California is undergoing its own shock treatment. The Republicans are a minority, but they have enough votes to block the supermajority required to pass a budget. They have all signed a no tax pledge. They have a plan to balance the budget without taxes, by drastically cutting spending and destroying environmental and labor protections, such as giving employers flexibility to demand as much work for as many hours without overtime pay on any single day, so long as the number of hours does not exceed 40.
http://sacbee.com/topstories/story/1475895.html
Blame Prop 13. Blame ARNOLD and his total lack of candor and real leadership since he assumed the role of governor in that replacement election. And yes, blame voters who reelected ARNOLD and have not demanded that PROP 13 be repealed.
ReplyDeleteAnd the ridiculous state constitution that requires more than 2/3 of the legislators in each house to pass a budget. The minority can hold the budget hostage.
ReplyDeleteThis is why "Progress and Poverty" should be required comprehension in the public high schools. The list of Nobel Launderettes that have attested to the efficacy of land taxation as the best tax mechanism is quite long. Even Milton Friedman is quoted as saying that the tax on land is the "least bad" tax. But until the voters are properly educated, the battle can never be won. The conservatives have controlled the high schools long enough to produce rightarded voters. And the rightard indoctrination is being paid for by the lefties. Oh, ain't it sweet.
ReplyDeleteIt is time to expand and expound on the education that is FREE, instead of attempting to make calculus classes less expensive. More "civics", please. More real political economy, please. Even if the civics and political economy comes at the expense of math and science. I never got a decent high school education and I was a Libertarian till the age of 35.
That's a lot of votes that were ill advised.
Feinstein shares the same beliefs as Arnold. Don't be fooled because she's a democrat.
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