Sorry folks. I’ve been sick for the last week so sleeping and working have taken precedence over blogging. Here’s a quick one that you might find interesting…

 I was browsing Google Earth for a project site just north of Porterville, California last week when I spotted what appeared to be an exclusive gated community in the middle of some farmland on the outskirts of town. Spacious accommodations, curvilinear streets, lush landscaping, a community swimming pool, a gymnasium, and at least 50 other large buildings were all visible from the aerial photo. I thought to myself, surely this must be home to the more affluent agriculture and petroleum tycoons in the area. Then I looked at a street view photo and saw a sign at the front entrance that read, “Porterville Developmental Center.” A few more clicks brought me to this Web Site:

http://www.dds.ca.gov/Porterville/History.cfm

The complex was built in 1950 as Porterville State Hospital. What caught my attention was that the 600-acre facility held as many as 2,600 developmentally challenged individuals at its peak in 1957, but its population in recent years is only about 700. If my math is correct, that means that there is one building for every 14 patients; and nearly an acre of land for every resident. The clincher for me is the fact that the facility is the largest employer in the city (more employees than the nearby regional WalMart Distribution Center) with a staff totaling 1800! Assuming that each staff member earns minimum wage (yeah, right), that puts the total annual payroll at nearly $30 Million. While those of us in the private sector are losing our jobs, losing our retirement, and losing our homes, each of these criminals classified as developmentally disabled by the State is being waited on by 2.6 government employees in a spacious facility nestled “in the foothills of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains.” Did I mention that they added a 96-bed residential expansion (including a new swimming pool) just last year?

I’m not a politician nor a mental health expert, but, I can’t help but wonder if the State of California wouldn’t be in it’s current budget mess if there were a few smart entrepreneurs in positions of leadership within the State legislature who were willing to take a hard look at cutting excessive expenditures in response to fiscal failure. Instead, of course, they will raise taxes and take dollars away from an already deteriorating educational system. If you find yourself out of a job, you may try the Porterville Developmental Center. I hear they’re hiring.