Why I hate California Voters (Editorial)

[The Yosemite Bear]

1. Bond issues
Ever since prop. 13 California has had a massive hard on for issuing bonds. Problems: your just deferring the expense until later, and at a higher rate. The single biggest fixed expense in our paralyzed budget are all those bond issues you approved over the years.

2. Blame Game
In line with part one, California voters continue to blame their represenitives for the results of things they voted in propositions them selves. Don't like the budget it's not aaahnuld's fault, you are the idiots who approved Prop 13, and voted yes on a few thousand bond issues in the 30 years since then. The Energy crisis of 2000 wasn't Gray Davis' fault, you are the ones who voted for the deregulation proposition that ENRON wrote. Stop blaming all politicians for stagnation, one of the other things that unlike your open propositions legislators have to have their people research the laws before they are proposed. The recent trend of lobbist written laws and propositions have not been helping things.

3. These %$^& propositions
Why, just why do you have to have such an obsession with letting any crazy group write propositions with out there being any serious review, say such as is this new law even legal? There needs to be some review and accountability before these things get on the ballot. Also as with state and federal legislature lobbists are now writing the majority of the proposed bills.

[Lord of the Abyss]

As someone who live in California I have to agree. Although when it comes to the energy crisis, FERC refusing to do it's job didn't help matters, and California has no power over them.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Nope nor did "chimpus nero's" special exexcutive order telling them to commence plundering the state during said crisis help either.

[TrailerParkJawa]

I'm not sure I agree that Prop 13 was bad considering how property in California has historically risen in price. However, I do think we get ourselves into with the Proposition system. I find myself these days voting "no" on almost all of them either because we don't have the money or I dont understand the impact. Another problem is that people don't seem to understand that just because a proposition passes doesn't make it constitutional.

[FuncoWilkerbean]

California is a case of too much democracy.

[apocolypse]

I'd have to agree with a lot of this as well. On one hand, I like the idea of people being able to directly vote on issues and whatnot, but on the other hand most people don't take the time to either research the issues, or allow other factors to influence their decision (prop 8 being a prime example here). I think one thing that would greatly help is if the prop system was modified to require more than just a simple majority to pass. I think if it required a 60% approval or so would be better.

[The Yosemite Bear]

prop 13, property taxes are assessed only at the time of transfer of ownership. lead first of all to a whole housing cottage industry, where the owners of the land build several houses on the land, offer the sale of the houses, but not the land they are on. (my dad is one of the few people who also owns the land the house is on, because he got it after the county government confiscated both after a vice raid. (and we made signifigant improvements repairing the sewerline, and the damage the police did to the structure of the building) Instead of foreclosures were seeing more and more big companies owning a greater percentage of the land, and controlling other things like water, food, transportation etc.

The other side effect was that it made any tax increases after the CA income tax and property taxes were frozen at thier 1979 levels without getting the california electorate to vote for the tax increase. however they can finance bond issues, and increase sales tax....

note our fuel, sales, and DMV registration fees are fairly high as are our fines due to the fact that the government is unable to raise taxes on any group in the state without getting approval of everyone in the state.