The Freedom Minute

Why Can’t LA Times Columnists Get it Right?

In a recent column entitled, “California Budget Fixes On May 19 Ballot Are Mostly Shams and Frauds”, Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times rails against the six propositions, 1A through 1F, that will appear on the ballot for the May 19th special election. He’s right that the propositions are all fraudulent and misleading. They deserve to go down in defeat. But Hiltzik’s column is mostly wrong as to his analysis of our current budget crisis as well as what’s actually contained in the propositions themselves.

First, Hiltzik gets the facts wrong about Proposition 1A’s effect on the budget. He wrongly states that 1A “limits budget growth to a formula based on population growth and inflation”. If only this were true. Unfortunately it’s not. Prop 1A limits future spending to historic revenues and economic growth. This means that there really is no spending limit, because all the legislature need do to continue their runaway spending is continue to increase revenue, i.e. increase taxes. That’s a big difference from limiting spending to population growth and inflation. One would think that a columnist for a major newspaper would be able to get this simple fact right. Granted, the actual text of the proposition is so convoluted as to be almost incomprehensible, but all Hiltzik had to do was read the analysis written by the state’s independent legislative analyst which appears here, just like I did. But perhaps that was just too much trouble.

Or perhaps Hiltzik simply likes tax increases so much that he’s intentionally misleading his readers. What other explanation could there be when he calls the largest state tax increase in the history of the United States, “modest tax increases”. Or when he suggests that California’s budget woes come not from legislative over spending but rather from the 2/3 supermajority requirement for budget bills, which is pretty much the only thing standing in the way of even greater state fiscal irresponsibility. In fact, Hiltzik goes so far as to claim that eliminating this 2/3 supermajority requirement will somehow magically solve all our budget problems. Of course that’s only true if you believe we can simply tax our way out of this mess and “a tiny cadre of legislators”, as Hiltzik calls them, are standing in the way. But anyone with even a basic knowledge of economics knows this to be a fallacy. Ever increasing spending coupled with ever increasing taxes to pay for it, drives away the tax base, reduces revenue in the long run and eventually destroys an economy. Not to mention, it’s inherently unfair. But again, Hiltzik disagrees since he believes “there’s nothing inherently wrong with tobacco taxes or surcharges on the wealthy”. With an attitude such as this, it’s no wonder Hiltzik didn’t bother to do his homework.

But, Michael Hiltzik’s most egregious error is that he fails to mention anywhere in his analysis of the propositions that if 1A passes, the massive tax increase recently passed by the legislature will be extended an additional one to two years. That translates into an additional $16 billion in taxes levied on the people of California. But apparently, Michael Hiltzik didn’t think this fact important enough to make anything more than an obscure tangential reference buried deep in his text. Nor did he, in a column about the propositions being “shams and frauds”, mention that 1A’s official title and summary, written by our illustrious elected officials, as well as the TV and radio ads promoting its passage, also fail to mention this important fact. And that’s the biggest sham and fraud of all.

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

Tax Revolt 2009

Attended the anti-tax rally in Fullerton Saturday sponsored by KFI-AM’s The John & Ken Show. This is the first time I’ve been to something like this and I have to say I was very impressed. Thousands of people turned out and it was a fun couple of hours. John & Ken were broadcasting live, but the best part was interacting with the people in the crowd. This was certainly not some fringe group of crazy tax protesters. Rather, it was an amazingly diverse group of average citizens, many for whom this was also their first foray into activism of any kind. I saw all ethnicities, young, old, families, people with an agenda, and those who were simply fed up with the lies from those in power. I was heartened to see so many people who were so motivated by their outrage at our political leaders that they would give up their sunny afternoon and brave the crowds and traffic to make their voices heard. I’m not sure anyone is listening yet, but make no mistake, these voices will just grow louder. If you get a chance to attend one of theses, I urge you to do it. It may restore your faith in the idea that individuals, acting together, can make a difference.

I want to also give a special shout out to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association who passed out some 5000 NO on Prop 1A bumper stickers. (See related post) The HJTA is the granddaddy of the California grassroots taxpayer watchdog groups. Visit their site for lots of great information.

Oh, and here’s a couple of pictures I took. Continue reading “Tax Revolt 2009″

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

Fool Me Once, Twice, Three Times…

Unless you’ve been under a rock these last few weeks, you probably already know that thanks to our Governor and the Republicans in the legislature who all went back on their promise not to raise taxes, Californians will be hit with the largest single state tax increase in the 232 year history of the United States. What you may not know, is that as part of this budget deal, a ballot measure known as Prop. 1A will appear on the ballot in the May 19th statewide election. This measure pretends to be a spending cap, but in actuality will extend the recent tax increases an additional two years. Of course, the politicians who wrote this measure don’t want you to know that, so they omitted this little tidbit from the title and the summary you will see in the voter guide and on the ballot. They’re hoping you’re too stupid or ill-informed to realize. A lawsuit was filed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to force the politicians to change the wording to reflect the true nature of the ballot measure, but a judge ruled that voters don’t need to be told the truth up front as long as the politicians bury the information deep in the text – you know, the part nobody reads.

In addition, the “spending cap” isn’t even a real spending cap, because the way the law was written, the “cap” is tied to prior revenue, so as long as they keep raising taxes, the “cap” will keep increasing. This is the height of hypocrisy, especially for the republicans who almost unanimously voted to put this piece of horse s@#t on the ballot. If they were really against a tax increase, they would never have allowed this ballot measure to be worded in this way. Which just goes to show, that neither party has your best interests at heart.

Don’t be fooled again. And inform everyone you know in California that on May 19th, they should vote NO on 1A. The politicians are well funded with your tax dollars which they will use for TV ads promoting this deceptive ballot measure and certainly Arnold the Liar will be going around the State deceiving the public about it as well. The only chance we have to defeat this is to get the word out ourselves. Email is free, ignorance will cost you dearly.

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

Darrell Steinberg is a Liar

If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, you know that I’m not prone to hyperbole or name calling. So you can be sure I have good reason to title this post as I did.

Here’s a video of Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg speaking on the Senate Floor Monday night. He’s pretty pissed off that he hasn’t been able to get that one Republican vote that would raise our taxes by $14 billion. So, for the benefit of any news reporters that happen to be listening, he goes on a little tirade filled with half-truths and out-right lies. Now we’ve all come to expect a bit of “spin” when politicians open their mouths, but this particular set of distortions is particularly egregious since it’s simply scare tactics to ram the tax increase down our throats.

Ok – here’s the lies, transcribed directly from the video:

Steinberg’s lie -
“Tomorrow the Governor will issue an executive order and announce the layoff of 20,000 state workers. 20,000 hard working Californians, who will be victimized, through no fault of their own, because we have not completed our work.”

The Truth –
The Governor issued layoff “warnings” to 20,000 state workers who’s jobs are paid for from the General Fund. 20,000 warnings had to be sent out because, due to union rules, many of the jobs can’t actually be eliminated, so in order to cut 10,000 jobs, 20,000 notices have to be sent. Furthermore, many of the 10,000 jobs will be eliminated through attrition (retirement or not filling vacant positions) and many of the workers who’s jobs actually are cut, will simply be moved to other jobs funded by special revenue streams rather than through the General Fund. Few if any state workers will actually be laid off. But there’s even more to it. In order to eliminate any jobs, warnings have to be issued 6 months in advance, so even if some one does stand to lose their job, it won’t happen until July and by that time a new budget will have been passed and their jobs could again be funded. So the sending of the 20,000 warnings is pretty much just a formality and Darrell Steinberg knows it. He knows it’s not 20,000 workers and he knows that no one will be “victimized”. So when he said the Governor would announce the layoff of 20,000 state workers, that was a lie.

Steinberg’s lie -
“I will not allow anyone (Senators) to go home, to resume their lives, to have any kind of resumption of normal business as long as I know, and we all know, that on Wednesday morning 20,000 people are going to be laid off…”

The Truth –
Ok, you already know the truth, but since Steinberg repeated his bald faced lie, I figured it deserved a separate showing.

He also made some claims about thousands of workers in infrastructure jobs who would be thrown out of work on Wednesday as well, but since I can’t prove him to have lied about that yet, I’ll just wait till the end of the day and see what actually happens.

By the way, if you want to hear Republican Senator Hollingsworth’s reply which I reference in my previous post, it’s at the end of the clip, so watch the whole thing.

Darrell Steinberg Telling Lies on the Senate Floor

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

Massive Tax Increase Defeated – For Now

Word just in at this late hour from Sacramento that the budget which would have included $14 billion in tax increases has been defeated. Republicans held the line and refused to saddle you with the State’s debt. You should be grateful. Depending on your circumstances, this massive tax increase could have cost you upwards of $1000 per year over the next two to five years. Plus, it would have worsened an already painful recession by causing a further retraction of our economy. We’ve dodged a bullet, for the time being. Who knows what other tricks the majority party has up their sleeves in order to stick you with the bill for the last ten years of overspending? Therefore, we can’t let up. Keep calling your representatives and tell them no new taxes. And then forward them my previous post below so they understand that there is a way out of this without raising your taxes and crippling our economy.

In related news, Dave Cogdill has been ousted as the leader of the Republican Caucus in the Senate. He helped negotiate this terrible tax plan and the majority of his Republican colleagues were not happy. He has been replaced with Senator Dennis Hollingsworth, who yesterday in response to the pressure tactics and outright distortions being used by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg in order to pressure Republicans to go along with the tax increase, shouted out on the Senate Floor, “You’re not going to go back to the people’s pocketbooks to fuel that spending”. We’ll see what happens now that Hollingsworth is negotiating for the Republicans in the Senate.

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

How to Solve California’s $42 billion Budget Deficit

Yes, it’s not enough to just chant “no new taxes” without also providing an alternative. Here’s my attempt to do so.

First of all, there is no “good” solution to this problem. The State (meaning our elected representatives) has overspent, expanded government services, and gotten itself into all sorts of long term financial obligations that are difficult, if not impossible, to easily reverse. Actually, the best solution would be to build a time machine, go back 10 years, and not make all the irresponsible decisions that got us into this mess. Barring that, let’s look at some possible actions that could solve the current budget deficit and not raise taxes.

First – Things You Need to Know

1. California is already one of the highest taxed states in the country.
   a. California has the highest personal income tax and capital gains tax rates in the country and these income tax rates kick in at the lowest income levels.
   b. California’s Top Individual Income Tax Rate is the Highest in the nation.
   c. California’s Corporate Income Tax Rate is the Highest in the west.
   d. California has the highest sales tax in the nation.
   e. California has the highest gas tax in the nation.
2. California teachers’ salaries are the highest in the nation.
3. California teachers’ benefits are among the best in the nation.
4. California spends more per prisoner than any other state, mostly due to exorbitant employee costs.
5. During the last decade, California has added 175,000 new state workers to the payroll.  That’s 48 jobs per day that have to be paid for with your tax dollars.
6. Total state expenditures have increased from $104 billion in 2003 to $145 billion in 2008.  Does that $41 billion number look familiar?
7. California now has the worst credit rating in the nation — even worse than Louisiana’s.
8. California has the nation’s fourth highest unemployment rate of 9.3% (after Michigan, Rhode Island and South Carolina).
9. There have been no major layoffs of state employees since 1975.

Continue reading “How to Solve California’s $42 billion Budget Deficit”

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

Calculate How Much Extra Taxes You’ll Be Paying

Go to the Sacramento Bee website and calculate how much you’re going to be paying when they raise your taxes.

Then call your representatives and email your local paper with your story. Until everyone begins to see how individual taxpayers are affected, this massive tax increase will continue to be viewed as some abstract idea. But real people are going to be hurt and we should let them know exactly who and how much.

Calculate Your Taxes

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

Continue Calling Sacramento

So the latest update is that they only need one more vote in the State Senate in order to pass this crippling tax increase. Word is that Senator Abel Maldonado could turn and vote for the budget. Call Senator Maldonado’s office and demand, plead, beg, him not to vote yes. His number is (916) 651-4015

Also, check out the John & Ken Show at 640 AM KFI. They’re the only ones who are talking any sense about this disastrous situation. Listen online at http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/johnandkenshow/

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

Stop the California Tax Hikes!

Stop the California Tax Hikes!

Unless you act right now, you will be paying higher taxes if you live in California.  I don’t mean a little higher, I mean a lot.  Senate and Assembly Republicans seem poised to renege on their promise not to vote to raise taxes.  If the plan goes through, we will see the following increases:

* Nearly doubling vehicle license fee

* Raising sales taxes 1 cent

* Raising gasoline taxes 12 cents a gallon
* Surcharge of 2.5% to 5% on personal income taxes

What does this mean for you?  Continue reading “Stop the California Tax Hikes!”

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment

California State and Local Ballot Initiative Recommendations

This is a summary. Please see the full discussion of each measure elsewhere on this site.

To download a pdf of this post Right Click here and choose “Save Link As” or “Save Target As”

STATE BALLOT MEASURES

PROP 1A – Vote NO
It is irresponsible to incur additional debt at this time.

PROP 2 – Vote NO
It’s unclear that these animals are being mistreated. Could harm the economy and drive farmers out of business. Will raise food prices.

PROP 3 – Vote NO
It is irresponsible to incur additional debt at this time.

PROP 4 – Vote NO
The motives of the proponents of this proposition are suspect and if passed, Prop 4 could harm more girls than it helps. Furthermore, there is no indication that any of the problems this proposal is meant to address, actually exist.

PROP 5 – Vote YES
Saves billions of taxpayer dollars and frees up much needed prison space for real criminals. Provides treatment instead of incarceration.

PROP 6 – Vote NO
Simply mandating a 60% increase in funding to local law enforcement and then mandating an additional annual increase is not necessarily going to make anyone safer. Would raise taxes or require cuts for other items in the budget such as schools, healthcare, and other vital programs.

PROP 7 – Vote NO
Would raise utility rates. Unfairly sets arbitrary goals for the use of renewable energy and then prohibits smaller renewable energy providers from contributing towards that goal.

PROP 8 – Vote NO
Requires the state to treat one class of citizens differently than another class of citizens. Unfair and mean-spirited.

PROP 9 – Vote NO
Duplicates many laws currently on the books and is therefore unnecessary to a large degree. Contains a number of troubling provisions which are either unconstitutional or simply wrong-headed.

PROP 10 – Vote NO
Most of the funding goes to encourage a shift from oil based energy to natural gas not to renewable energy sources. Would likely raise the cost of energy while enriching Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens.

PROP 11 – Vote YES
Anything is better than the current system in which incumbent legislators create districts where they are virtually guaranteed reelection.

PROP 12 – Vote YES
Helps veterans to purchase a home. Program has been running since 1922 and has yet to incur a cost to taxpayers.

LOS ANGELES CITY AND COUNTY MEASURES

Prop A – Vote NO
Unnecessary. Raises property taxes.

Prop B – Vote NO
Overturns previous ballot initiatives passed by voters in 1973, 1977 and 1980. Intentionally confusing and misleading.

Prop J – Vote NO
At this time of budget crisis, it is irresponsible to take on additional debt or raise taxes.

Prop R – Vote NO
Increases the sales tax. Would drive away consumers and businesses. Transportation priorities not well thought out.

Prop Q – Vote NO
It is irresponsible to take on additional debt or raise taxes.

Prop U – Vote NO
If the measure is defeated and you live in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles, you will no longer have to pay this 5% tax on your phone service.

April 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, State Government | one comment