Gov. Brown missed mark in his inaugural speech, charges Green Party gov candidate; CA poorest should not be asked to shoulder more austerity

Gov. Brown's inaugural speech Monday was far off the mark, asking the poorest in state to shoulder more austerity even while the wealthiest in the state get wealthier, charged 2010 Green Party of California gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells.

In a YouTube video (link), Wells said "Here's what a Green Governor in California would and would not be talking about today.

"Governor Brown is talking about austerity for the majority of Californians. A Green Governor would be talking about fairness and balance, and continuing to have great schools, environment, healthcare and jobs. We would be talking about the kind of California we want."

Referencing a new report showing that California's income gap is continuing to widen, Wells said:

"Imagine a ballot proposition that would guarantee that the richest one percent of Californians would become even richer. (It) would give the richest one percent an increase in income of three times the total income of average Californians. Would that pass? No!

"This disparity of wealth didn't happen because only that one percent are good and smart or because they're better or smarter than the rest of us nor because they were creating jobs or helping California.

"The problem is that the government of California is set up to encourage the concentration of wealth rather than sharing it fairly.

"There are solutions to this problem, but austerity for those who have already been experiencing austerity, is not the solution. We do not need the richest one percent... running the show. They have not been helping with our jobs, with our environment, with our kids," Wells said.

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Contacts:
Laura Wells, Spokesperson, 510.504.4254, lwells@cagreens.org
Cres Vellucci, Press Secretary, 916.996.9170, cvellucci@cagreens.org

The Green Party of California
PO Box 2828
Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
Web: http://www.cagreens.org
EMail: gpca@greens.org