Prop 1313

Have you heard about Proposition 1313?  This proposition would tax everyone above 1 million dollars at a rate of 90% and distribute the proceeds to everyone else NOT making 1 million dollars.  Are you going to vote YES on this proposition?  Sounds like a great idea doesn't it?

Sorry to tell you, but there is no such proposition on the California ballot.  But what if there were?  Would you be in favor of it?  A lot of people would since who doesn't want FREE MONEY?   But that is exactly what is wrong with the proposition system.  Propositions are part of what is called Direct Democracy.  Many states added this as a way to give people a way to work around their politicians to pass laws they desire.  The idea may be noble, but the outcome has become disastrous for as all democracies go, they all fall apart.


Why?

People are greedy

We all want more for ourselves and less for others.  Using the proposition system it is too easy to take from others and give to ourselves.  This does not have to do only with money but also with the rights of others.  We want not just money, but also safety and any proposition that gives us either of those often gets our vote.   Want fewer criminals on the streets?  Put them in prison for the rest of their lives.   Want more money for your child's school?  Hamstring the government to appropriate a larger percentage of revenues to them.  Want lower taxes for your property?  Pass a prop to prevent your property from being re-assessed. Want fewer drunk drivers?  Pass a prop to reduce the alcohol level to lower and lower levels, take away licenses for longer periods of time, force drivers to have breathalizers installed in their cars.  

People are lazy

Who has the time to read over 30 different propositions and decide what to do?  None of us that's who!  We are inundated with countless props written in language that only a lawyer would be able to understand and therefore we rely on "commercials" to dumb down the prop so we can "understand" it.  This problem makes it too easy for the proposition system to be abused and get laws passed that should never see the light of day.  The reason we have a republic (not a democracy) is because we need full time politicians who have the time (and the staff) to read and understand the laws and the future problems they may or may not cause. 

People are stupid

This fact is hard to separate from the previous problem (laziness) but it deserves to be discussed.  Example, if a proposition says it will pay for better roads by selling 100 million dollars in bonds.  Does that sound like free money?  But it's not free money.  All bonds need to be paid back... WITH INTEREST!  But very few people ever think about it that way and so many bond measures are passed without much effort at all.  Similarly, people also do not consider the ramifications of many law props.   Example: California's 3-strikes law.  This proposition was passed because many people thought that this would only affect people guilt of major felonies like murder or rape, but little did they know that many non-violent-felony offenders would be put away for good. 

What should we do?  My answer is simple. 

VOTE NO ON ALL PROPOSITIONS NO MATTER HOW GOOD THEY SOUND!!!

(unless of course the proposition promises to end all future propositions)