“難道孩子不重要嗎？”女兒氣呼呼地問。
我不知道她的氣打哪兒冒出來的，“當然重要啦。”
“那麽州長為什麽要消減學校的經費呢？”
“我怎麽知道？我又不是州長。”
於是就有了女兒給州長的一封信，她給州長電郵了過去。
這就是信的全文：
Dear Governor Brown,
I think that the government shouldn’t cut the budget on educational programs. Well, first of all, you should know that I am a 9-year-old child. So, why not just delete this message and forget about it? You really shouldn’t cut the budget. Okay, you’re probably thinking that this is just another boring old e-mail about the same boring old topic, or something like that.
You have probably seen all those signs and brochures that say that children are the future of America. If not, I suggest that you take a walk around the neighborhood first. Well, what do they say? Children are the future of America.
Now, what are the reasons of the budget cuts? There is a budget deficit. Or, to put it bluntly, the state of California doesn’t have enough money. I am not suggesting that the government not to get money. I am simply stating a fact. Well, anyways, back to our original topic. Since there is a budget deficit, you are cutting the schools’ budgets. From your point of view, it might not be reasonable, but it is inevitable.
One way to get more money could be to raise taxes on cigarettes, cigarette lighters, fast food, and wine. They are bad for people’s health anyways. I think people could do without them. Well, as long as it doesn’t cut money from school’s budgets, health care, or any other important thing, it will be fine with me. I will most likely support it.
From,
Hermione
女兒的信還有個中譯本：
親愛的布朗州長：
我是一個九歲的小學生，不要因此撕了我的信，也不要看了打瞌睡。我希望政府不要裁減學校經費，難道小孩子不是美國的未來嗎？請你到我們社區來看一看，我們做了許多反對的標牌。我知道加州有太少的錢，但是你可以漲香煙、打火機、快餐館和酒的稅，那些東西都不利於大家的健康。
州長助理給女兒回了信，叫她不要擔心，大人們會解決問題的。大半年過去了，財政赤字，預算危機，這些問題依然困擾著加裏福尼亞州。
