the streets, police officers must be hearing the Mission Impossible theme in their heads; for we have given them a mission that truly is impossible to accomplish.
Lou Solitske
Also worth reading is Lou’s book Taxi Tales which entertains, instructs and is full of common sense compassion, awareness and humor, much of it gleaned while driving his taxi. Check out: