Despite the liberal trend in the mainstream media today, I am glad that one columnist in the LA Times has outlined the obvious: taxing the rich will not bring the state of California more revenue nor end the yo-yo budgeting that has driven the state to the edge of fiscal collapse.
I am sick of people still repeating the empty mantra that the rich are not paying their fair share. Every person in the state takes advantage of core public services, yet how voters actually pay any taxes? I agree that every voter should have some ''skin in the game" when it comes to raising revenue for state coffers. Lower tax rates, expand the tax base. Tax services, not just income, and lower the amount of money that the state can take from individuals who work and invest.
When will Governor Brown give up the loony tax-and-spend lunacy of previous decades? He has the veto pen, he has the respect of the Republican minority, and the growing skepticism of voters taxed in wallet and patience both tell a sordid tale for the tax increases proposed for the November ballot.
The state of California has plenty of money. Brown and his liberal associates could learn a lesson from John F. Kennedy, who understood the paradoxical yet empirical link between lowered tax rates and rising tax revenues. The Governor has already evinced a streak of political pragmatism with his 12-point pension reform proposal. A more moderate and mature set of policies for spreading the demand while lowering overall rates would definitely stimulate growth without letting anyone get away with not contributing something to the Sacramento coffers.