Monday, August 6, 2012

Checking the Books

Truth is, the citizens of California– especially on fiscal issues – are far more conservative. - Jon Coupal/Howard Jarvis Taxpayer's Association

To outsiders, California appears to be a decidedly liberal state. After all, Mitt Romney is unlikely to even contest California and our super high taxes and regulatory burden establish beyond any reasonable doubt that this sure isn’t Texas. It is true that, taken as a whole, our elected leadership is very much left of center, but what about the voters themselves?

Truth is, the citizens of California– especially on fiscal issues – are far more conservative. Want proof? While the majority in the California Legislature would pass tax increases in a heartbeat, California voters are far more reluctant. Indeed, the last eight proposed tax hikes on the statewide ballot have been defeated, including an increase in the tobacco tax.

So, even if most Californians are not “anti-government zealots,” most are strongly in favor of making sure that tax dollars are spent wisely. Californians, irrespective of their political leanings, want fiscal prudence.

That is probably why recent actions by our elected leadership and entrenched bureaucrats are so out of step with ordinary voters and why the public reaction to the recent scandals has been unbridled outrage....

One would think that with a full time legislature, our elected officials would have more than enough time to review the performance and efficiency of government programs. But, ironically, other states which have only a part time legislature do a much better job of being faithful stewards of public dollars.

The reason for this is simple. In California, being a legislator is a career, not a call to public service. And to maintain their political careers, politicians need to be in the news – a lot. Therefore, the incentive is to propose some new program that will grab attention on the six o’clock news rather than to do the more mundane work of oversight. Put bluntly, oversight is not nearly as sexy as a new program.... More at the link