There are a multitude of problems with Prop 13. You won’t have to read this site very long to learn my opinion on that 1978 initiative. However, one of the long-term consequences of the measure, that perhaps was not really envisioned, has been away from all accountability on behalf of elected leaders.<\/p>\n
Republicans simply throw their hands up in the air in public, saying the Democrats control the legislature. Meanwhile, in private, they are making up wish lists of stuff they want<\/a>. For their part, the Democrats say that they can’t act because of the supermajority rules. Now, that might be reduced with the new majority vote budget measure, but when we need to raise revenue, that doesn’t really matter all that much. In the end, everybody has an excuse for why stuff doesn’t happen. <\/p>\n But, that is really a problematic situation. And instead of decisive leadership, we get elected officials who defer to the people, because they\/we are the only legislative body that doesn’t need a supermajority. In his column today, George Skelton decries this notion that somehow our elected leaders aren’t up to the task of solving our budget issues.<\/p>\n The governor, with legislative help, has the power to stop the bleeding and the weeping. Too bad he’s trying to abdicate it to voters.<\/p>\n Despite what he says, Brown is big enough for the job and capable of making the hard choices. And that’s what “we the people” expect. (LA Times<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Now, while saying this, he also blames unions for not compromising on the GOP demands and says there are a few “sensible” Republicans willing to bargain for other reforms. Now, as I mentioned earlier today, that’s not what the budget process is for. It’s not designed to reform CEQA or our greenhouse gas pollution regulations, it should be about the budget.<\/p>\n Fortunately, Skelton brought in legal counsel to explain the sitch, UC-Irvine School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky:<\/p>\n “We elect representatives to make the laws,” (Chemerinsky) said. “It should be their responsibility to act in the best interests of the voters. If the voters don’t like what they do, they can be voted out of office.”<\/p>\n “It is unnecessary and undesirable to go to the voters,” added Chemerinsky, who worries particularly about a small turnout in a special election and potentially poor prospects for passage of the tax extension.<\/p>\n “The idea of cutting another $12 billion would be truly devastating to the state of California. And it’s the responsibility of the governor and Legislature to protect us from that.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It is a broken system, and one where nobody takes responsibility. I don’t know how that changes anything in the short term. But in the long-term can we really continue to have these same anti-democratic fights every year?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are a multitude of problems with Prop 13. You won’t have to read this site very long to learn my opinion on that 1978 initiative. However, one of the long-term consequences of the measure, that perhaps was not really envisioned, has been away from all accountability on behalf of elected leaders.<\/p>\n Republicans simply throw their hands up in the air in public, saying the Democrats control the legislature. Meanwhile, in private, they are making up wish lists of stuff they want<\/a>. For their part, the Democrats say that they can’t act because of the supermajority rules. Now, that might be reduced with the new majority vote budget measure, but when we need to raise revenue, that doesn’t really matter all that much. In the end, everybody has an excuse for why stuff doesn’t happen. <\/p>\n But, that is really a problematic situation. And instead of decisive leadership, we get elected officials who defer to the people, because they\/we are the only legislative body that doesn’t need a supermajority. In his column today, George Skelton decries this notion that somehow our elected leaders aren’t up to the task of solving our budget issues.<\/p>\n The governor, with legislative help, has the power to stop the bleeding and the weeping. Too bad he’s trying to abdicate it to voters.<\/p>\n