Monning Makes Progressive Pitch

Assemblymember Bill Monning promoted the Native American philosophy of making decisions based on how people seven generations in the future will be affected at his book signing Thursday night at the .

More than three dozen people came to hear his solutions to issues ranging from preserving the environment, to saving our school system, to breaking the budget gridlocks currently stalling government at the federal and state level.

“We are engaged in a battle for the future of our state, for our country...and, forgive me for being dramatic, but the fate of our planet,” Monning said as he promotedat his new book, Vision For A Healthy California.

He laid out the way the country promotes unhealthy lifestyles, and spoke about the health care system is driving the country to bankruptcy.

“We live under a Damocles Sword of being one check away from not having health coverage, or not having any at all, or having a family member without coverage,” he said. “This instills a form of psychological terror.”

In the State Assembly he helped pass three plans for single-payer health coverage, but all were vetoed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Based on Governor Jerry Brown recent cuts to health services and education, Monning sees little chance that his efforts would be supported now.

He also said that no tax pledges Tea Party politicians signed during 2010 campaigns violate the constitution, because they stand in the way of the oath elected officials take to serve the people, by working with opposition parties to find solutions.

“I believe those [pledges] are acts of treason, but it has become a part of traditional political discourse,” Monning said.

A woman in the audience singled out Grover Norquist, president of Americans For Tax Reform (AFTR,) when she asked who is behind the no tax pledges.

“Norquist has encapsulated something that is very simple to promote. No taxes,” Monning said. “No one likes to pay taxes.”

California's passage of a proposition in 2010 made it possible to pass a budget by a simple majority, but a two-thirds vote is still required to raise revenue.

He said the key to moving toward solving any of these problems is educating people about the connection between taxes and how the government can make positive change. He used the example of Carmel and Castroville because he said they are “two different worlds” in terms of education, health, and average income.

“Thirty percent of Latino children will have preventable diabetes by the age of thirty, and we're all gonna pay for that,” he said

Monning is running against Sam Blakeslee to represent the 15th District state senate seat which represents the central coast in 2012.