Crow and Redistricting
Anyone out there know any good recipes for crow? I’m preparing to eat some when it comes to one initiative on the ballot: Prop 11.
As I wrote here several months ago in an exchange with Tony Quinn, I’ve long believed that this attempt at redistricting reform was a waste of time and had no chance. (I compared redistricting’s chances to the prospects of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers–always bad). I still believe Prop 11 is probably a waste of time (nothing wrong with ending the conflict of interest, but redistricting won’t do very much to change the mix in the legislature, as the Public Policy Institute of California has shown), but I no longer believe it has no chance.
The latest Field Poll shows Prop 11 with a 45 percent to 30 percent lead. That’s no guarantee of victory — the initiative needs a majority — but things are moving in the right direction. Even if much of the huge undecided vote breaks against the measure, it’s a good bet that Prop 11 will get just enough to put it over the top.
Tax Commission Half a Loaf; Consider Spending, Too
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s executive order creating a tax commission to modernize California’s revenue gathering system is missing an important ingredient. Stating the rational for a tax commission, the second sentence in the order reads: “Our tax system has not been restructured in over 80 years even though our economy has changed dramatically.”
While that is basically true what is missing is the other side of the equation–how we spend our revenue. Spending of public money has also dramatically changed in 80 years, and spending drives the need for revenue. Would it not be wise to examine spending as well to eliminate unnecessary programs or to remodel the way services are delivered so the that tax restructuring and spending programs can be fashioned at the same time to meet the actual needs of California?
This is not to say that the tax commission is a bad idea. There is value in looking at the tax structure and its relationship to the state’s economy. No doubt changes need to be made. But, if we are going to do a reconstruction job let’s do it right the first time. Patch the leaks in the roof as well as rebuild the foundation.
Avoiding America’s “Blue” October Revolution
The youth are excited and united behind a new charismatic leader! There is electricity in the air as students and young patriots swarm in the footsteps of their dedicated leader—a young lawyer who whose books and ideas are energizing the nation with his careful and revolutionary message—Now is the time for change! This leader stands boldly against an expensive and painful war and argues that, instead of fighting a war with imperialistic undertones, we should wage a war on the classes that divide us. Academic elites also step forward in support.
This leader brings to his nation a commitment to hope. His first priority: to get his nation out of the war. His other priorities included creating a free universal health care system for all; strengthening the rights of women and teaching the illiterate to read. Workers across the nation are angry and frustrated at their plight in the sputtering economy. The existing government is demonized and vilified. People are ready to step out for change.