California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

As the summer draws to a seasonal slow-down, we are also closing in on another election year in California and across this nation. The groups behind three of the four propositions to increase taxes have been running their propaganda in support of Propositions 30 (Brown), 38 (Munger) and 39 (Perez).
Prop 30 is our illustrious Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown’s attempt to squeeze more sales and income tax money out of our pockets to give more, supposedly, to schools (our kids), but we all know it will be going to pay for lavish police, fire and over-paid academic administrators pensions and benefits. We seem to throw billions upon billions of dollars at these union entities and they never seem to get enough money.

I say we all tell the Governor, Ms. Munger and Speaker Perez, “Sorry, but NO!”  My hope is that most of the people in California think the same; that we already pay more than our fair share of taxes and I’ll vote no on these propositions, especially Props 30, 38 and 39.

Anther proposition to watch is 32. This will prohibit unions from obtaining political funds from members via paycheck deductions without specific permission. Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters recently said, “Unions and their 2.4 million members are at the apogee of political influence in this state.”

No wonder the California Teachers Association, the firefighters union and the police officers groups are spending tens-of-millions on ads to defeat Prop 32. Think about it, if they can’t buy the politicians, the politicians might not be quite so eager to throw so much money in the direction of these unions at the taxpayers’ expense. I will be voting “yes” on Prop 32.

Few can deny that our state government gobbles up tax money at a ravenous pace. It appears that no amount of tax increases will ever be enough for lefty politicians. According to CalTax.org California has the third-worst state business tax climate in the nation.

In a January 2012 report from the Tax Foundation, a national tax research organization that tracks state taxes, in its annual State Business Tax Climate Index concluded that our state ranks 1st in sales tax, 2nd in fuel taxes, 2nd in personal income tax, and has the 9th highest corporate tax rate. As of July 1, 2011, property taxes in California were $1,458 per capita, ranking us 14th highest nationally. Without Proposition 13, the 1978 voter-approved initiative that set limits on property taxes for California property owners, the state likely would rank even worse, probably 1st. Unfortunately, I don’t think our governor and his far left friends will be happy until California is number one in all tax types.

On a more positive note, Apple is adding 3,600 new jobs to its company. I would have hoped these jobs would have been here in California but alas all 3,600 will be in Austin, Texas. What our elected officials don’t seem to understand is that if your business is nationwide or derives most of it is income from somewhere besides California you have no incentive or job prospects to stay here even if you do love the weather.

I read that California has suffered a net loss of 869,000 tax filers over the last 16 years. At first I like most of us native Californians thought this is great – less people, traffic etc. We lost probably over a million people statewide, but in retrospect that is a lot of income gone from the state. These people spent their income on goods and services as well as paying taxes. Let’s say that each of these 869,000 tax filers only made just $30,000 each that comes to $26.07 billion in economic dollars. That is a big loss for the state’s economy.

Unfortunately, our elected officials don’t see this large exodus as a problem as long as they can coerce the majority of liberal California residents into voting themselves tax increases – for the kids of course. I don’t know about you but I feel like I already pay more than my fare share of taxes.
Remember if you ran your business the way our government is run you would have been bankrupt and out of business years ago.

It’s time for everyone still here to get involved. Be an informed voter. Don’t just vote for someone because they are the incumbent. Research what your politicians stand for. If you know what they are planning to do once they are in office you may be a lot happier with whom you are voting for. You also need to have a good understanding of all of the propositions. Whether you think so or not, they will all have some impact on us all.

The same thing goes for our association. I want to thank every one of you for caring enough about your business to be a member and I want to thank those of you who are serving as officers in all capacities for getting involved. You are the backbone of this association.

Thank you all for caring.
Fred Martin