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.
Is There a GOP Strategy for Winning Back the California Legislature?
If there is such a strategy, it is a very closely held secret.
From what I can discern from examining the party’s efforts in legislative elections, Republicans have no plan for winning back the legislature. Yes, the party and legislative leaders have plans for winning a few seats this year, but that’s not the same as winning back control. Heck, it’s not even clear that winning back the legislature is a strategic objective.
Why? Well, the answer one gets when posing that question to Republicans is the obvious one: the districts as now drawn put winning the majority out of reach. That answer should be unsatisfying if you’re a Republican, because it reveals the mentality of a permanent minority. It’s hard to see, given how Californians have sorted themselves geographically into communities of the like-minded, how redistricting reform is going to produce a legislative map that will permit the GOP to recover the majority.
What’s required is a change of mindset – and the embrace of change that Republicans have too long resisted.
Reclaiming Our State Government
2010 could be the year of Citizen Power. This could be the year when we begin to
fight back against the bitter partisan politics of organized political parties
in California.
Californians are angry because we recognize the winds of
partisan self-interest have eroded Citizen Power. Not since the days of Governor Hiram Johnson, who in 1911
successfully championed Citizen Power through enactment of referendum, recall
and initiative to overcome the power of the special-interests of the day — the
railroads – have the people been as angry. Our frustration with partisan
politics is evident as the ranks of "Decline-to-State" registered voters have
swelled to almost twenty-one percent of all voters.
Citizen Power is not supposed to be just a catchphrase or a
mere truism. The California Constitution says "All political power is inherent
in the people." There is no
equivalent phrase in the Federal Constitution. The hardy pioneers intended for
California to be more populist than the Federal Government. But the political
parties have managed to wrest power from us in spite of the guarantee of this
"Popular Sovereignty Provision."
Copenhagen, Climate, and California Clean
With a career emphasis of many years delivering energy efficiency programs to customers and developing renewable energy sources as part of Sacramento’s power mix, I was excited to see international policymakers considering climate change issues back in December at the Copenhagen “Conference of the Parties” sponsored by the UN.
While subsequent news coverage highlighted the disappointment of many of the participants, I came away energized and hopeful as a result of what I learned.
There is a strong, international consensus that climate change is real and must be addressed. The United States was the key player in development of the draft Copenhagen Accord, which for the first time brings major emitters China, India, Brazil and South Africa to the climate change solutions table.