Shenanigans I Say, Shenanigans!

In the ongoing melodrama of the San Diego Frankenstein tax, supporters of Proposition D hit a new low earlier this week with release of the purported financial savings from the tax hike. The City Council authorized Jerry Sanders’ office to develop the fiscal impact statement on how much these so-called reforms will save from the budget. In response, RINO Jerry and his fiscal consigliore Jay Goldstone came up with a range of savings.

The results? The Arthur Anderson like duo of Sanders & Goldstone identified between $8.7 million and $855 million in supposed savings. As noted in voice of San Diego, this range represents more than the combined budgets of the cities’ six biggest Departments. Even worse, the damn thing contains a never ending stream of equivocal language that would make even the shadiest attorney or used car salesman proud. The numbers clarify nothing.

Actually, that’s not true. The only thing clear about all this is that voters need to view Prop D for what it is, a sales tax and nothing more. Nothing in the “reform side” of the initiative requires voter approval to be implemented, its only there as window dressing to make it easier for politicians to push a sales tax on voters. The council could have and should have implemented real reforms several years ago. If they had acted proactively, citizens wouldn’t be presented with this fake choice or higher taxes or loss of police and firefighters.