I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of some elected officials in the story, and#8220;State Parks could be saved by new proposaland#8221; (Sierra Sun, June 24, 2009). A $15 fee on top of the recent increase in DMV fees is outrageous.

There are close to 32 million vehicles registered in California. The $15 would generate $470 million dollars.

The question ya gotta be asking yourself is how many of those vehicles owners are going to actually be using the parks.

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This is just one more burden on the citizens in really tough times. Free parking: big whoop! The fair and honest way to handle this is to charge appropriate fees to the users that would cover the costs of operating the parks. If people can’t or don’t want to pay then they don’t have to.

There is no free lunch people. Run the parks like a business. I am aware that some local folks are having heartburn over the proposal to close the parks. We all have to make some sacrifices. If we weren’t such a and#8220;subsidyand#8221; based society we might not be in the current pickle. I am a strong supporter of parks and recreational activities but we can’t keep expecting everyone else to for our personal recreation. The state has bigger problems than trying to keep parks open by gouging us again.

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I urge you all to write, call or e-mail your legislators and demand a better plan for California State Parks.