Let me debunk two myths underlying every bond measure on this November's ballot—two big myths that make it ever less affordable for you and your children to live in California.

Myth One: Bonds are freebies. You get something without paying for it. Someone else pays.

Fact: A bond is a loan. When California "sells" a bond, it's actually borrowing money from the bondholder. Then the money is repaid—with interest. With your taxes. So you not only pay for the bond after all, you get to pay extra.

But why worry about tomorrow? Well, that's the attitude voters had when they passed bond measures 10 and 20 years ago—for which you're still paying today. California suffers from a debt crisis and crumbling infrastructure partially because much of today's high tax revenue is used to pay off old bonds, leaving less money for today's expenses. Want to do something "for the children"? Then don't pass a new bond. Otherwise you'll either cripple them with even higher future taxes or drive them (and your grandkids) out of California when they grow up.

Myth Two: If a bond doesn't pass, our schools, highways, hospitals, and libraries will go unfunded.

Fact: The money's already there to pay for these things.

Think about it. Ever notice that it's the popular items that appear on bond measures? You never see bonds for overpaid supervisors, diversity consultants, and teddy bear giveaways. Yet California wastes money on such nonsense—money it can easily shift to schools, highways, hospitals, and libraries. But the politicians don't want to.

It's an old trick. The politicos collect X amount of tax money. Some of X goes to popular items. Some is wasted. But there's never enough money for everything. What to do? The politicians and bureaucrats don't want to cut the waste, and they know you won't approve bonds for waste. So they instead cut back on the popular stuff, then whine that there "just isn't enough money" to fund them. Not unless you pass a bond measure.

They lie. State and local government is rolling in money. Just read the report from Citizens Against Government Waste & The Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Foundation at: http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_CApiglet05.

Then read the report from the California Taxpayers Association: http://www.caltax.org/issues/fraudwaste.html. These reports itemize billions of tax dollars in fraud and waste. Consider some choice items:

• In 2004 the city of San Jose contributed $815,000 to subsidize the Champ Car World Series--a $3 million private auto race.
• In 2004 the Los Angeles Community College District announced plans to spend $240,000 a year to the MWW Group public relations firm for an "image-boosting" campaign. This in addition to the $340,000 it spends every year on its six in-house PR staffers.
• In 2005 the High Desert School District approved a $1.2 million compensation package for Victorville's elementary school superintendent, Ralph Baker. This package included a $250,000 first-year salary with $10,000 annual raises, plus a $200,000 bonus, plus benefit packages for him and his wife.
• In 2005 the State Auditor reported that some school districts don't reassign students into regular classrooms once they become fluent in English, because they want to keep state subsidies for their English Learners Programs. "The total funding for the three largest English learner programs in California is estimated to be $605 million in 2003-2004."
• In 2004 the city of Livermore spent $40,000 on a ceramic mural outside a library—a mural that had 11 misspelled names, including Van Gogh, Einstein, Shakespeare, and Michelangelo. The city council then approved an extra $6,000 to return the artist, Maria Alquilar, from Miami to make the corrections.
• In 2003 San Juan Capistrano spent $275,000 on archway etchings, metal cutouts of swallows, and other decorations for a freeway wall. Council Member David Swerdlin said the artwork "breaks up the monotony" for motorists.
• In 2000 the DMV spent $125,000 on a promotional teddy bear giveaway.

Yes, I know it's only $10,000 here and $100,000 there, but I've barely grazed the surface. Check those websites. The fraud and waste add up to billions.

Don't let politicians, and their activist and government union shills, scam you. Vote down every bond. Then demand that they cut the waste from the budget and instead fund our schools, highways, hospitals, and libraries—minus the fraud and abuse—with the huge amounts of tax money we've already forked over.

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