You may have noticed – well probably not – that I added a few new blogs to our “blogroll” at the bottom of our front page (and removed a few.) Most notably I added “Flopped 5” which despite its silly-sounding name is a devastating, thorough, and beautifully written assault on California’s First 5 Commissions. (Also known as the “California Children and Families First Commissions”)
And if you remember hearing about those Commissions on this blog, it was due to our friend Tony Bushala’s multi-part, cross-posted exposé of former “conservative” blogger Matt “Jubal” Cunningham‘s extensive paid publicity work for this bloated liberal program – an exposé which probably helped propel Matt to his retreat and current shameless immersion in well-paid behind-the-scenes “consulting” work. We won’t get into all that right here, except that it explains the disquieting juxtaposed image to the right.
Just in case you don’t know what California’s “First 5 Commissions” are, I will crib (with a bit of liberty) from the intro of the Flopped 5 blog:
In 1998, California voters (barely) approved Proposition 10 under the financing and social pressure brought forth by actor/director Rob “Meathead” Reiner; thus, Proposition 10 is also referred to as “the Meathead Law”, a nickname that sometimes shows up in articles on the topic. Proposition 10 added a 50 cent tax per pack of cigarettes and a similar tax on other tobacco products. Revenues from the measure were supposed to be used to fund a variety of education, health, and childcare programs to promote early childhood development from the prenatal stage to age 5.
Since its inception, this program has pulled in $7.5 billion – about $590 million a year, which has dropped more recently to $500 million as smoking becomes less popular. 20% of this money is administered at the state level, and the other 80% goes to the commissions in each of our 58 counties – “public foundations” with very little oversight or accountability, whose misdeeds, tomfoolery and hinkiness are exhaustively documented on the Flopped 5 Blog.
Also well documented is the conflicts of interest and self-dealing that were built into the program from its inception. As well as all the anecdotes of abuse and foolishness you could shake a stick at.
I say a blog that takes a critical look at a multi-billion dollar public program which itself spends $34 million a year on mass media, “consultants,” and propagandists like Jubal, just to keep the public and lawmakers feeling warm and fuzzy about the program, is by definition invaluable, and worthy of the place on our “state blogroll” that they requested.
I believe we liberals should be the first to call for the discontinuation or radical reform of our originally well-intentioned programs when they morph into something much worse than envisioned. Even Mr. Reiner (a conservative bete-noir) has begun to distance himself from the commissions. As the authors wrote me, “We have been amused at that and think that Reiner might turn on them at some point – telling folks that this agency is not what he had in mind – in part, our website is designed to help him get there.”
What could and should be done about the First 5 Commissions? That half-billion a year, along with the billion they have in reserves (unspent largely due to incompetence, not thriftiness) is sorely needed either in the general fund or in Medi-Cal. But when Governor Brown and the legislature tried to make that happen, they were shot down by a judge, who ruled correctly that a program created by a popular initiative could only be discontinued by a popular vote.
But even short of all that, the Flopped 5 blog already seems to be spurring reform – their study on possible institutional racism in the system, in the apparent favoring of latino kids and neglect of blacks, seems to have led to policy changes in certain counties; while their exposé on First 5 Contra Costa distributing lead-contaminated toys has spurred that board into action, if tardy and insufficient.
The Flopped Five blog includes this poll, asking what you think should be done with the funds; it assumes the reader agrees the commissions should be abolished; here are the results as the poll stands now:
It’s nice that the vast majority of Flopped Five readers are concerned with Medi-Cal, and only a quarter of them yearn for a return to the days of cheaper cigarettes. Still, this would be a more useful poll – for taking after you check out their site:
[poll id=”313″]
Also, if you have any arguments or criticisms of what is on the Flopped 5 site, leave them here, as they don’t seem to have a comment section there.
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ALSO NEW ON OUR STATE BLOGROLL:
AND ON OUR NATIONAL BLOGROLL:
Vern, you mean to tell me that spending $200 an hour to pass out toothbrushes, listen to the radio, and have lunch with Steve Greenhut might be considered extravagant?
No way! Apparently you haven’t been properly informed. The OC Children and Families Commission is the model of conservative efficiency with Bill Campbell at the helm.
Jerb said so.
Oh and Cunningham swears it’s not a liberal bureaucracy. Why? Because he says it’s not! LOL. You can’t make this stuff up.
Part of what’s needed here is imparting a sense of shame in people administering these programs. Transparency is often a key to that, but with some people drilling down to find a sense of shame may require special equipment.
I’ve been getting e-mails from “consultants” who don’t want to be named, or even quoted ANONYMOUSLY – what’s up with that!?
They protest that Cunningham’s critics are SO unfair and ignorant. While $200 an hour is a little on the high side, monitoring radio broadcasts and meeting members of the media are all legitimate functions of a public affairs professional, according to these professional flacks.
Perhaps, I respond, and private businesses can do what they want, but $34 million a year in TAXPAYER DOLLARS is excessive for that kind of “consulting services” to protect a program from criticism.
The problem with Cunningham’s PR “work” was that:
1) it was overpriced
2) handed out as a political sop for years of loyal flunky hood
3) even more overpriced
4) useless
I’ve always wondered about the competitive process that scored the Jerb several hundred thousand dollars one a mere few years.
I wonder why those “consultants” don’t want to be named. I also wonder why you put that word in quotation marks.
Why do I put “consultants” in quotes? Maybe no good reason, it’s just a habit of mine… it just seems like such a meaningless job description.
Hey guys –
Thanks for the plug. We worked very hard to put up a site that people found worthy of such an effort – and the feedback so far has been great. If you have any comments, you may leave them in the “contact us” page.
It’s the general opinion that most of the people connected to First 5 do not have the ability anymore to experience shame – shame is reserved for those with a conscience – when “what’s in it for me” is the only question they ask anymore, then serious upheaval in government is required.
ruben
Yeah, Ruben, we see that kind all throughout politics on both sides of the aisle … witness the folks we’re fighting now who are trying to sneak toll lanes onto our big 405 thoroughfare to create a slush fund for their pet projects … or the last big victory this blog had against the Piratizers who wanted to sell off our Fairgrounds to developers!