CommentsELECTION 2016--This election cycle has been filled with thrills, chills, and media spills. Ugh, double ugh, and triple ugh. If ever there was a time for cynicism and a focus on logic and "what will my candidate/this proposition DO" it's this year, when both major presidential candidates are justifiably feared for their personal character flaws. And we MUST also ask what each proposition/measure will DO.
As mentioned in my last CityWatch article a tough assessment of why so many governmental hands are in our face for more money is critical.
The economy, despite what propaganda that the Pravda/Tass-like media proclaims, or whichever government outlet states, is NOT doing so great, and part-time jobs are too much "the new normal" while the City, County, and State budgets are (like the rest of us) hanging on by their collective fingernails.
Public sector spending is NOT acceptable because it is NOT sustainable--hence the need for more taxes when we're already more taxed than virtually all other states, and the middle class is under siege. So here's the big questions for any financial/tax/bond measure or proposition:
Will the new money be spent well, is it already being spent well and is it a priority?
To summarize:
There are a lot of city, county, and state governmental hands in our faces, asking for money, money, and more money! Our money.
1) Vote YES on County Measure M--After being on the fence for the past year, it's becoming obvious to most of us that this measure is the most transparent and needed of all we're being asked to vote on. The biggest complaint is that it doesn't go far enough. But it pays for transit and freeway and road operations. This stands out as the one measure that deserves our vote.
2) Vote NO on County Measure A--I love parks and recreation, but a parcel tax is coming on the heels of many past, current and future parcel taxes. Everyone should pay into this, and if we keep over-relying on homeowners, we'll see another Proposition 13-style taxpayer revolution. I admit to being less concerned if this passes than with other measures.
3) Vote NO (heavens, NO!) on LA Community College District Measure CC--What on earth is this district doing asking us for more money after burning through and misspending on lousy and scandal-plagued work? Don't give an addict money and expect proper spending.
4) Vote NO on LA City Measure HHH--This is painful for me to oppose one my personal heroes (Councilmember Mike Bonin). He is responsible in large part for the aforementioned Measure M...but Metro has developed a reputation for proper oversight, while the city homeless czars have earned quite the opposite reputation.
Will this $1.2 billion bond measure money be spent well? Is this our top priority over our aging infrastructure? We must listen to our neighbors and constituents and NOT let our City be a "homeless magnet"...but efforts to convert the West LA VA Med Ctr to help our vets should be lauded. I applaud Mr. Bonin for all of his efforts, but I don't trust those spending this money.
5) Vote NO on Measure JJJ--There are a lot of "feel-good" features, and minimum wage/residency requirements appear good on first glance, but the "Build Better LA" initiative is a cheap, tawdry distraction from the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative (NII) which will be voted on this spring. The NII will demand we obey our City laws and build within long-overdue updated Community Plans.
6) Vote YES on Measure RRR--It's only modest reform to the LADWP, but it's a good start.
7) Vote NO on Measure SSS--If our public sector pension is driving the City into bankruptcy, or threatening our financial stability, why would adding to that instability make any sense? Yes, our LA Airport Police Officers deserve a good pension, but the whole darned police/fire/public sector pension system is...just...not...sustainable. Let's really FIX the problem, please? Pretty please?
So it's now on to the state, with a gazillion propositions. I don't have the time here to get into all of them, but I'll address the most co$tly ones. Let's recap and remember: California is NOT doing well economically because the middle class is under siege and/or has fled the state.
There are NOT enough millionaires to pay for everyone, and if there's another Wall Street decline (it happens, you know!), then the loss of the middle class will be felt more keenly than ever. A guide:
1) Vote NO on Proposition 51 (heavens, NO!)--Our K-12 population is stable or even decreasing. Previous K-12 school building bond funds have been hideously, if not criminally, misspent (overpriced iPads come to mind). See the diatribe above for more community college districts funds (NO on Measure CC). Even the Governor isn't on board with this.
2) Vote NO on Proposition 52--This measure is too opaque and vague, and too fraught with the likelihood of ill-advised spending/benefits for wealthy hospital CEO's, for a yes vote. Do our hospitals need our support? Yes--but this proposition is too vague without a more careful measure of how the money will be spent.
3) Vote YES on Proposition 53--Requiring the voters/taxpayers to be able to vote on bond measures that cost over $2 billion is a no-brainer. We've the right to deny Sacramento a blank check. And YES, our fellow voters/taxpayers can be entrusted to do the right thing and invest in our future.
4) Vote YES on Proposition 54--Posting all Legislature bills on the Internet, changes and all, before it could vote on these bills is entirely consistent with the Brown Act and all "sunshine" acts. As with Proposition 53, this is a no-brainer. It's called "transparent, good government". This is long overdue!
5) Vote NO on Proposition 55--We were TOLD that the temporary tax hike on those making over $250,000 would be just that...temporary. Folks making over $250,000 in THIS state are hardly poor, but they sure as heck aren't rich. Furthermore, all the claims of "the schools need the money" should be answered with:
a) Will this money be spent well? Has the previous money been spent well?
b) Is this a blank check? Can the Legislature take this same amount of revenue and backfill it into our ever-growing maw of the pension crisis and/or special interests and/or prevent it from truly helping our schools, our poor, etc.?
c) Will this further drive small business owners and retirees out of this state?
d) Stop with the class envy! If we're going to tax higher-income earners, can we at least allow for transparency in how it will be spent?
6) Vote NO on Proposition 56--I very much USED to favor cigarette taxes, but these have gone up so high that it's amazing there's not more of an illegal cigarette industry than there already is. There are fewer smokers than ever. Choose a "better" sin tax, California! And again...will the money be spent well???
7) The "moral" or "law and order" initiatives have to be addressed in a future CityWatch article, but PLEASE consider what the police have to say about them. Laws and punishment have their roles, and throwing away the laws just to give us all a warm, fuzzy feeling inside ignores the rising crime trends that are occurring in our state. LISTEN to the cops--they're trying to protect us!
And please take the time to vote November 8, ya hear?
(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Board member of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected]. He also co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)
-cw
The Big Ballot Measure Question is: Do You Trust Government to Spend Your Money?
