The Two-Thirds Vote IS about Taxes
The effort to do away with the two-thirds vote to raise taxes has been camouflaged with an argument that “democracy” must be served by applying a majority vote to all state revenue issues. UC Berkeley professor George Lakoff’s initiative to lower the two-thirds vote to majority rests on this argument.
No one is fooled. The attempt to remove the two-thirds vote IS about taxes.
Lakoff’s first initiative effort will not have the signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. He has filed a new initiative hoping to get a different title and summary out of the attorney general’s office. The first initiative title and summary told potential petition signers what the initiative was all about: “Changes Legislative Vote Requirement to Pass a Budget or Raise Taxes from Two-Thirds to a Simple Majority.”
Lakoff argued in the Huffington Post that taxes should not be mentioned in the title and summary because the measure is simply about setting up a democratic majority vote for legislative acts. Further, he argued that most people would not face taxes anyway because: “No one in the legislature wants to raise taxes on most voters.”
Pension Bomb Explodes at Jerry Brown’s Feet
Yesterday, a study issued by Stanford University’s Institute for Economic Policy Research declared that California faces a state pension liability of a half-a-trillion dollars. The study’s title, “Going for Broke,” tells you all you need to know about the dire situation the state faces with unfunded pension obligations.
David Crane, the governor’s special advisor on jobs and the economy spelled out the pressure the pension problem will put on general fund spending in today’s Los Angeles Times. Crane argues the lack of reform on pensions rests with a legislature that is controlled by public employee unions. As Crane puts it, paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, “Instead of a government of the people, by the people and for the people, we have become a government of its employees, by its employees and for its employees.”
Crane traces the political takeover by the unions to the Dill Act signed by Governor Jerry Brown in 1978 giving the public unions collective bargaining. As the unions power over the legislature has grown the concern is reform on the pension front will be more and more difficult to accomplish.
Health Care Poll Does Not Reveal Long Term Diagnosis
The USC/L.A. Times health care poll released over the weekend could prove the oft-stated observation that a poll represents only a “snapshot in time.” The poll indicates that, unlike other regions of the country, Californians are in favor of the health care reforms recently signed into law by the president. By a 46%-29% margin poll respondents said they would vote for a congress member who voted for the bill.
However, from comments made by those polled it appears people like the “idea” of health care reform, even if they don’t know how this particular reform package will play out.
One respondent told the Times that he did not understand the mechanics of the bill but was positive toward it because: “I just know we have an issue with healthcare. To see something being done about it makes me happy.”
Some who have taken a closer look at the reform package have come to a different conclusion, but the question we are exploring here is will the favorable attitude represented in the poll hold?
Oil, Oil Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drill (off California)
When it comes to oil, California is the new Nebraska
The Obama administration thinks that off shore oil drilling is important to meet America’s energy needs. However, it is only important enough to open up underwater oil fields off the southern Atlantic coast, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. California and the West Coast states are treated differently where off shore oil drilling is still prohibited.
Guess this continues the Washington trend of cutting political deals to move the ball on big issues. California, Washington and Oregon fall into the same class as Nebraska. Recall in the heated healthcare debate Nebraska was given concessions to secure a crucial congressional vote.
In the case of California, the administration is not so much after the votes of senators or congress members but to help keep the biggest bundle of electoral votes in the president’s corner.
Superman Poizner, Erudite Will and the Ever Controversial Sarah Palin
You’ve probably seen the gubernatorial campaign ad of Steve Poizner pulling a car back from going over a cliff like George Reeves as Superman in the 1950s TV show.
Poizner’s campaign calls the ad “Liberal Failure” and in the first eight seconds of the 30-second spot a quote from Washington Post columnist and TV pundit, George Will, appears on the screen: “…Liberalism has Tarnished California Gold.”
The quote is actually the title of a Will piece published January 10.
I found the article among my papers in cleaning up my desk the other day. I had saved it and marked some of Will’s observations.
Will was writing about the student and union-member protests at UC Berkeley over the 32-percent student fee increase. Certainly, an increase of that magnitude was a shock to the budget of the students, although as Will pointed out, the new tuition was “still 70 percent below student costs at Stanford and other private institutions in California that Berkeley considers no better than it is.”
States Look to Tax Services. Will California?
States are considering new taxes on virtually everything to close their budget gaps according to a New York Times article. The focus of these efforts is taxing services. The big test states are Michigan and Pennsylvania, with governors of both states pushing service tax measures. Where voters stand may be reflected in a June ballot measure in Maine.
Will an effort to tax services in California be far behind?
Recall that the Commission on the 21st Century Economy, often referred to as the Parsky Commission after its chairman Gerald Parsky, toyed with the idea of a tax on services before settling on a Business Net Receipts Tax as the major reform of the state tax structure.
Like the top-heavy, grand 17th Century Swedish Warship, Vasa, the commission’s proposal sank as soon as it was launched. However, individual members of the commission, along with others seeking more revenue for California treasuries, insist that service taxes must be employed to help balance the budget. The idea that California is now a service-oriented economy is echoed by the proponents of service taxes in other states.
Third Party Blues
According to the new Public Policy Institute Poll, disgusted voters are ready for a third party in California. Fifty-five percent of likely voters think a third party is needed. This reflects a similar finding in September 2008. There is no warmth from likely voters for the two major parties. Forty-one percent of likely voters have a favorable impression of the Democratic Party; 31% have a favorable impression of the Republicans. Interestingly, those numbers pretty much reflect party registration in California.
Surprisingly, the unorganized Tea Party reflects better than the Republicans with 34% of likely voters recording a favorable impression. It is not just Republican Party supporters who gave thumbs up to the Tea Party. A good number of those who sing the praises of the Tea Party do not embrace the Republicans. The PPIC poll found that 58% of those voters who have an unfavorable impression of the Republican Party think positively about the Tea Party.
Global Warming May be Lukewarm at the Polls
Global warming may not be so powerful as a political issue. That’s what I take from the results of the Field Poll, that released a list of issues rated by the voters as to what is most important to them in the upcoming gubernatorial election. Global warming finished last of 12 issues queried.
The voters’ attitude toward global warming may very well determine the outcome of the proposed ballot initiative to suspend AB 32, California’s anti-global warming measure. The issue that topped all other concerns for poll respondents was jobs. Nearly 69% said jobs is the prime issue for gubernatorial candidates to focus their attention.
Given that supporters of suspending AB 32 argue that continuing to implement the measure would mean a loss of jobs, the combination of concern for jobs and the relative lack of concern for global warming as an issue could be good news for the measure’s backers.
Brown Embraces the Public Unions
Ignoring reams of material that suggest dangerous taxpayer liabilities have been created by public employee benefit programs, Jerry Brown appealed to the public unions to back his campaign for governor declaring California’s fiscal problems are not the unions’ fault but that of Wall Street and corporations.
As governor his first time around, Brown created the strength of the modern public labor union in the state by signing into law collective bargaining. He did not shy away from that action this past weekend. As reported by Jack Chang in the Sacramento Bee, Brown said, “I’m very proud to have created this system that gave workers a choice.”
That statement is in contrast to the regret Brown has supposedly expressed in private over the years for his previous action. True or not, he made it clear that it’s his intention to escort the public unions to the big election dance this year. Brown needs the political power of the unions to battle his wealthy GOP opponents and he is embracing his deal with the unions dearly.
Stop Hidden Taxes
One of the concerns of the business community and taxpayers is that the legislature is calling taxes “fees” to get around the constitutional two-thirds vote requirement to pass a tax.
This deceptive practice has caused an initiative to be launched in an effort to put a check on this procedure, which is adding to the economic burden of California businesses and citizens. The California Taxpayers Association and the California Chamber of Commerce head up the Stop Hidden Taxes Coalition. The Small Business Action Committee is a member.
The coalition expects to qualify the initiative for the November ballot. For more information on the initiative and the effort to stop hidden taxes, visit www.nomorehiddentaxes.com.
Cal Tax recently highlighted four such “fees.”