They’re Coming After the Two-Thirds Vote
In a hallway press conference after the budget deal passed the Senate, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said, “We need to take the two-thirds supermajority to the ballot.”
Steinberg is not the only one declaring the two-thirds vote must be lowered in the shadow the difficult budget debate. Former Senator John Burton said if he is elected to head the state Democratic Party his first priority will be to end the two-thirds vote to pass the budget.
But, those opposed to the two-thirds vote requirement will not just go after the two-thirds vote on the budget. They will also go after the two-thirds vote law to raise taxes.
Consider the budget that was just passed. Those seeking tax increases would still need a two-thirds vote to raise taxes even if there were a majority vote budget rule in place. The majority would not have tried to solve the budget problem without taxes. So the goal is clear. Ultimately, the plan will be to knock down the two-thirds vote to pass taxes.
The “Federal Foreclosure Prevention Package”
I didn’t make up that snappy new name; The Washington Post did, in calling it the largest one “in decades.” We here in California have a little different view of foreclosures than in some other states, particularly the further East you go. Here, we can pick from either what we lawyers fondly call a “Non-Judicial Foreclosure” or a “Judicial Foreclosure.” The former is something that happens via a Trustee and results in a sale, often on the steps of the County Recorder’s office or some courthouse; the latter is a lawsuit, usually seeking a deficiency judgment of dollars over and above taking back somebody’s house or other real property.
Some states, like Florida, only offer the Judicial Foreclosure route so every foreclosure has to be presided over by a Judge – Florida’s courts are so clogged with them right now that they are using a “Rocket Docket,” lawyers’ charming name for the opposite effect of ‘Justice Delayed is Justice Denied’ – it is, instead, justice at a blinding pace – hundreds of foreclosures heard by a Judge in a single court day, maybe a minute or so apiece, followed by orders resulting in formal eviction if the homeowner does not move out.
Budget Deal a Missed Opportunity
The budget deal that came out of the legislature was a missed opportunity. Taxpayers will have to pay increased taxes but will not get enough in return.
What is missing is a comprehensive package of structural reforms including eliminating or consolidating overlapping departments and high-paying political commissions — limiting stipends for members of necessary commissions to $150 per meeting. Also needed is a 2-year state budget, a part-time legislature and abolishing term limits.
Imposing one of the highest tax rates in the nation is a tax-and-spend orgy that further drives businesses, individuals and jobs out of state. It is also another raw deal for County and state taxpayers who are currently subsidizing excessive state spending, government growth, entitlement programs and over $1 billion a year in benefits for illegal aliens in Los Angeles County.
While there are some positive elements to the package such as an effort to control spending and to encourage business, particularly incentives to keep more movie shoots in their home grounds of Los Angeles County and all of California, in the end this package did not add up for the taxpayers.