Protests at UC Berkeley and other UCs yesterday objected to budget cuts to the university system. The day before, at UC Berkeley, professors told an audience of students why the university was in such difficulties and why they should actively protest. Many speakers blamed Proposition 13, of course. But, according to the Daily Californian one political science professor said that the tax revolt was "rebellion against democracy; keep what you earn and no democracy can tell you otherwise."
One wonders how far the professor thinks “democracy” can go in taking away part – or all – of what you earn. This reminds me of a quote from a professor of another time. Alexander Tytler, an 18th century Scottish historian said, “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury.”
The tax revolt in the form of Proposition 13 was democracy in action. The measure presented to the voters a set of rules on taxation and asked for their approval. They approved overwhelmingly. If some citizens want to change those rules they can do so by presenting a measure to the voters and get a majority vote. The attempt to end the two-thirds vote for tax increases did appear on the ballot in 2004. The voters said: No. Democracy in action.
Looks like there might be another attempt at lowering the two-thirds vote. UC Berkeley professor George Lakoff filed an initiative this week to lower the two-thirds vote to majority for taxes and the budget.
Lakoff calls his measure the Democracy Act. He argues that lowering the two-thirds vote is about democracy and not about taxes. Then he explains all the things that taxes will pay for if the two-thirds vote is reduced. Lowering the two-thirds vote is about taxes.
Lakoff argues that a majority of legislators should decide the tax issue. He writes a “majority of voters choose a majority of legislators. That’s simple democracy.”
However, he ignores the work of other professors who have theorized that there are two electorates in California. One is filtered through the legislature, but the other is the people, themselves, at the ballot box. These two legislatures don’t always agree.
I suspect they have different opinions about the two-thirds vote for taxes. We’ll see what the voters say this time if the Lakoff measure makes the ballot.
Speaking of Berkeley, let me pass on this column by John Dvorak in the Wall Street Journal. Dvorak argues California should go bankrupt. He points to the City of Berkeley as a microcosm of what is wrong with California. The city wants higher taxes and is anti-business. Because of those positions, businesses fold and the tax base vanishes so the city remains in debt. (A tip of the hat to Jack Dean for sending the article my way.)