California and Alabama have something important in common that had dramatic expression in both states this year. California in a recall election ousted a Governor re-elected by a majority less than a year ago. Alabama turned down a referendum that would have allowed the state government to avoid slashing state services due to the recession.
Michael Marshall of the Mobile Register had a comment on the kind of "direct democracy" that winds up crippling representative democracy that applies equally well to California:
In Alabama, we are a dysfunctional democracy. We have forgotten what it feels like to be a republic, the revolutionary concept of government that our Founding Fathers had in mind for us.
Like all other states in the union, we elect senators and representatives and send them to our state capital and our nation's capital to make decisions for us. It is our responsibility to choose these delegates wisely.
"There's no accountability! I'm not gonna send another nickel to Montgomery [the state capital] that isn't earmarked! The idiots up there will just squander it!"
How many times in the last couple of months have you heard some variation of that theme?
But who sent those idiots to Montgomery? Us idiots.
Marshall points out, "Alabama earmarks about 92 percent of its tax revenue; most states earmark less than half." California's earmarked spending is more in the 70% range.
His observation is right. The problem with trying to do state budgets by statewide popular votes is that everyone would prefer to dictate spending, everyone would prefer to pay less taxes and no one wants to take responsibility for actually matching up the revenues to the expenses.
2 comments:
Our "friends" on the right-wing are trying to "kill the beast" (government) by starving it to death (denying it the revenue it needs to operate.) This is happening on the state and federal level. (Norquist was heavily involved in the debate in Alabama.)
There needs to be some kind of re-education program or something to show people the link between the taxes they pay and the services they expect from governments.
That seems to be his goal. It's incredibly short-sighted. I mean, even hardcore Republicans don't really want to have toxic chemicals in their drinking water. And that must also be aware that the quality of the public schools in their area affects their sacred property values in their houses. (Or maybe they don't!) - Bruce
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