Here is how you should vote on California's various propositions this year -- not according to political party affiliation, but according to what makes the most sense for us and for our state.
Remember: when in doubt, vote NO on propositions! Our elected officials should be handling all these issues themselves and taking responsibility for them, not passing the buck to us.
30 - "Raise Taxes For Schools & Stuff"
NO
Actual Result: YES
Why? California already has the highest sales tax of any state in the country. Perhaps it's true we ought to spend more on education -- but this state is already raking in $95,900,000,000 per year, and now you expect me to believe they can't properly fund schools without taxing us EVEN MORE? The solution is obviously to (a) raise tuition or (b) cut spending elsewhere, not to increase government bloat. Sacramento needs to get its act together, not ask us for more money.
31 - "More Complicated Budget Rules"
NO
Why? This one is convoluted -- some good stuff, some bad stuff, but on balance, nobody seems to know for sure. I'll trust it when I hear a coherent argument in favor.
32 - "Outlaw Democrat Funding Sources"
NO
Why? It's a blatant power grab by the republicans aimed at democrat contributors. The problem is that, in light of the US Supreme Court's Citizens United decision of 2010, it's COMPLETELY UNCONSTITUTIONAL and will never hold up in court -- the only thing this will really accomplish is wasting our tax dollars on lawyers and legal battles. There ought to be a law against putting unconstitutional measures on the ballot.
33 - "More Money For Car Insurance"
NO
Why? Do you want to pay MORE for car insurance? Do you wish insurance companies made even more money? The only reason we are even voting for this is because Mercury spent a ton of money to get it on the ballot.
34 - "End The Death Penalty"
YES
Actual Result: NO
Why? The death penalty is medieval and is not an effective deterrent. Let's get rid of it!
35 - "Harsher Punishments For Human Trafficking & Stuff"
NO
Actual Result: YES
Why? This one sounds good and all, but it doesn't account for the increased costs to our already-stretched prison system. This is why the State of California is always broke, and why representative government is better than pure democracy: people vote for stuff like this because, well, who could disagree with cracking down on crime? But then it turns out there's no money to pay for it because nobody was responsible for thinking that far ahead.
36 - "Fix The Three Strikes Law"
YES
Why? This one will save us loads of money and will restore fairness and sensibility to sentencing for repeat offenders.
37 - "More Rules & Regulations For Food Labels"
NO
Why? The sentiment behind 37 is good -- shouldn't we be able to know when we're eating Franken-food? And look who's opposing it, a bunch of evil food corporations! But the fact is that this particular law just wasn't written very well. It will create tons more spurious lawsuits, further burdening our court system, and will increase government spending. Also, it allows for suit to be brought against grocery stores for allegedly selling products lacking the correct labeling. While the big chains can survive these sorts of lawsuits, smaller independently-owned grocery stores cannot.
38 - "Also Raise Taxes For Schools & Stuff"
NO
Why? If you really like the idea of paying more in taxes, you're better off voting for 30 than this one.
39 - "Close Out-Of-State Tax Loopholes"
YES
Why? California has been hemorrhaging business and jobs over the last few years because of our current tax loopholes. Let's fix that.
40 - "Approve The Latest Redistricting"
YES
Why? In a bizarre proposition twist, it one will cost us a lot more if we don't pass this one than if we do. Not even the people who oppose it oppose it anymore. I can find no good reason to vote no on this one.
BONUS SECTION: LA COUNTY MEASURES
A - "Instead Of Electing Our Assessor, Let Him Be Appointed"
NO
Why? Do you really think LA needs more opaque, back-door political chicanery?
B - "More Unnecessary Porn Rules & Regulations"
NO
Actual Result: YES
Why? The only thing this will actually accomplish will be to drive business out of LA County. It attempts to solve problems that don't exist by inventing a whole bunch of new problems that will exist.
J - "Keep Dumping Money Into MTA / Corporate Contractors"
NO
Why? We're changing our stance on this one after learning more about it. It's a complicated issue (which means you may as well vote "NO" on principle), but basically MTA hasn't been spending the money from the previous tax increase well, and all this does is further entrench the status quo.
LINKS:
Ballotpedia -- Comprehensive, incredibly helpful site! Read the full text of the props, see who supports/opposes what (and how much they've spent), and survey media analyses.
LA Times 2012 Endorsements -- Perhaps it is somewhat leftist, but you can trust neither the Orange County Register nor any San Francisco paper to provide such moderate, sensible, non-partisan analysis.
No On Measure J
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