California Special Election & Propositions - May 19, 2009

[Alex]

Yes. It also created a requirement that any new tax or tax increase be approved by a 2/3 supermajority.

Combine that with an easy proposition process by which the voters can mandate spending* and disaster results eventually. Classic case of voters wanting government to provide a lot of services but not to have any taxes.


* And that mandate frequently actually creates rules that a $1 increase in Program A requires a $5 (to make up a number) increase in the total budget. For example, because of previous propositions the education budget must be a certain percentage of the total budget. Let's say 30%.

So you have a budget of $100. $30 goes to education. You want to approve a new freeway project that will add $20 to the non-education budget? Instead of a new budget of $120 you actually have to increase education spending by about $8.5 so that it remains 30% of the total budget. So because you wanted to spend $20 more you had to actually spend $28.50 more. Stupidities abound.