Truth, Lies and In Between

There is no doubt in my mind that the reason education in California is one of the worst in this country is due directly to the CTA. That and a lot of the pet project legislation of the Democrats in this state are largely funded through this union.

If California ever wants to see black ink on their ledgers and educated children, then the bloated monstrosity of the CTA has got to be dismantled.

Their solution to everything is raise taxes. Raising taxes has done the opposite of its intended effect. Revenues in the state have taken a nose dive and will continue to do so until the state is finally insolvent.

This state is boned.

California’s Unteachable Union

By Troy Senik

The CTA backs a tax increase that would worsen the state’s economic travails.

Certain perennials accompany life in California: the weather will always be fair, the scenery will always be breathtaking, the budget will always be on the brink of outright chaos, and the state’s liberal intelligentsia will always be chasing tax increases as a remedy. So it is as the 2012 elections approach, with the state facing a $9.2 billion budget deficit and Governor Jerry Brown pushing a November ballot initiative that would raise income and sales taxes.

California law provides two mechanisms for increasing taxes. The state legislature can implement an increase via statute, but that requires a two-thirds majority—a rule stemming from 1978’s Proposition 13, the famous ballot measure limiting property taxes. The other way is to follow the same route as Prop. 13 and take the issue to the voters through the initiative process. With Republicans controlling just enough seats in the legislature to thwart Brown’s ambitions, the governor has chosen the second path.

Circumventing conservative opposition in the legislature doesn’t mean that Brown’s proposal is on a glide path to victory, however. Despite early polls showing the measure performing well—a survey conducted by USC and the Los Angeles Times in late March indicated 64 percent support among registered voters—the way ahead is far from smooth. The polls will almost certainly tighten as Election Day nears, particularly given California voters’ longstanding aversion to tax hikes. As Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, observes, “Voters have rejected the last seven tax increases put on the ballot.” The same USC/Times poll that heartened Brown and his allies also reflected that resistance: 45 percent of voters said that, as far as they’re concerned, taxes were too high already and that the budget deficit should be made up exclusively through spending cuts.

via California’s Unteachable Union by Troy Senik – City Journal.