Governor Brown is busy campaigning for Prop 30, the tax hikes to cure California’s budget woes. On the surface it looks like the taxes will help teachers and schools and only hurt rich people, but I think it’s time to take a 2nd look at tax hikes California. I mean we all like teachers and schools and we all hate rich people right?
I am certainly not making $250,000 a year, so why would I vote no on this chance to “stick it to the man” (apparently the “man” is now any couple who makes 250k a year).
I will tell you why I am voting no and why I think this tax would be a disaster for our state.
To start this is also a SALES TAX INCREASE! on ALL OF US! California already has one of the highest sales tax rates in the country. Prop 30 will hike the sales tax rate another .25% making us the highest taxed state in the country.
Additionally remember this is for 7 YEARS! You may not make much now but do you know for sure you and your spouse will never make a combined 250k?
“Well, that’s Ok, its a small price to pay for schools” you say….
Why do you think the money will go to schools? Because the ad campaign claims it will? There is nothing in the bill that guarantees the money will go to education.
SO WHY SHOULD YOU THINK TWICE ABOUT TAX HIKES?
1: THE MONEY WOULDN’T GO TO SCHOOLS
It will go to PENSIONS: According to Bloomberg News “Most Californians would be surprised to learn that 100 percent of education’s share of the [Prop 30] tax increase proposed by Governor Jerry Brown will go to pensions instead of classrooms. But that would be no surprise to longtime observers of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, which administers teacher pensions”
2: REGULATED MONOPOLIES GAVE 5 MILLION DOLLARS TO HELP PASS PROP 30. IN OTHER WORDS, GET READY FOR INSURANCE HIKES
REGULATED MONOPOLIES: If you look at the donors to the “Yes on 30” campaign, California’s most regulated monopolies, health insurers, car insurers and telecoms donated 5 million dollars to help pass this Proposition. Considering any tax increase hurts the bottom of line of a corporation they must have been promised something big in return. Obviously they have been promised if this passes the state will green light massive rate hikes. So the 1/4 cent is irrelevant. The real price is the new health insurance, car insurance and telecom rates you will be paying.
3: RECENT EXAMPLES OF FRAUD CONTINUE TO EMERGE
REDEVELOPMENT FRAUD: This story was just released Thursday about the city of Hercules California and 50 million dollars of redevelopment fraud. “State audits released Wednesday question tens of millions of dollars of expenditures by Hercules’ former Redevelopment Agency and slam the city for a lack of internal and accounting controls…..”
Again nothing has changed to prevent this from happening with new tax dollars.
LOW INCOME HOUSING FRAUD: According to Courthouse News: Quarter-Billion-Dollar RICO Scam Alleged in L.A. Housing Developments by low income housing developer ADI
This story has really flown under the media radar, but the implications are enormous. For one, this can not be an isolated incident. This has to be the tip of an enormous iceberg.
“News that emerged from a divorce action led Los Angeles to sue Advanced Development Investment and others for $210 million, in a RICO complaint that alleges they defrauded the city for 17 years by overbilling for low-income housing projects, then secreted ill-gotten gains in India. Glendale filed a similar complaint, for another $33 million….. Los Angeles claims ADI, Ajit Development & Investment, Pacific Housing Diversified, and six people, including the companies’ shareholders, officers, directors, agents and employees, profited from the RICO conspiracy for years, fraudulently getting money and loans from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF), which includes state and federal money for development of affordable housing.”
Nothing has changed to ensure this won’t happen again…nothing at all.
4: CALIFORNIA CONTINUES TO MISAPPROPRIATE FUNDS
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS: State Parks hid $54 million dollars and conveniently feigned bankruptcy which allowed the legislature to pass bills privatizing State Parks.
“California state parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned and her second-in-command was fired Friday after officials discovered the department has been sitting on “hidden assets” totaling nearly $54 million.”