Here are some random thoughts for your intellectual consumption…
IDIOTS OF THE WEEK: San Francisco Supervisors Scott Wiener and Eric Mar. These two radical left-wingers have each introduced separate measures before their board that, if passed, would place before voters a two-cent per ounce tax on soda pop sold in San Francisco. Unfortunately, in a city that has embraced nanny-statism as much as Ess Eff has, one can no longer be surprised at these sorts of outrageous proposals. Wiener is the former Chairman of the San Francisco Democrat Party — and Mar was the principle advocate of already-passed big government regulation that prevents fast food restaurants from putting toys in meals unless those meals meet a certain level of nutritious value as defined by the city. It must be very comforting to be one of the shrinking number of parents in The City, knowing that you have your local government making so many parenting decisions for you.
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In case there was really any question about which taxpayer advocacy organization really looks out for taxpayers, versus which one is a tool of big business — look no further than how the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the California Taxpayers Association (a de facto arm of the Cal Chamber) treated AB 8 (and it’s mirror, SB 11), the largest tax increase to pass the legislature this year, on their annual legislative scorecards. To be clear, AB 8 (which was signed into law) was a seven year extension of supposedly temporary car taxes and fees representing a $2.3 billion dollar transfer of wealth from California car owners into the coffers of the State of California. The HJTA scorecard not only rated this bill, but felt so strongly about it that it was heavily scored. Their report card says at the bottom, “Any floor vote for the two car tax proposals, Assembly Bill 8 and Senate Bill 11 resulted in an automatic ten-point reduction” — so if you voted for it, you literally could not receive an “A” from HJTA. This contrasts strongly with the CalTax scorecard, where it was literally left off of all together — allowing legislators who have cast a terrible vote on a big tax to “hide” from accountability. I don’t want to dismiss all of the work of CalTax — they do some good, and important things. But I will say that their report card lacks credibility, year after year.
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Once you get past the magnitude of the allegations of criminal wrongdoing against State Senator Ron Calderon, that were made public when Al Jayzeera America released a previous-confidential sworn affidavit by an FBI investigator, 125 pages long, that was filled with damning narratives — you then quickly get to a separate, disturbing question. With the investigation surrounding Calderon still ongoing (as far as we know), who in the FBI would have leaked this sensitive information? And of all places to leak it, to go to Al Jayzeera who is hardly known for their investigative journalism in and around the California State Capitol…
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This week there have been a number of articles about how the federal “Farm Bill” (as it is called) may be moving forward. The Farm Bill is a grand example of the problem with the Republican Party in Washington, D.C. There is virtually nothing about this five year, nearly TRILLION DOLLAR spending bill that resembles the rhetoric of the majority party in the House. Republicans talk about free markets, individual responsibility, and the need to shrink big government. Yet, because of some sort of antiquated precedent and, I guess, hypocrisy, there are Republicans in Washington, D.C. (some of them serving from California) who are willing to turn a blind eye to the party’s principles when it comes to this particular business sector. I “get it” that generations of taxpayer funded subsidies in this area have created dependencies, and that simply pulling the plug could create hardship, especially for smaller farms. But we aren’t even on a phase out here. It’s embarrassing. If you wonder why government didn’t shrink last decade when the GOP was in charge of everything, look to this sort of double-standard. Ultimately without the subsidies, the prices for food will increase (perhaps in some cases, by a lot). But I would rather pay more for my goods when I buy them, than pay more in taxes. This will then increase pressure to reduce regulations and taxes that increase costs of these products. If America’s agriculture industry cannot compete globally without a massive transfer of wealth via the government, then we should be having that conversation.
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At the heart of the Calderon sting that is laid out in the as-of-now-unattributed affidavit leaked by Al Jayzeera is that the State Senator was approached by a faux business owner (who was actually and FBI agent), allegedly with a company that makes movies, asking for Calderon to carry and support legislation to increase tax credits for California’s film industry. This is a great opportunity to severely criticize the way our tax code is manipulated by politicians in ludicrous ways. If we just had a flat tax system, with lower rates for everyone and no more carve-outs and special credits, exceptions and exemptions — that would be a better system for our state. When you create a system where politicians are manipulating the tax code to pick winners and losers, you create an opportunity for corruption. Or maybe put another way, if you don’t serve drinks at the bar, no one can get drunk. Then again, don’t look for change anytime soon. There are a lot of people at the bar.
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R.I.P. John Lynch. One of the first elected officials I got to know when I first got involved in politics was Los Angeles County Tax Assessor John Lynch. He served in office for only one term — from 1986 to 1990, and he was a surprise winner in that race. Lynch was a strong conservative who supported the party, and conservative activists. I remember that back in those days he had activists like Doug Boyd and Sergio Picchio on his staff. John is survived by his best friend and wife, Lala. We’ll miss you, John. Here is the LAT obit.
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Speaking of Al Jayzeera, last summer nearly two-dozen of their people in Egypt quit the station, saying that management had directed them to give favorite coverage to the Muslim Brotherhood and to ex-President Morsi.
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Two California Republicans in Congress, Jeff Denham and David Valadeo, have indicated support for Democrat-sponsored comprehensive immigration changes (I can’t, in good conscience, refer to this plan based on the Obama/Reid plan as “reform”). So would commend to their reading (and to yours) the latest column from conservative movement icon Phyllis Schlafly. Come on, people. We can’t have an “any reform is good reform” mentality here — the substance of an overhaul to the country’s immigration plan is significant.
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There’s an article in the Los Angeles Times about legislators distancing themselves from Senator Calderon. I guess that will be the game plan for most, if not all, of his colleagues. Wait a second. That won’t be so easy for all of his colleagues to do — especially this one.
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Finally, in an effort to mention Adolph Hitler in consecutive random thoughts columns… We have all seen this video clip of Hitler and his generals set to different political issues. This one on Obamacare is the best yet.