By: David Wolfe, HJTA Legislative Director

Another September is upon us, which means that the Legislature is once again wrapping up its business by sending hundreds of bills to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature or veto. Despite a very busy 2009 (one consumed by a special election, revenue shortfalls, and two budget debates so far!) HJTA was still there faithfully representing you in the halls and committee rooms of the State Capitol.  Read more >>

This article on Reason.com explains how California’s political class has attacked California voters in the media, saying that voters are incapable of making good decisions for themselves and the state. Though this method may have worked to give the political class unbridled power in the past, it now just serves to show how eager they are to ignore voters, to pursue their own self-interests and to raise taxes.

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HJTA president Jon Coupal published an article in the OC Register , spotlighting Democrat Noreen Evans' inflammatory actions towards finding a budget solution. He goes on to explain California's gloomy financial condition and what will happen if politicians like Ms. Evans do not start taking the situation seriously.

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This article on RealClearPolitics.com asks a series of key questions: What caused California's $24 billion deficit? What has given California the highest sales and gas taxes in the country, the highest vehicle license fees and second-highest top-bracket income tax? The blame should be placed on the politicians: the people who are in charge of California's spending practices and the people who need to start working for Californians and not the other way around.  Read more >>

This article in the San Diego Union-Tribune explains how Sacramento lawmakers are blaming the budget crisis on the constitutional requirement that tax legislature must pass a two-thirds vote to become law. In the same breath, these lawmakers are trying to force a $7.9 billion education bonus nearly identical to the one voters rejected just last month. Clearly the problem lies not in the two-thirds requirement, nor in the actions of voters, but in lawmakers trying to sidestep California’s political process.  Read more >>

This article in The San Diego Union-Tribune describes how the May 19 special election ballot is a futile attempt to fix the same budget deficit that Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget deal purported to solve. As the article states, both pieces of legislation are merely “products of a corrupt political establishment in Sacramento.” Which is the bigger sham? You decide.

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Many city attorneys in California know that the past and present collection of their city's utility tax on cell phone bills is illegal, absent voter approval. But they, and the politicians they represent, are trying to bluff their way out of holding an election.  Read more >>

While joining our countrymen in giving thanks at this time of year, we at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association especially want to remember those unsung souls who improve our lives by volunteering their time to act as watchdogs over government spending and who provide advice on making more efficient use of taxpayers' dollars.  Read more >>

Taxpayers are not mushrooms. So why do government officials keep us in the dark and feed us manure? Two seemingly unrelated stories are unfolding in California that are illustrative of the mindset of some in government that citizens and taxpayers are entitled to know neither how their money is being spent nor how it will be spent in the future.  Read more >>