Good Guide
I just received my Official Voter Information Guide for the upcoming election. The law requires everyone be sent a copy. It's pretty long--111 pages--and goes into detail about the 12 initiatives we'll be voting on in November.
There are some high profile issues. There's one about stopping the state from discriminating based on race, sex, etc.; one about a change to property taxes; one about a change to rent control; one about once more allowing independent contractors to work for Uber, Lyft and other app-based driving.
I haven't read the booklet so far, but I do have certain rules of thumb (or maybe it's a flow chart). If they want to raise taxes, or spend more, the answer is no unless it's something really good. The same goes for giving more authority to the government. And if it's unclear what will happen if the initiative passes, the answer is no.
There is one initiative I would like to see, however. Just how many people read this Voter Guide? How many even look at it? If even 5% give it more than a glance, I'd be surprised. We should stop sending them out--if Californians want to know what's going on, let them look things up on the internet.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:30 AM
1 Comments:
Wow, CA beat CO by one! We have 11 Amendments and Propositions. Our booklet is 100 pages or so (full size, 8.5 by 11 inches).
My approach to these is the same as yours. Luckily, we have the Tabor Amendment (passed in the 90s) which requires approval of any tax increase that would increase tax proceeds over that attributable to inflation pus the increase in the relevant taxed population. So we always get several proposals for a tax to pay for a specifically described ne initiative. Sometimes thes pass, sometimes they fail.
One proposition this year would impose this same Tabor restrictions on fee increases that exceed $100,000. Jacking up fees has been one of the ways our local and state governments have gotten around the Tabor Amendment for years.
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