California is "Fertile Ground" for Anti-Tax Demagoguery!

Pat in Shreveport offers her "Final Reflections on the Nation's Tea Parties." But I'll tell you what: I'm just getting going, LOL!

Seriously, I'm looking at this from the political science perspective, and that's why I'm interested in the theme of Jim Geraghty's post this morning, "Where Do the Tea Parties Go From Here?" Geraghty focuses on the local level, and updates with a letter from reader Teresa in Virginia, who notes:

Our Board of Supervisors have been drunk on spending the last few years. They raised all taxes including an enormous increase on declining home values two years ago. Last night they met to vote on the budget. They have a shortfall of over two million due to exorbitant spending sprees in the last year. In this small community over two hundred citizens showed up to protest any tax increases. It worked. The real estate taxes will not go up this year, although personal property taxes will rise. Unfortunately most of the board members are Republicans. For two hundred people to show up at a board meeting here is unprecedented. Citizen outrage matters.

This is what's going to bring about a more state-centered federal system, and California's going to be a leading laboratory on this question over the next month. We're going to have a huge debate over Proposition 1A, which is a ballot proposal to raise $12.5 billion for the state, which is supposed to be "a temporary two-year extension of an already-agreed-to two-year tax hike." George Skelton, at the Los Angeles Times, notes that some Assembly Republicans are pushing the measure, and then writes off popular anti-tax sentiment as hysteria: "Voter anger at the economy and disgust with dysfunctional Sacramento provide fertile ground for anti-tax demagoguery."

Yeah. Right. "Demagoguery." This measure's got the support of less that 4 in 10 Californians. According to the Public Policy Insitute:

About four in 10 support the measure (39% yes, 46% no, 15% undecided) to change the budget process by increasing the state “rainy day” fund. Less than half say the measure would be very (7%) or somewhat (38%) effective in helping California avoid future state budget deficits.

The California budgetary process has been out of control for years, under both parties. Taxing more to "shrink" the government sounds almost like science fiction, but that's what being proposed.

For more information, see California Tax Revolt 2009.

Image Credit: Gay Patriot, "Reader Reports from Pasadena Tea Party."