Farmworkers against California water bond - SF Chron

Editorial by Arturo Rodriguez, President of the United Farm Workers' Union, in San Francisco Chronicle, excerpt: 

 "Expensive water: $11 billion, or $800 million in annual debt payments for the next 30 years. That's how much Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's water bond will cost California's taxpayers and their children to subsidize the agricultural industry for decades to come.

"Gov. Schwarzenegger obviously agrees that water is valuable and essential to human life. Yet, every time a farmworker dies from heat-related illness or dehydration, we're told that the state can't afford the cost of enforcing the laws to protect him or her.

"The water bond that was recently approved by our lawmakers will give agricultural companies billions more in subsidized water. The state treasurer has asked the right question: Why aren't these giant ag industry operators paying for their water like everyone else?

"The $800 million per year in annual bond payments required under the new water bond is more than California spends on health care for farmworkers and their children, more than the entire worker-safety budget, more than on farmworker housing, more than on pesticide regulations and food safety. In fact, it's more than all those things added together." ...

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/23/ED7U1BUUH3.DTL##ixzz0gNqaOS40

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