Wow, Butte County went with Trump, but passed a sales tax measure in a landslide. Chico’s got two new liberals on board, and one district divided by less than 100 votes. Whatever the future holds, it will be interesting.
I got an pertinent comment from BC – noting the return of the financial pit known as Chico Ice Rink, he opines that Chico voters keep voting the way they do because “It’s not bad enough yet.“
Pointing to abysmal performance of our school district, he observes, “but you don’t see a massive concerned parent group rising up. ” To which I will respond – most of the parents are products of the same education system. People are so poorly educated these days they don’t even understand how they are being screwed, and they certainly don’t know what to do about it. I took my kids out of school, that worked for us, but most families don’t have that option. Then there are the taxpayers who don’t have kids in the system but suffer the consequences of higher taxes that don’t do any good.
BC predicts, “10 years from now, these underperforming students will have no chance of earning a living that will allow them to start families or save or invest. But by that time, they will be fully prepared for the soul crushing low-rent lifestyle that plagues middle and lower income California.” The long term result – higher crime rates, domestic violence, and disease caused by poor diet and general lifestyle choices. All of us will pay one way or another.
But Chico is almost a haven for those escaping the bigger, nastier cities. “The cost of living and the cost of taxes are through the roof compared better run municipalities. but Chico is still half the price of living in the Bay Area or Los Angeles.”
The lobster pot is not as hot here in Chico, so they are lulled into a false sense of comfort. The end result – “Death by a thousand cuts: a slow slide into the abyss.”
Yes, that’s what I’ve been documenting here for over 10 years now. And I’ve asked myself, as I know BC has asked himself same about a thousand times – what does it take to get people to get off their asses and do something besides complain?
Well, as BC mentions, there is a steady conga-line out of state. A simple search listed a couple hundred thousand a year beating it out to other states. What a bunch of losers!
Well I’m not leaving, but I’m not going to sit here being a cash cow either. Yes, my current form of protest is BOYCOTT. It’s more fun than you’d think – my husband and I call it Shop-cation. It’s a nice way to break up the work week. Yesterday we made a quick day-trip – during our lunch break – to a nearby town, where we were shocked how much cheaper the groceries are.
For example, we found pints of gorgeous fat blueberries for $2.50 – a fruit that is currently in season but not available at Chico stores for less than $7/pint. All the produce was cheaper, same brand products for dollars less than the same stuff in Chico stores. If you could find it in Chico – the quality of produce at Chico Winco is very disappointing, and higher prices at Raley’s and Safeway don’t guarantee better quality.
And here’s a stinger – gas was also cheaper. No, not Oregon cheap, but almost a dollar cheaper for premium than Chico gas stations. And you don’t have to worry about getting shot or stabbed!
We also make regular purchases online. Here’s the thing – we are either buying products we can’t find at Chico stores, or we’re paying so much less, the sales tax taking is not a factor. Hey, Chico retailers, you need to ask yourselves how this new sales tax increase is working for you. We’ve patronized old Chico businesses for years, but when we found out how they were gouging us for stuff like dog food and hardware supplies, we went online and found the same products for so much less the local sales tax doesn’t even register.
Are you a lobster? Well, get the hell out of the pot.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
At the end of the season last year there were numbers on much the rink project was in the red, now, mysteriously, they are in the plus…very creative of them. CARD et al, such a pile of bs
Thanks Suzanne, that is interesting. I thought it was appropriate that CARD took over operation of the rink because, gee, they’re a Rec agency. But yeah, it continues to be “rinky-dink”. Furthermore, having attended meetings of the CARD board for years and seeing how they work their budget, I’m guessing they are doing some pretty fancy book work to cover the losses.
I haven’t attended CARD meetings since the COVID shutdown, so I don’t know how they are getting their funding anymore. They had an outrageous pension deficit last time I checked – over a million $$$ for 34 employees, most of whom didn’t even receive benefits. It’s mostly management, who, last time I checked, paid even less than City of Chico management.
Bottom line – we’ll see how long it takes CARD to put a tax measure on the ballot. They tried a parcel tax, the voters threw it out, but I had a group of folks helping to get the information out there. We need people to attend the meetings and report what’s happening. If you’re interested in attending, let me know.