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ALPERN AT LARGE - A few years ago, the GOP federal politicians from “flyover states” and a few other states that didn’t want to foot the bill for inane and silly tax and bond measures from high-state-tax states like California, New York, and New Jersey limited the deduction for State and Local Taxes (SALT) deduction to approximately $10,000.
The high-state-tax states screamed bloody murder...and then proved the GOP House Representatives and Senators correct. The states keep passing stupid and self-inflicted wounds, keep doubling down on failed policies, and keep presuming that more money means more answers instead of more government/lobbyist jobs.
And Sacramento doesn’t EVER want to keep gobbling up our tax dollars and related state debt.
(For those who presume that someone ELSE will do all the paying, then good luck with inflation and getting raises from your employer...it’s gonna be passed onto you and everyone, you dolts!)
So how should we focus on the eleven ballot measures?
First, stop fretting about eleven measures—vote no or just don’t vote on measures you don’t understand, or pull up your big boy/girl pants and do your civic duty.
It’s free, you know!
Here we go:
1) So first there’s Proposition 5: NO.
Lowering the threshold for passing bond measures, which will be paid off with interest by us and future generations?
Considering how we used to have a big tax surplus and now the state is broke, one can and should presume we have lousy spending policies.
Shall we reward bad spending with more money to those who do the bad spending?
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 5.
2) Then there’s Proposition 2: NO.
See my above shpiel about Proposition 5
A $10 billion bond measure for schools and colleges, while we live in an era of a lowering K-12 population as the number of children decreases in California.
Shall we remember how many recent tax and bond measures we passed over the years for our schools and community colleges?
Think the money will be spent any better than before, so that we need to borrow money instead of using our current state budget money effectively?
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 2.
3) Moving on, there’s Proposition 4: NO.
Again, see my above shpiel about Proposition 5.
A $10 billion bond measure to fight climate change, drinking water and groundwater programs, wildfire and forest programs, and sea level rise?
A great idea in theory, but DON’T WE HAVE ENOUGH IN CURRENT TAXES TO PAY FOR ALL THIS?
Will this really help the environment and stave off climate change?
Will it bail out developers and local utilities from doing their jobs to pay for our infrastructure, and aren’t our gas taxes high enough YET?
Must we presume that if we vote against this that we don’t care about the environment...or do we demand our environment/infrastructure dollars be spent well instead of for connected and/or idiotic politicians and lobbyists?
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 4.
4) Then there’s the BIG MONEY PROPOSITIONS 33 and 34: NO ON BOTH.
Damn, there’s a lot of hidden agendas, with landlords and tenants screaming how the other side is heartless and/or stupid and/or evil.
So what’s going on...and shall we ever find out the real story? Do we have the TIME to learn the real story
What is absolutely certain is that we need more affordable housing and more affordable drug/medication costs...but whenever our corrupt and/or criminally-naïve city/county/state governments poke their noses into these vital issues they do nothing more than create government jobs with worsened outcomes.
SADLY, WE SHOULD VOTE NO ON BOTH PROPOSITIONS 33 AND 34 AND DEMAND LESS GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS AND INTERVENTIONS TO MAKE MORE JOBS AND LOWER HOUSING COSTS.
5) Finally, there’s PROPOSITION 36: YES.
This is an easy one—return many of the theft and criminal and other misdemeanors that used to be felonies...back to being felonies again.
Crime is up, and our economy and quality of life are going down.
Let George Soros and George Gascón wreck other cities and states, but they should leave California alone!
Our “noble experiment” has borne bitter fruit, so let’s fix our state and reward the law-abiders, and not the lawbreakers.
VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 36.
Vote this November and do your/my/our civic duty. We deserve a better life for ourselves and future generations in this once-Golden State.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
