Proposition 29 is on the June 5th, 2012 ballot in California. Proposition 29 adds a new $1.00 tax to each pack of cigarettes sold in the state, on top of the existing $0.87 tax that is currently in place.
The California Legislative Analyst's Office projects that the tax will raise $735 million in new revenue.
Proposition 29 creates a massive, new bureaucracy to administer these funds. The bureaucracy will be run by a 9-member governing committee made up of 3 University of California chancellors, 4 individuals appointed by the Governor, and 2 individuals appointed by the Director of the California Department of Public Health.
Approximately $16 million will be used to administer this new bureaucracy (collecting, auditing and distributing the revenue). Approximately $23 million will be diverted to law enforcement agencies to fund their anti-tobacco efforts. Approximately $30 million will be diverted to the California Department of Education to fund their anti-tobacco education efforts. Approximately $585 million, by far the biggest chunk of the revenues, will be used to subsidize the medical sector of the economy through government loans and grants to the private sector along with government funding of capital expenditures like building and facilities construction.
California faces a $16 billion deficit right now, in the midst of a deep recession in the real economy. Proposition 29 would raise taxes, create a new state bureaucracy, and increase subsidies to the private sector medical industry that is already massively subsidized in California through Medi-Cal and previous anti-tobacco tax funds.
So who is pushing this initiative? Michael Bloomberg (Mayor of New York City), who does not even live in California, is a major bank-roller of the initiative. However, the main bank-rollers of the initiative are many of the same entities that are likely to benefit from the government loans and grants that Proposition 29 will create: the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, Volunteers Organized for Community Empowerment, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and others.
Vote NO on California Proposition 29!
Even the liberal Los Angeles Times, which has a track record of supporting anti-tobacco initiatives, does not support Proposition 29.
Vote NO on California Proposition 29!
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Monday, May 28, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
June 2012: Vote NO on California Proposition 28!
California Proposition 28 is also known as the California Change in Term Limits Initiative.
Proposition 28 weakens terms limits.
Currently, California legislators can serve 6 years in the Assembly and 8 years in the Senate, for a total of 14 years. Proposition pretends to strengthen term limits by reducing the total number of years that a legislator can serve to 12. However, under Proposition 28, those 12 years can be served in whichever chamber in whatever combination. So a legislator will be able to serve a full 12 years in the Assembly OR a full 12 years in the Senate.
It is statistical fact that legislators are at their most vulnerable when they change districts or move from one chamber to the other. Incumbents are forced to challenge incumbents. It ensures turnover in the legislative body and healthy competition of ideas. It prevents politicians from becoming entrenched. It makes it more difficult for parties to establish hegemonic "machines" in districts with low turnout.
The end result of Proposition 28 will be less turnover in the legislative body, entrenched politicians and more partisanship.
Proposition 28 was funded by lobbyists.
Two of the major donors to the pro-Proposition 28 campaign are Majestic Realty and LA Live Properties. LA Live Properties is controlled by Philip Anschutz. Majestic Realty is controlled by Ed Roski. Roski and Anschutz have been competing to build an NFL stadium in Los Angeles. In order to complete a project as big as building a stadium in LA County one must cut through miles of red tape, much of it imposed by the legislature. Majestic Realty's donation came two months after the Legislature exempted a Majestic Realty project from having to follow environmental laws.
Don't let the legislature roll back term limits!
Californians put term limits into place in 1990 with Proposition 140.
In 2002, the President Pro Tem of the California Senate, John Burton (D - San Francisco), led the campaign for Proposition 45. Proposition 45 was an attempt to soften term limits by allowing legislators to serve an additional 4 years. The electorate defeated it.
In 2008, public sector unions led the campaign for Proposition 93, an effort to extend legislator's terms to 12 years in a manner very similar to today's Proposition 28. Once again, the electorate defeated it.
These forces are at work today with Proposition 28. They think if they keep forcing the issue onto the ballot over-and-over they will eventually win. They have lots of campaign funds but not much grassroots support.
Protect democracy in California - vote NO on Proposition 28 in June!
Proposition 28 weakens terms limits.
Currently, California legislators can serve 6 years in the Assembly and 8 years in the Senate, for a total of 14 years. Proposition pretends to strengthen term limits by reducing the total number of years that a legislator can serve to 12. However, under Proposition 28, those 12 years can be served in whichever chamber in whatever combination. So a legislator will be able to serve a full 12 years in the Assembly OR a full 12 years in the Senate.
It is statistical fact that legislators are at their most vulnerable when they change districts or move from one chamber to the other. Incumbents are forced to challenge incumbents. It ensures turnover in the legislative body and healthy competition of ideas. It prevents politicians from becoming entrenched. It makes it more difficult for parties to establish hegemonic "machines" in districts with low turnout.
The end result of Proposition 28 will be less turnover in the legislative body, entrenched politicians and more partisanship.
Proposition 28 was funded by lobbyists.
Two of the major donors to the pro-Proposition 28 campaign are Majestic Realty and LA Live Properties. LA Live Properties is controlled by Philip Anschutz. Majestic Realty is controlled by Ed Roski. Roski and Anschutz have been competing to build an NFL stadium in Los Angeles. In order to complete a project as big as building a stadium in LA County one must cut through miles of red tape, much of it imposed by the legislature. Majestic Realty's donation came two months after the Legislature exempted a Majestic Realty project from having to follow environmental laws.
Don't let the legislature roll back term limits!
Californians put term limits into place in 1990 with Proposition 140.
In 2002, the President Pro Tem of the California Senate, John Burton (D - San Francisco), led the campaign for Proposition 45. Proposition 45 was an attempt to soften term limits by allowing legislators to serve an additional 4 years. The electorate defeated it.
In 2008, public sector unions led the campaign for Proposition 93, an effort to extend legislator's terms to 12 years in a manner very similar to today's Proposition 28. Once again, the electorate defeated it.
These forces are at work today with Proposition 28. They think if they keep forcing the issue onto the ballot over-and-over they will eventually win. They have lots of campaign funds but not much grassroots support.
Protect democracy in California - vote NO on Proposition 28 in June!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
California Fisheries Potentially Affected by Fukushima Radiation
A new report states that unusually high levels of radioactive iodine 131 have been detected in kelp off the coast of California.
From the San Francisco Chronicle (4/8/2012):
The article also notes that fish have a thyroid system system that utilizes iodine. The thyroid system regulates hormones. That means the unusually high levels of iodine may affect fish populations in ways we can't even predict currently.
More importantly, it means that these radioactive particles are now in the food chain. California fisheries produce much of the seafood consumed along the coast and transported to the inland parts of the U.S. One has to wonder whether these radioactive particles will eventually make their way into the human population and affect human thyroid systems as well.
As previously stated on this blog, 'developed world' governments have failed to fully account for the damage that the Fukushima accident caused and continue to understate the threat that this radiation continues to pose to human populations all over the globe.
From the San Francisco Chronicle (4/8/2012):
Scientists from CSU Long Beach tested giant kelp collected off Orange County, Santa Cruz and other locations after the March 2011 accident and detected radioactive iodine, which was released from the damaged nuclear reactor.
The largest concentration was about 250 times higher than levels found in kelp before the accident.
Cesium 137 has a half life of 30 years, as opposed to iodine 131's half life of below 10 days, so it may be present in California kelp to this day, said Manley.
"We were limited in what our instrumentation allows us to do," he said. "The big question was, 'is another major isotope that came over in the cloud, cesium 137, present in the kelp, too?' "
...
Followup work showed varying amounts of low levels of radioactive cesium in seaweed from samples near UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz, the scientists said. No radioactivity was found in seaweed from Alaska.So the article confirms that cesium has indeed been found off the coast of California. As the article indicates, cesium 137 has a half life of 30 years. This radioactive material is not only here, but will be here for the following three decades.
The article also notes that fish have a thyroid system system that utilizes iodine. The thyroid system regulates hormones. That means the unusually high levels of iodine may affect fish populations in ways we can't even predict currently.
More importantly, it means that these radioactive particles are now in the food chain. California fisheries produce much of the seafood consumed along the coast and transported to the inland parts of the U.S. One has to wonder whether these radioactive particles will eventually make their way into the human population and affect human thyroid systems as well.
As previously stated on this blog, 'developed world' governments have failed to fully account for the damage that the Fukushima accident caused and continue to understate the threat that this radiation continues to pose to human populations all over the globe.
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