> The root of the problem is the fiscal crisis, which itself
> is rooted in the idiotic ballot system that California has.
> In other words, the problem is democracy i.e. mob rule which
> makes any progressive policy impossible.
I'm not sure that's true in general, but I don't think it's even true in California. It's not the mob-on-the-street we have to worry about, it's the mob in the Capitol we have to worry about.
Here's an article I read recently that filled in some blanks for me; the idea is basically that even though it takes a 2/3 majority vote to *raise* taxes in California (which means it basically never happens), it's the tax *cuts* (which only take backroom deals by corrupt politicians to get voted in: that have starved California) which are really the problem ("in the years following Proposition 98, I found a total of 2,961 legislative "yes" votes cast on bills that lowered general fund revenues compared with only 150 "no" votes. That's a 95% majority vote for lowering the general fund and taking money from schools" ...).
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http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ross19-2009feb19,0,3825360.story
Opinion
Prop. 98's been good for California
Although critics say the 1988 measure has drained money from
the general fund for education, it has ensured that schools
get the money they need.
By Richie Ross
It's become stylish to place the blame for California's frequent
budget crises on Proposition 98, a ballot initiative passed in
1988 that committed the state to spending 40% of the general
fund on schools.
Some legislators now say the education funding rule has "handcuffed"
them.
But the Legislature has handcuffed itself by enacting hundreds of
tax cuts that, taken together, have reduced revenues to a point
that the state can no longer function.
Since 1993, permanent tax cuts have cost the general fund more
than $100 billion. Those costs have grown from $700 million in
1993 to $12 billion last year and $11.7 billion more this year
-- combined, that's half of our current projected deficit.
[ ... ]