Letter: Voting no on water bond

Today I received my bill from the San Benito County Water District. With it was a pamphlet advocating passage of an $11.1 BILLION water bond. The pamphlet tells a sad tale of woe about what will happen if we do not pass this water bond. But what this pamphlet does not say is that farmers pay a small fraction of the cost of their water. The rest comes out of your taxes. Because their water is cheap, California farmers grow low-value crops like cotton, rice and cattle feed. This is a complete waste of our precious water, because these low value crops could be grown in states that have plenty of rain. If farmers had to pay the full cost of their water, they would not waste it on low-value crops. I will be voting NO on the water bond, and I will vote NO on any future water bonds unless the agricultural water subsidy is eliminated.
Robert Gilchrist Huenemann, Hollister