California key to Us Economy

California key to Us Economy

Freking, Johnson and D’lnnocenzio 09- Anne D'Innocenzio in New York; Kevin Freking in Washington, D.C.; and Kimberly Johnson in Detroit. June 29, 2009, Newsmax reporters, http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/us_california_why_it_matters/2009/06/29/230110.html

Beyond California's borders, why should anyone care that the home of Google and the Walt Disney Co. might stop paying its bills next week?

Virtually all states are suffering in the recession, some worse than California. But none has the economic horsepower of the world's eighth-largest economy, home to one in eight Americans.

California accounts for 12 percent of the nation's gross domestic product and the largest share of retail sales of any state. It also sends far more in tax revenue to the federal government than it receives — giving a dollar for every 80 cents it gets back — which means Californians are keeping social programs afloat across the country.

While the deficit only affects the state, California's deepening economic malaise could make it harder for the entire nation's economy to recover.

When the state stumbles, its sheer size — 38.3 million people — creates fallout for businesses from Texas to Michigan.

"California is the key catalyst for U.S. retail sales, and if California falls further you will see the U.S. economy suffer significantly," said retail consultant Burt P. Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resource Group. He warned of more bankruptcies of national retail chains and brand suppliers.

CALIFORNIA BUDGET CUTS DA – DISEASE IMPACT MODULE

B. California Budget cuts lead to spread of major illnesses

Holober 09- Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, Budget Cuts are a Bonanza for Toxic Chemical Industries, CFC

Sacramento is in the grip of budget cuts that will harm programs that serve tens of millions of Californians. One agency slated for destruction protects Californians from toxic exposures. If eliminated, the result could be increased rates of cancer, neurologic and reproductive damage and illnesses linked to harmful chemical exposures in our homes and in the environment.
Governor Schwarzenegger has announced plans to eliminate the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). This small but effective enclave of scientists and physicians evaluate the health impacts that air pollutants, drinking water contaminants, pesticides, and consumer products have on all Californians, especially infants and children. Their work provides valuable science-based recommendations to protect the public.
Elimination of OEHHA would save the state about eight million dollars, but the cost to Californians, and to our public health services could be hundreds of times greater over many decades, as we will surely pay for the treatment of illnesses that would have been prevented by the reduced exposures to toxics that this agency would identify.
The science helps to shape California’s regulations to reduce contaminants in our food, consumer products and the environment, and also serves as a catalyst for environmental health protection policies in other states, nationally, and globally. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies including the National Academy of Sciences often invite OEHHA scientists to participate in advising for their own evaluations.
C. MASSIVE DISEASE OUTBREAK LEADS TO EXTINCTION

South China Morning Post in ’96 (Kavita Daswani, “Leading the way to a cure for AIDS”, 1-4, L/N)

Despite the importance of the discovery of the "facilitating" cell, it is not what Dr Ben-Abraham wants to talk about. There is a much more pressing medical crisis at hand - one he believes the world must be alerted to: the possibility of a virus deadlier than HIV.    If this makes Dr Ben-Abraham sound like a prophet of doom, then he makes no apology for it. AIDS, the Ebola outbreak which killed more than 100 people in Africa last year, the flu epidemic that has now affected 200,000 in the former Soviet Union - they are all, according to Dr Ben-Abraham, the "tip of the iceberg".    Two decades of intensive study and research in the field of virology have convinced him of one thing: in place of natural and man-made disasters or nuclear warfare, humanity could face extinction because of a single virus, deadlier than HIV.    "An airborne virus is a lively, complex and dangerous organism," he said. "It can come from a rare animal or from anywhere and can mutate constantly. If there is no cure, it affects one person and then there is a chain reaction and it is unstoppable. It is a tragedy waiting to happen."    That may sound like a far-fetched plot for a Hollywood film, but Dr Ben -Abraham said history has already proven his theory. Fifteen years ago, few could have predicted the impact of AIDS on the world. Ebola has had sporadic outbreaks over the past 20 years and the only way the deadly virus - which turns internal organs into liquid - could be contained was because it was killed before it had a chance to spread. Imagine, he says, if it was closer to home: an outbreak of that scale in London, New York or Hong Kong. It could happen anytime in the next 20 years - theoretically, it could happen tomorrow.    The shock of the AIDS epidemic has prompted virus experts to admit "that something new is indeed happening and that the threat of a deadly viral outbreak is imminent", said Joshua Lederberg of the Rockefeller University in New York, at a recent conference. He added that the problem was "very serious and is getting worse".    Dr Ben-Abraham said: "Nature isn't benign. The survival of the human species is not a preordained evolutionary programme. Abundant sources of genetic variation exist for viruses to learn how to mutate and evade the immune system."    He cites the 1968 Hong Kong flu outbreak as an example of how viruses have outsmarted human intelligence. And as new "mega-cities" are being developed in the Third World and rainforests are destroyed, disease-carrying animals and insects are forced into areas of human habitation. "This raises the very real possibility that lethal, mysterious viruses would, for the first time, infect humanity at a large scale and imperil the survival of the human race," he said. 

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