Our wonderful state of California was once considered a paradise, or so I'm told. Now it is a jumbled mess of run away taxes, un-business friendly tactics, and overcrowded prisons. Lack of leadership in Sacramento has led the state into a disarray.
Many have been arguing that a constitutional convention should be had to make certain needed changes. Two changes that are seriously being looked at include changing the two-thirds majority requirement for raising taxes and the intiative process.
Democrats seriously want the supermajority vote reduced to a simple majority. Dems need two thirds to pass taxes and approve the budget. A simple majority only requires fifty percent plus one, which the Dems already have. Republicans would be brushed aside and the sliver of bipartisanship that is still alive in Sacramento, will be gone.
The initiative process also wants to be tackled because of the fact that anyone or any group with a million dollars laying around can put a vote to the public. The initiative was originally created by the Progressives as a way to pass legislation during a time when special interests ruled the legislature. Unfortunately, those same special interests took the intiative process and ran with it. The most notable and recent intiative was Prop 8; the intiative that defined marriage as that between a man and woman, there by banning same sex marriage. Other famous intiatives include Prop 13, the limit on property taxes, and Prop 187 which banned undocumented immigrants from schools and was later found unconstitutional.
In conclusion, the state does need a constitutional convention. Besides the two changes listed above, the state is in a futile mess. Serious changes need to happen in Sacramento. I say change the two thirds majority to a simple majority. Then when Californians are up to the eyeballs in taxes, worse than they are now, we will vote those Dems out of office. The second Republicans rising is coming. And on the intiative process, lets just scrap the whole thing. Throw it in the trash. Lets let the legislature legislate. Just like teachers need to start teaching better, the government needs to start governing more efficiently. Let's wake Sacramento up.
The Star just ran an op ed(sunday?) written by ventura county supervisor-for-life kathy long, a city of ventura councilman, and others describing how they attended a conference in july with a gang of 500 other public officals from around the state....and one group of kooks among this gang of 500 announced its intentions to hijack the state constitution.....and I guess re-write it in the image of public employees and public officials...and I guess rip the residents and taxpayers of california off for more money for themselves....because the essence of life is providing good pay and retirement and free health care to public employees
California is in a mess alright. But a Constitutional Convention could easily be controlled and taken over by people who hate limited government and the doctrines of liberty. What are the doctrines of liberty? Here are some of them.
1. Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.
2. In God, we trust.
3. The essence of freedom is the limitation of government.
4. Men will be governed by God, or they will be ruled by tyrants.
5. Visit www.jbs.org
6. He who will not read has no advantage over one who cannot read.
7. The power to tax is the power to destroy.
P.S. to my previous comment--
8. "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is like fire, a dangerous servant and a fearful master." . . . .
George Washington.