Citizens in Charge

Here’s yet another beat in the steady drumbeat from the special interest class that argues California’s voter initiative and referendum process is the cause of that state’s fiscal troubles.

This time it’s David Brooks in the New York Times, who offers that California’s initiative has actually “empowered” special interests, and with “disastrous” results.

Hmmm. So why are the special interests – from the politicians to the most powerful Sacramento lobbies – so adamantly anti-initiative? Do they not want to be empowered?

And if the initiative is the cause of California’s financial woes, what would explain the widening budget deficits in states without any initiative process available to voters? States such as New York and New Jersey come to mind.

The initiative certainly didn’t cause California’s budget problems. Yes, Proposition 13 cut property taxes and set a legislative vote threshold of two-thirds to raise taxes. But Prop 13 passed 31 years ago.  Since then, tax revenues in the state have grown enormously.

It’s just that state spending growth has been far greater. In the last decade, state spending nearly doubled.

Another initiative that comes up is Proposition 98, which set a floor for K-12 and community college funding. Unless the legislature votes to override its provisions, education funding cannot fall below 40 percent of the state budget. While I personally do not favor setting this arbitrary percentage, the truth is that education funding has historically been above the 40 percent mark. Moreover, the last place the public is likely to favor cuts is in education.

The total cost of initiatives passed by voters is a tiny fraction of the overall California state budget. Still, Mr. Brooks and so many others seem oblivious to the more obvious cause of the problem: former Governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, and current Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, each increased general fund expenditures by 30 percent.