On this "casual" Friday, thought I’d just relate to some of
the items in the news.
TAX DEBATE
Calbuzz thinks I missed the point (to put it mildly) in critiquing
their support for certain tax measures — increasing income taxes for the rich
and property taxes on business. They say I didn’t deal with the concern of the
rich getting richer.
I offered a plan to give fairness to all in the tax system:
a well-constructed flat tax which picks a point on the income scale in which
the tax kicks in and gets rid of most write-offs and loopholes, which I noted
most often benefit the rich.
But, I think I hit the target on the tax proposals they
advocated, which will not solve California’s problems.
Note that Calbuzz didn’t respond to the argument of
volatility of California’s taxes created by a heavy reliance on high-end income
taxpayers. I cited Joe Mathews’ Wall Street Journal article making the same
points about taxpayers fleeing the state and on the volatility issue.
Interestingly, this morning Brian Joseph in the Orange
County Register by way of HealthyCal.org reports on
California’s heavy reliance on the top income taxpayers and how a
tax-the-rich plan cited by Calbuzz from the California Federation of Teachers
will set up the state for a hard fall during a future economic downturn.
Neither did Calbuzz counter the concern a split roll
property tax will have on small business. If you’re worried about the little
guy be wary of a split roll.
Anyway, you be the judge. Read Calbuzz
(I always do), and my
piece and you decide if I was off -base.
I will concede that their page does have better graphics
than mine.
BARRY BONDS
I remember seeing Bonds in a buffet line in the lobby of the
Wells Fargo Center in Sacramento during a Governor Pete Wilson event. As I
recall, this event was associated with a celebration following Wilson’s
re-election. Bonds had been with the Giants a year or two at that time. Do you
think Bonds voted for Pete or was he there just for the food as part of his
program to bulk up? Let me tell you, he wasn’t nearly as big then as he became
in future years.
GUNS AND DOGS
I own the same amount of guns but one more dog than Governor
Brown. My dogs are larger than Brown’s Corgi, but the first dog I owned as a
boy was part Corgi. Do you think that some demographer noting these
similarities between the governor and me would surmise that we vote the same
way?
ALAN POST
RIP to the former state Legislative Analyst and artist. I
talked to Mr. Post on a number of occasions at conferences we attended
together. He was no fan of the taxpayer protection proposals I defended, but he
was always a gentleman and delivered his critiques fairly.
Post did a great service to California by pioneering the
Legislative Analyst’s Office into a model carried on by his successors of
fairly analyzing the facts on policy issues so that the legislators, and the
voters deciding on ballot issues, would have a basis to make judgments.