Statewide ballot propositions are still the best check against the excesses of California Democrats. While Democrats are prepared to drive the state into further ruin with a “billionaire” tax, several other ballot propositions could help voters save the state from further decay.
The “one-time” billionaire tax/retroactive wealth confiscation won’t face voters until November, but it is already weakening the state’s tax base, as several wealthy Californians have already moved out of state to avoid it. There are multiple counterproposals that voters will also be asked to weigh in on, two of which would cancel out the billionaire tax. The first is a direct counter, a ban on retroactive taxes and new personal property taxes.
CALIFORNIA’S BILLIONAIRE TAX PROPOSAL HEADS TO VOTERS AS NEWSOM PUSHES NATIONAL WEALTH TAX
The second is a mandated audit of how tax money is spent, which also includes a ban on new taxes exempt from the state’s spending limits, as the proposed billionaire tax is. If all three propositions pass, the direct counter or the one included in the audit proposition would cancel out the billionaire tax if either passes with more votes. The audit proposition is particularly promising in that regard, as it would be difficult for California Democrats to rewrite the proposition to convince people that they shouldn’t want to know how their tax money is spent. (That certainly won’t stop Democrats from trying, though.)
Neither will undo the damage that has been done by the mere possibility of the billionaire tax, but they are welcome safeguards against further damage that the proposal, and future proposals, could inflict on the state’s tax base and jobs market.
Meanwhile, several other propositions could reshape how the state is governed moving forward. The first would remake the recall process so that the question to recall an official is a stand-alone ballot question, rather than accompanied by a list of replacement candidates. This would make it harder for candidates facing a recall, such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), to campaign off opposition to potential candidates who would replace them (as Newsom did with conservative candidate Larry Elder in 2021).
The second would amend California’s Environmental Quality Act to speed up environmental reviews and limit lawsuits against infrastructure projects. CEQA’s onerous, heavy-handed restrictions have been used by climate activists and malcontent residents in communities to bog down various projects, which California Democrats have only recently discovered may be a bit of an issue when it comes to housing costs and water storage infrastructure.
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And, most importantly, a ballot proposition promises to bring California into the civilized first world and require voter ID in elections, including for mail-in ballots. This would keep elections secure and would not “suppress” voter turnout, a fact we know because Georgia put much of the same requirements in place and saw an increased voter turnout in ensuing elections.
California voters continue to give Democrats power despite having proven their incompetence time and time again. Still, those voters have the ability to use ballot propositions to rein in Democratic excesses, and they should take that opportunity this November with the aforementioned ballot propositions to protect the state from further decline.