Thursday, June 16, 2005
Two Visions for California
We have a problem in California. The State has a structural deficit. There is a mismatch between income (from taxes) and outgo (services to the people). Republicans and Democrats have different ideas or visions for correcting the problem.
Our governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a Republican. His vision is the Republican vision. The State spends more money than it takes in. Therefore, the spending must be reduced.
We Democrats have a different vision. The State doesn’t take in enough money to provide all the services that the people expect. Schools are being short-changed. County health care systems are being short-changed. We believe that the State’s income should be increased.
There, you have it. We Democrats regard Republicans as stingy Scrooges or Grinches who are more willing to starve public schools and hospitals than increase the taxes on their wealthy supporters. Republicans regard us Democrats as reckless spenders, who want to extract money from frugal folks to reward greedy unions and other special interest groups that vote Democratic.
If these two visions could be presented in an unbiased way to the public to choose between them, I believe that, since we Democrats outnumber Republicans in the State, the Democratic vision would prevail. However, during the years since I moved to California (in 1955), several changes have been made in the way that California operates. These changes make it almost impossible to present these two views fairly to the California voters.
A measure that made a big change was Proposition 13. It required the State Legislature to pass budgets and taxes by a 2/3 vote rather than a simple majority. It also required local governments to pass most taxes by a 2/3 vote of the people, rather than a simple majority. This 2/3 vote requirement gives the stingy Scrooges and Grinches an edge in determining State policy. Even though they are in the minority, Republicans are able to impose their vision on the State. Proposition 13 was supported by voters who feared that the rapid rise in real estate prices and the accompanying rapid rise in the ad valorem property tax would force them out of their homes. It was promoted by a group whose first allegiance was to landlords and businesses who were also bothered by the rapid increase in the tax on real estate.
Mr. Schwarzenegger was elected by voters who were tired of the seeming gridlock in State government. They were tired of a government that resorted to selling bonds to pay expenses rather than increase taxes. The Republicans in the Legislature were able to block any move to increase the income tax, which would increase the taxes paid by their wealthy supporters. The annual tax or fee for obtaining license plates for cars had been reduced a few years earlier with the provision that it could be restored if State revenues fell. The Governor at the time had restored this tax. Mr. Schwarzenegger attracted some voters by his promise to rescind the restoration. He won and did so.
I for one am very sorry and also very angry that Mr. Schwarzenegger has not chosen to use his influence as a celebrity to persuade Californians to vote for measures that would cure some of the more serious problems in California’s governance and finance. Instead of relaxing the constraints that hobble the legislature, he proposes simply to give more power to the governor and to enact legislation by initiative. Instead of accepting the fact that California’s schools and hospitals are under funded, he proposes a constitutional limit on how much money for all purposes the legislature can appropriate.
Shortly after he was elected, there was an election in which several important propositions were put to the voters. One of them would have rolled back the Proposition 13 requirement of a 2/3 vote in the Legislature to a 55 percent or 11/20 majority for passing budgets and taxes. The new Governor opposed it. He wasn’t interested in freeing the Legislature of a serious restriction on its ability to work efficiently. As it turns out, he was interested in making the Legislature an even weaker body. He advocated a return to the part-time Legislature that the State had at one time.
What would Mr. Schwarzenegger have done if the Republicans had majorities in the State Senate and Assembly? What if it was a minority of Democrats that were using the 2/3 vote requirement to stymie his proposals? I suspect he would have eagerly supported the change from 2/3 to something close to a majority for passing budgets and taxes.
So much for the fond notion that a celebrity without previous political experience will provide fair, balanced, and non-partisan leadership for the State. Phooey!
Our governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a Republican. His vision is the Republican vision. The State spends more money than it takes in. Therefore, the spending must be reduced.
We Democrats have a different vision. The State doesn’t take in enough money to provide all the services that the people expect. Schools are being short-changed. County health care systems are being short-changed. We believe that the State’s income should be increased.
There, you have it. We Democrats regard Republicans as stingy Scrooges or Grinches who are more willing to starve public schools and hospitals than increase the taxes on their wealthy supporters. Republicans regard us Democrats as reckless spenders, who want to extract money from frugal folks to reward greedy unions and other special interest groups that vote Democratic.
If these two visions could be presented in an unbiased way to the public to choose between them, I believe that, since we Democrats outnumber Republicans in the State, the Democratic vision would prevail. However, during the years since I moved to California (in 1955), several changes have been made in the way that California operates. These changes make it almost impossible to present these two views fairly to the California voters.
A measure that made a big change was Proposition 13. It required the State Legislature to pass budgets and taxes by a 2/3 vote rather than a simple majority. It also required local governments to pass most taxes by a 2/3 vote of the people, rather than a simple majority. This 2/3 vote requirement gives the stingy Scrooges and Grinches an edge in determining State policy. Even though they are in the minority, Republicans are able to impose their vision on the State. Proposition 13 was supported by voters who feared that the rapid rise in real estate prices and the accompanying rapid rise in the ad valorem property tax would force them out of their homes. It was promoted by a group whose first allegiance was to landlords and businesses who were also bothered by the rapid increase in the tax on real estate.
Mr. Schwarzenegger was elected by voters who were tired of the seeming gridlock in State government. They were tired of a government that resorted to selling bonds to pay expenses rather than increase taxes. The Republicans in the Legislature were able to block any move to increase the income tax, which would increase the taxes paid by their wealthy supporters. The annual tax or fee for obtaining license plates for cars had been reduced a few years earlier with the provision that it could be restored if State revenues fell. The Governor at the time had restored this tax. Mr. Schwarzenegger attracted some voters by his promise to rescind the restoration. He won and did so.
I for one am very sorry and also very angry that Mr. Schwarzenegger has not chosen to use his influence as a celebrity to persuade Californians to vote for measures that would cure some of the more serious problems in California’s governance and finance. Instead of relaxing the constraints that hobble the legislature, he proposes simply to give more power to the governor and to enact legislation by initiative. Instead of accepting the fact that California’s schools and hospitals are under funded, he proposes a constitutional limit on how much money for all purposes the legislature can appropriate.
Shortly after he was elected, there was an election in which several important propositions were put to the voters. One of them would have rolled back the Proposition 13 requirement of a 2/3 vote in the Legislature to a 55 percent or 11/20 majority for passing budgets and taxes. The new Governor opposed it. He wasn’t interested in freeing the Legislature of a serious restriction on its ability to work efficiently. As it turns out, he was interested in making the Legislature an even weaker body. He advocated a return to the part-time Legislature that the State had at one time.
What would Mr. Schwarzenegger have done if the Republicans had majorities in the State Senate and Assembly? What if it was a minority of Democrats that were using the 2/3 vote requirement to stymie his proposals? I suspect he would have eagerly supported the change from 2/3 to something close to a majority for passing budgets and taxes.
So much for the fond notion that a celebrity without previous political experience will provide fair, balanced, and non-partisan leadership for the State. Phooey!
