California Voters Reject Robin Hood in Reverse in Tuesday's Election on budget propositions

The Land of Budget Shortfalls, Deception and Low education ratings!

California Voters Reject Robin Hood in Reverse in Tuesday's Election on budget propositions (+)
by: Karita Hummer
Fri May 22, 2009 at 03:02:44 AM EDT

Cross-Posted from Progressive Blue

http://www.eenrblog.com/diary/3890/california-voters-reject-robin-hood-in-reverse-in-tuesdays-election-on-budget-propositions
http://www.ca.gov/images/gov.jpg


So what does the Goverrnator say after his deceptive and tricky propositions got defeated. He says, "The people have spoken, and they want drastic cuts in the State budget." Foul play! That is not why I voted "no" on Prop 1D and Prop 1E. I voted against these measures because they were raiding funds that were set aside for the very young, especially from low-income families and the mentally ill.

California voters rejected the Governor's and the State Assembly's Robin Hood in reverse propositions, and it is time the Governor and the State Assembly recognize that fact. We were not condoning the draconian cuts being proposed for us out here in health care, education and law enforcement. All pretty basic needs. Does it make sense for Gov. Schwarznegger and his Republican cohorts and Democratic collaborators to believe that voters who rejected cuts to young children and the mentally ill would want to see the draconian cuts they propose for the disasabled, those in need of health care and education. No, it doesn't! But, will they do the difficult job of finding a solution instead, as they refused to do earlier in the year when they were confronted with the dilemma they have now. What is obvious is that if California wants to keep ranking near the bottom in public education and other critical services, the Governor and his erstwhile colleagues and collaborators will continue to proceed as they have: refuse to raise necessary taxes to address budget shortfalls and refuse to address the highly undemocratic requirement that 2/3 of the Assembly approve of any budget. The latter is the real reason California is in the mess that it is in, and how Republicans continually hold the democrats hostage to their Conservative agenda.

Though the San Jose Mercury News refers to us voters as uncompromising and perhaps uninformed, the height of insult, the paper did have a dissenting view by Larry Gerston, political scientist, from San Jose State University today, entitled, "FIVE DEFENSIBLE SOURCES OF NEW MONEY FOR CALIFORNIA:, San Jose Mercury News

With Tuesday's election decided, California's economic condition is more precarious than ever.
Two facts make this moment extraordinary. First, the new deficit appears just weeks after the governor and Legislature "closed" a $42 billion gap, including $15 billion in new taxes and $16 billion of cuts in programs and services. Second, California now ranks near the bottom in per capita commitments to critical areas such as public education (47th), highways (50th), and number of state employees (49th). Additional cuts will render the state into developing nation status, a tragic distinction for the world's eighth-largest economy.

Yet cuts are the heart of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest proposal.

Some suggest that the voters' rejections of Propositions 1A-1E underscore that point. Rather, it's likely that the voters spurned misleading reform propositions that simply targeted vulnerable constituencies such as children and the mentally ill with one-time solutions. So how then can California become whole again? The five suggestions below suggest new revenues without increasing traditional tax rates.

(box) Broaden the sales tax. Currently, the state applies sales taxes to only 21 of a possible 168 areas, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. Nine states tax fewer areas, while 40 tax more. Taxing phone service alone would generate $3 billion annually, while sales taxes on entertainment would add $1 billion. Sales taxes could also be applied to professional services, storage, repairs and agricultural services. Twenty years ago, sales taxes and income taxes each represented about 40 percent of the state's revenues; today income taxes constitute 55 percent, compared with 25 percent for sales taxes. Broadening this tax could easily add $5 billion annually to state coffers without touching basic necessities such as food.

(box) Restoration of the vehicle license fee. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now regrets eliminating it in 2004. Then the loss accounted for $4 billion annually. With higher new car prices, the fee over the past five years would have netted the state about $25 billion. In today's dollars, the annual fee would total about $6 billion. Why should drivers pay next to nothing for the privilege of operating their cars, given the costs of maintaining roads? This would not be a new fee, but rather restoration of an abandoned fee.

(box) Alcohol fee. The state alcohol tax has not changed in nearly 20 years. Recently, San Jose Assembly member Jim Beall introduced a bill that would add 10 cents to each alcoholic drink. The money would be used to treat alcoholism, mental health and victims affected by alcoholism. This user tax would be paid only by alcohol consumers and bring in $1.5 billion annually.

(box) Oil severance fee. California is the only oil-producing state without a severance tax. It produces more than 215 million barrels of oil each year. A fee of $2 per barrel (5 cents per gallon) would yield $400 million annually.

(box) Cancellation of recent corporate tax breaks. In the recent budget agreement, the governor and Legislature gave nearly $1 billion in tax breaks to corporations and entertainment companies. Think of it -- as schools were losing teachers and the disabled were doing without health-care workers, the state relinquished $1 billion dollars. The Legislature should rescind this giveaway as soon as possible.

Combined, these suggestions amount to $14 billion in annual revenues. They are neither one-time gimmicks nor overly painful to any one target. They represent a start. To be sure, every recommendation will be ridiculed by the group effected as unnecessary or unfair. But if we believe that California must stop the bleeding, then now is the time to show leadership.Larry Gerston, "FIVE DEFENSIBLE SOURCES OF NEW MONEY FOR CALIFORNIA:, San Jose Mercury News, May 20, 2009

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-sear...

The people showed wisdom and expect more from their leaders than a draconian punishment response, as in "There! Take your cuts, folks"

Karita Hummer
San Jose, CA