Skelton: Tax, Tax, Tax, Tax, Tax

John Seiler:

In his column on the budget disaster, L.A. Times columnist George Skelton continues with his perpetual mantra: tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, tax….

Of course, he loves the budget because it was passed under Proposition 25, which dropped to a majority from 2/3 the threshold in the Legislature for passing a budget. That way, Republicans had almost no input.

He laments that the Republicans supposedly lost out when they refused to deal with Gov. Jerry “Jobs Killer” Brown on pension and other reforms as a way to get Brown’s tax-increase proposals before voters. But they were willing to deal. It was Brown who was intransigent, obsessed as much as Skelton with raising taxes — and putting no reform measures on the ballot.

Skelton’s conclusion: “We need a Son of Prop. 25 — a ballot measure that reduces the vote requirement for raising taxes to a simple majority. Allow the majority party to function and hold it accountable.”

That way, taxes could be raised to infinity and every last private-sector job and business driven from the state. Then Skelton and his government buddies would have the state all to themselves, drawing up imaginary budgets and tax revenues.

June 30, 2011