Poizner Goes Supply Side With Tax Cuts
California Republicans have typically been huge fans of tax cuts, largely because slashing revenue makes government smaller. Call it Grover Norquist’s “drown it in the bathtub” argument.
But state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a GOP candidate for governor, wants to leap back to the supply-side economics of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, calling for big-time cuts in California’s taxes because that will bring in even more money for the state.
Cutting the sales tax and corporate and personal income taxes by 10 percent, and slashing the capital gains tax in half, would unleash an economic boom in the state, Poizner told the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
“A broad across-the-board tax cut to jumpstart the economy is the cornerstone of my sweeping economic reform plan to save California,” he said.
Poizner and a Capital Gains Tax Cut
Soon after taking over the position as Speaker of the Assembly, Karen Bass held a meeting at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce to discuss ideas to improve California’s desperate fiscal situation. I believe her plan was to convince members of the business community that more revenue was needed and to seek suggestions on how to go about getting it. In other words, which taxes can we raise?
I offered what I said would probably sound like a counter intuitive proposal: Cut the capital gains tax. In cutting that tax I suggested more revenue would come quickly into the government for the tax cut would convince holders of assets that this was a good time to sell their assets and receive the tax benefit. I said that capital gains cuts usually generated some quick revenue.
Another participant at the meeting challenged my statement saying that was not always the case. I turned to an economist who studies the California economy and asked for his opinion. In cautious terms his bottom line answer backed me up saying that, yes, the record shows that capital gains cuts usually boosted government revenue in short order.
SF Renaissance Job Center: 1982-Present
In early 1982, I left a law firm and went to work full time on a fledging job training group in San Francisco, the San Francisco Renaissance Center. Renaissance had been started a few years earlier by labor leader Walter Johnson, then the head of Retail Clerks Union Local 1100, and he soon recruited Bill Russell-Shapiro, a prominent local businessman. Renaissance was a labor/business collaboration, aimed at innovative approaches to both job training and job creation
Over the next five years, Renaissance launched a series of job training programs, small businesses, and a Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. The training programs were a mix of vocational programs (business machine repair, computer repair), literacy/job preparation for young women on welfare, and direct placement of older workers. The businesses, intended to generate jobs and work experience, totaled five at one time: carpet cleaning, cable assembly, business machine repair, messenger service, and a convenience store in the financial district. Renaissance spanned ethnic groups and ages. A photo of part of the Renaissance staff from 1985 is below.
Confessions of an Irresponsible Voter
Since nobody in Sacramento is accepting responsibility for the state’s
fiscal disaster, I will. I am not a state officeholder or government
employee. I am just a small business owner, husband, and father of two in
the San Fernando Valley. I pay my taxes, and I do my best to support local
businesses.
So, why should I accept responsibility for the state’s ongoing fiscal
problems that resulted in a near meltdown this year? What do I have to do
with teachers being laid off and seniors losing in-home support services
while our taxes increase?
The reason is that, as a voter in every state election since 1988, I have
voted for several items that I should have studied more carefully before I
bought into the hype and voted with my heart instead of my brain.
I have let you down, California, and I apologize.