Stop Arnold

Protests against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his policies continue almost daily across that state.

Yesterday the governor stopped by the headquarters of Yahoo. While he spoke inside, outside protesters marched in the sun. The protesters included teachers, firefighters, nurses, and other union members.

``Some public health care would be good,'' said Brad Joyce, of the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 393 in San Jose, explaining his presense at the demonstration. ``Also, unemployment should be straightened out.''

Amy Kassenbrock, an employee of Yahoo from San Jose said of Arnold, “He doesn't support the people who make communities run -- teachers in particular.”

“Until he comes around to supporting democracy and doing the right thing, yeah we're after him,” Randy Sekany told CBS 5 News.

Donna Vinita of the California School Employees Association which represents bus drivers, custodians, school secretaries, paraeducators, food service workers and other classified employees told the San Jose Mercury News that those opposed to the governor's policies and proposals ``…are trying to meet Arnold at every place we can. He calls us a special interest? He's taken more money from special interests than anyone -- including from Yahoo right here.'' (Yahoo executives have given several donations to Schwarzenegger's fund-raising committees. On June 30, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang gave $100,000 to the governor's ``California Recovery Team.") A new poll conducted by San Jose State shows that the state’s governor is less popular with his constituents than the labor unions he tars as special interests. The San Jose State survey shows only 41 percent approve of Schwarzenegger, but 57 percent approve of unions.

The “Terminator” used a rear entrance to avoid the protesters.

While all this was going on demonstrators launched a statewide campaign which targets Target for its political contributions to the state's governor and his support of a voluntary prescription drug discounts program proposed by the pharmaceutical industry with a rally outside a Target store in Palm Desert. The Desert Sun reports that the demonstration, which was organized by California Consumers United, also was used to urge a boycott of the store's new pharmacy. The demonstrators argue that it is not beneficial to buy drugs from a corporation that supports Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the prescription drug policy he supports.

"Many of our seniors in the valley can ill afford the prices (of prescription drugs), and Target had the opportunity to be fair. But they chose to contribute to someone who obviously doesn't care about senior citizens,” said Rancho Mirage resident Elle Kurpiewski, who participated in the demonstration

Pharmaceutical companies proposed the state adopt California RX, or Proposition 78, a law that would allow drug companies to provide discounted drugs to anyone earning less than three times the federal poverty level - $27,936 for an individual, or $56,568 for a family of four. However, the bill allows manufacturers to participate on a voluntary basis with no incentive to do so.

There is another measure on the ballot, Propositiion 79 , which has the backing of consumer groups and labor unions. That measure would allow the nation's most populous state, to punish companies that did not offer sufficiently discounted drugs to people with low and moderate incomes by discouraging the use of those companies' drugs in the state's Medicaid program. Proposition 79 would offer discounts to people without health insurance who make less than four times the federal poverty level, or an annual income of $38,280 for an individual or $77,400 for a family of four. Some people with health insurance but heavy medical expenses would also qualify.

A huge difference between the two plans is, therefore, in the leverage the state might bring to procure discounts. Under the union-backed proposal, if a company did not offer what state negotiators considered sufficient discounts the state could discourage use of that company's drugs in the state's Medicaid program, which spends about $4 billion per year on drugs.

Tim Allison, national chairman of the Gray Panthers says Target's $240,000 campaign contribution to the governor shows that both are "more concerned with profits and campaign contributions."

More demonstrations are planned for Target stores in Sacramento, San Jose, Fresno and San Diego in the next two weeks, and several more are over the next few months, the organizers said. Sources: Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA), San Jose Mercury News, California School Employees Association, CBS 5, (SF Bay Area), Contra Costa Times