SALES TAX IS NOT DEAD YET!
We enjoyed some brief success yesterday (Monday, 26 July, 2010) when Donna Frye threw a monkey wrench into the San Diego City Council majority’s plan to put a sales tax on the ballot. As you probably all know by now, she joined with Carl DeMaio and Kevin Faulconer to torpedo a sales tax increase that the rest of the union-beholden Councilmembers wanted.
Folks – as they used to say in the old Westerns about the attacking Native Ameicans — “here they come again!”
In fact, taxpayers must be TWICE as concerned. With Frye’s new proposal, the Council can now push forward a sales tax increase that is disguised as “comprehensive reform.” Does anyone actually believe that our labor-union-labeled city council is going to pass anything approaching “comprehensive reform? If you want a belly laugh response, ask the labor union bosses!
Frye uses a smokescreen in her proposal, essentially taking more taxpayer money today, while telling voters “trust us, we’ll make those reforms if you just give us more money.” However, there are absolutely NO requirements that the City actually do anything resembling reform!
Donna even said she couldn’t support a sales tax hike without it being combined with reforms to ultimately solve the problem. This nebulous “maybe we’ll think about it taxpayers” reforms is far from it.
One thing I can promise: If passed, the (currently proposed 2 year) “temporary” sales tax increase will NOT be temporary. The city spending addicts will get hooked on the revenue while making no meaningful reforms, and then they will promise Armageddon if the voters don’t vote to renew the tax for “a few more years.” And the core pitch will be “this (extension of the tax) is NOT a tax increase! Sadly, that works WAY too often with voters.
If the Council puts this on the ballot, I can’t wait to destroy it — along with the new City Hall. The voters will easily connect the dots on these two props. Remember, the sales tax revenue can be spent on anything — it will NOT be limited to public safety as proponents will posture.
As P. J. O’Rourke once said about national health insurance – “We need to take this thing out behind the barn and kill it with an ax.”