Posted on 04/24/2009 8:07:56 AM PDT by Maelstorm
SAN CARLOS, Calif. (AP) - Fed up with the budget crises and partisan battles that have paralyzed California for years, some influential voices believe it's time to tear open the state constitution and start anew.
Once dismissed as a hokey gimmick, support for a proposed constitutional convention has been building in the nation's most populous state. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has indicated he would back an effort to retool the document to make state government function more smoothly.
Opponents of the step say it's just a ruse to raise taxes and could expose the constitution to a host of ideological and special interest-driven changes.
Indeed, constitutional conventions haven't been embraced in other states in recent years. In 2008, voters in Hawaii, Connecticut and Illinois soundly rejected similar proposals.
Those results demonstrate the skepticism many voters bring to such efforts, according to John Matsuzaka, director of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.
"It's reasonable to expect that voters would be very scared of the idea of a constitutional convention. Once you open it up, you don't know where it's going to go," Matsusaka said.
But in California, a tradition of ballot initiatives and other expressions of direct democracy have made the state's constitution among the longest and most complicated in the world. The best known of these initiatives is Proposition 13, a constitutional amendment passed in 1978 that slashed property taxes and helped spark a taxpayer revolt across the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Banana republics always are writing new consitutions.
Most suit the latest ruler.
Fixed.
Government functioning more smoothly usually really means government functioning more efficiently in gathering and eating up tax dollars. Who needs that old 18th Century concept of checks and balances?
Yes that is what it is about plus you can be certain they’ll take the opportunity to undo any conservative mischief that they find at the same time.
What’s that old chestnut?
The operation was a success, but the patient died...
Does anyone still believe he is a Republican?
Fixed.
LOL
Good luck CA, welcome your Governator for life with open arms.
“How pathetic that the Rats want to do away with actual democracy.”
As I commented in a previous thread, if you see the word “democratic” in the name of an organization you can be reasonably certain they don’t believe in true democracy.
aren’t they already the biggest taxing state in the US and already are raising taxes?
What is it they’re constitution is prohibiting?
Here would be an easy fix for the current financial plan.
If this year’s spending / budget is less than last years, the 51% majority is required.
If this years spending / budget is greater than last years, but less than the rate of inflation, then 56% majority (plus 5%) is required
If this years spending / budget is greater than the rate of inflation, then a 61% majority (plus 10%) is required
If the budget is not balanced (revenues vs spending) then an additional 5% is required.
Thus, it would make reducing the spending easier than increasing the spending. It would mean that for a worse case ... spending more than inflation and not balanced, a majority of 66% or 2/3rds would be required.
In fact, I would like to see this at the federal level... sigh ... one can dream.
Imagine would taxes would be like if CA didn’t have to deal with pesky things like the state constitution.
Would this possibly be a way the liberals can reverse Prop 8?
Step 1:
Partition California. Except for the city of San Diego and south to the Mexican border, the People’s State of California will comprise the area from the seacoast to a line 20 miles inland from the seacoast. Free California will comprise the remaining inland areas plus the area including San Diego and south to Mexico. Free California will no longer be part of the US. It will be an independent nation.
That will give Free California Miramar, Coronado, Edwards AFB, Fort Irwin, plus the port of San Diego, and the border with Mexico. Free California will also control the water supply to the People’s State.
Its going to end up looking like the Communist Manifesto and leftwing wishlist
For a Constitutional Convention to work properly, the people running it need to understand government and have a healthy concern that the government will try to abuse its power and needs to be restrained. Too few people fit either of those requirements these days.
The particular surgery in mind is abortion.
Retool the document to make government function more smoothly,that sounds like an obama plan.
Yes - PLASTIC surgury!
Arnold’s props on the May ballot will be very close on defeat or passage. 1f is about the only one I will vote for. The others look like traps for short term gains, though Arnold and the Dems deny it but I cannot see how these people do not understand that more spending to gain tax advantages, so they say, can help us out with increased deficits and more taxes over all, will occur because Ca. is such a Dem dominated state.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
BUMP. Well said.
It actually acts as a postive incentive to pass a bad budget.
The democRATs in Louisiana did this often in the 70’s. Look where it got them.
The only reasonable tax we have now is our property tax. If they were allowed to screw with that, it would likely triple. (Like Texas’)
Forgive me, I'm a self loathing former Republican that voted for this fool Arnold, it's all my fault. Someone spank me please!
But if they did hold one,would that open up the prospect for breaking the state into smaller states?Let the conservative areas secede and the liberal areas socialize themselves into economic oblivion.
How stupid is that?...Give up the best damn realestate, and just hand it over to them?
Tell ya what, why not give them most of Riverside and San Berdo, and we take the coastal region?
You know, I wanted to vote NO on all of these, but as a Chamber member I was trying for consensus. I think I will go with you and just vote NO and let the Dems and Arnold struggle with it some more!
I would rather live in the desert and be free than live in the best real estate and be a slave.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.