March 26th 2009
California To Lead Taxpayer Revolution?
J
ust around the corner, on May 19, a raft of legislature-passed initiatives will go the a vote here in California. “Raft” is the perfect word: Our spending-addicted state government is clinging on to these proposals as a last hope keeping them from sinking beneath the stormy waters of the Sea of Insolvency.
It looks like California voters would rather send a message than save the state. A new statewide survey by the state’s leading nonpartisan polling outfit, the Public Policy Institute of California, the five initiatives that would rejigger state finances, robbing from Peter to pay Paul instead of making fundamental fixes, has majority support. I expect support to wane further as the public’s understanding of the measures and frustration with governmental ineptitude increase.
Also figuring into my forecast is the overwhelming 81 percent support for the sixth proposition, 1F, which would limit salary increases for state elected officials when the state faces a budget deficit. We Californians are definitely thinking about meting out some punishment. PPIC’s prez agrees:
“Californians are clear that the budget situation is serious, but most disapprove of the leadership in Sacramento—the people who are providing the solutions,” says Mark Baldassare, PPIC president, CEO, and survey director. “These leaders have their work cut out for them if they want to persuade voters that the ballot measures are necessary to address the problem.”
And in a note to RINOs everywhere, our barely Republican governor has become the poster boy for proving that being a political phony pleases no one. His disapproval rate among registered voters is now 57 percent, with no one liking him much at all: 60 percent of Dems disapprove, 53 percent of GOP, 57 percent of indys.
Disapproval of the legislature, which brought us this mess by being a liberal Democrat rats nest, is far worse, with 81 percent of likely voters disapproving of them – a sign that a taxpayer revolt is roiling like magma under a thin crust. If California voters do revolt on May 19, fiscal chaol will ensue, leading to a massive legislative turnover in subsequent elections.
I think voters in other states will watch the debacle and say, “Looks good to me – as goes California goes us!”
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