Evan Halper reports voters are skeptical of proposed political reforms.
"Backers of an overhaul of state government who hope
to leverage disgust
with Sacramento into support for changing how the state
raises taxes
and spends money, have a difficult path ahead, according
to a new poll
of California voters.
"Major segments of the electorate see the state's problems as the
product of unrestrained lawmakers driven by special
interests to waste
taxpayer money, and reject arguments that structural
issues with the
state's Constitution and government institutions are to blame.
"Voters don't want the tax code overhauled in the ways that many
fiscal
experts promise would tamp down the wild revenue swings
that have led
to a constant state of budget crisis in California.
They don't want the
Constitution changed to allow a simple majority of
lawmakers to push a
budget onto the governor's desk, as most other large states allow. And
they don't want the state to touch Proposition 13 property tax
restrictions, even if residential property taxes would
remain strictly
limited."
The Merc looks at the new poll numbers, which show
Meg Whitman opening up a lead in the GOP gubernatorial
primary, and the U.S Senate race a dead heat.
"Overall, Whitman was
favored by 35 percent of Republican voters, former Silicon Valley
congressman Tom Campbell by 27 percent and state Insurance Commissioner
Steve Poizner by 10 percent. Twenty-three percent were undecided. A
Field Poll in early October showed Whitman leading
Campbell by just 2
percentage points, about the time she launched a radio
ad campaign.
"In
the race to challenge Democrat Barbara Boxer, Fiorina was dead even in
the poll with Assemblyman Chuck DeVore; each had 27 percent. Forty
percent of GOP voters said they were undecided."
Jim Sanders profiles San Francisco freshman Tom Ammiano.
"To a stuffed-shirt, suit-and-tie Legislature, Ammiano is the saucy-spouting jester with a no-nonsense political agenda
"When the Assembly was locked into all-night budget talks last
winter, Ammiano broke the tension while joining colleagues
for a brief
nap in the lounge. "He said he hadn't slept with that many people since the '70s," recalled Assemblyman John Perez, D-Los Angeles."
Meanwhile, Willie Brown is still
sounding the Dianne Feinstein alarm.
"First up, you'd better keep Dianne Feinstein's name on the list of
possible candidates for governor. I've known Dianne for years, and the
role of chief executive is a much better fit for her
than being one of
100 senators.
I can also tell you from the meetings I have had with
her that she
is very serious about California's budget troubles, water troubles and
other troubles. She is also serious when she says that
she just might
run if the other candidates come up short on plans
to fix the mess
we're in.
Second, for all the hype, don't be so sure former eBay CEO Meg Whitman
will make it through the Republican primary. Her failure to vote, her
past support for Democrats such as Barbara Boxer, and
her inability to
answer questions about her time at eBay are not going
away."
"The state of California began withholding more taxes
from paychecks
last week. And don't believe it if you hear this isn't a tax increase.
"It's being characterized by the state -- and reported by much of the
media -- as merely a "cash advance" or "interest-free loan." Nobody's
tax "liability" increases. So it's not really a tax increase, not
technically.
Bottom line: When the state increases its tax revenue by tapping
paychecks, that's a tax increase. In this case, it's a one-time tax
increase."
Dan Walters looks at the benefits, and drawbacks of enterprise zones, which he calls a "tax dodge."
"PPIC's study of the 42 zones, which are created by local governments
with approval from the state Department of Housing
and Community
Development, concluded that state and local governments
were losing
about a half-billion dollars in revenue each year without any
discernible impact on joblessness.
"The state can ill-afford to
continue the enterprise zone program without clearer
evidence of its
benefits or a well-defined plan to make it more effective," said Jed
Kolko, co-author of the PPIC study.
"Like many loopholes enacted on the premise that they
would enhance
employment, including a new batch approved just this
year, enterprise
zones have received little objective evaluation on
whether their
purported benefits have materialized."
And finally from our Good News, Bad News Files, a deer
caused quite a scene by crashing the National Zoo.
But those who want
to follow suit might want to learn from his choice of escape routes.
"A deer that jumped a wall at the National Zoo was fatally
injured by
two lions Sunday as dozens of startled spectators looked
on.
"Zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson described the incident as highly
unusual. It began about 2:50 p.m. as visitors lined the perimeter wall
of an enclosure that contained two female lions, and
it involved a deer
that may have entered from Rock Creek Park.
"Everyone was cheering, 'Go, go, go' " to encourage the deer to
reach safety, witness Josh Shpayher said. "Everyone was rooting for the
deer."
But it was not to be...
