Jerry Brown: California’s problems bear ‘eerie resemblance’ to those of 1950s

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said Monday during his inaugural address the state had “not reached the Promised Land,” but had “much to be proud of.”

“In 2011, we were handed a mess and through solid, steady work, we turned it around,” Brown said during his remarks at the Capitol in Sacramento. It was his fourth inauguration, a state record.

Brown said California faced similar problems today that it did in 1959 when his father was inaugurated governor.

“That was 56 years ago, yet the issues that my father raised at his inauguration bear eerie resemblance to those we still grapple with today,” Brown said, citing discrimination, education, air pollution, water, and prisons.

Brown said to deal with ballooning state employee costs, he plans to asked employees to help pre-fund retiree health obligations, and he set a goal of decreasing petroleum use in cars by 50 percent and increasing electricity derived from renewable sources to 50 percent within the next 15 years.   Read More at Washingtonpost

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