California legislature: tyranny of the minority

By Will Shonbrun

The only way to fix California’s economic/fiscal mess is to change the structure of the legislature that requires a two-thirds vote in both houses to both pass a budget and to raise taxes. Whether this is feasible is an open question, but I don’t think there can be any doubt that this inequitable requirement is the stumbling block that has ground government to a halt. It has obstructed and deadlocked California government and in the view of some is grossly undemocratic.

While there are some other states that require more than a simple majority to raise taxes in certain circumstances, such as spending exceeding a cap or funding one-time projects, California’s legislative restriction puts it in the rarified company of only two other states, Rhode Island and Arkansas, in requiring more than a simple majority to pass budget or appropriation bills. This bizarre state of affairs has enabled a small minority of Republicans to hold the legislature, and by extension millions of Californians, hostage to their whims. This is the elephant in the room – hell, it’s the room itself, and it begs the question: Can anything be done about it?

Proposition 13 rode in on good intentions, in part, but established an uneven and virtually insurmountable hurdle for the legislature to govern an economy larger than most of the world’s nations. People can argue about what’s good or bad or maybe both about Prop. 13, but few can disagree that it fundamentally changed the shape of California government and its social structures. Depending on one’s point of view it has been the greatest thing since tax rebates or a disaster that has seriously under funded public education, critically impacted health care services and tied government in Gordian Knots. Some see it as a mixed bag that’s been of benefit for many, but has perhaps inadvertently harmed many others. However it’s viewed its greatest effect has been to render state government subject to the demands of a small minority – a blatantly undemocratic dictum that all but changes the meaning of democratic majority rule.

While it’s true that there are different types of majorities governing elections or how legislative choices are made, the question remains has the two-thirds rule in the California legislature served the many or the few? Because a minority-rule legislature and an uncooperative governor will not permit alternative revenue sources to even be considered, the only recourse to avoid bankruptcy is to drastically cut funding for public education, and health care services and a social safety net for those most in need. While this may fit a conservative philosophy that would just as soon see government devoid of all such programs is this the kind of state in which we want to live? The legislature commandeers tax monies from the counties and cities thereby effectively devastating their schools, health services and programs that serve local communities. Are these the kind of communities in which we want to live?

This is so short sighted as to be astoundingly irrational. A more educated populace, especially at the higher educational levels, will result in higher paying jobs in valued industries, and a more vigorous entrepreneurial impetus that creates more jobs and greater revenue for the state. Reducing or eliminating health care for tens of millions of Californians results in much higher medical costs for ER services at already fiscally overburdened hospitals.

The answer is not to cut the vitally needed social programs that make a state human. The answer is to create more revenue. Here is a (very) short list of revenue ideas compiled by the Sonoma County Democratic Central Committee, the Progressive Democrats Sonoma County et al.*

· Restore the vehicle license fee rates that we had under Republican Governors
· Increase taxes on alcoholic beverages
· Increase taxes on tobacco
· Increase taxes on gasoline
· Impose an oil extraction tax on oil companies just like every other oil producing state
· Close the loophole that allows corporations to avoid reassessment of the value of new property they purchase
· Prohibit corporations from using tax credits to offset more than fifty percent of the taxes they owe

And most important, because everything hinges on it, get rid of the 2/3 vote to approve the budget. This must be done by a ballot initiative in 2010, spearheaded by the Democratic leadership and supported and promoted by a vast grassroots groundswell. Will we pull ourselves up and out of this legislative morass or will we sink into annual bankruptcy orchestrated by a selfish, uncaring minority that does not believe that a key function of government is “to promote the general welfare” of its people? The answer is up to us – we, the people who wield the ballot.

* Editor’s note: For a more complete list of revenue suggestions email: willshonbrun@vom.com