| In what is becoming a very enjoyable ritual after every election, Calitics is once again mythbusting the notion that Californians somehow dislike taxes. The evidence yet again proves that voters will indeed approve tax increases.
California City Finance reported on the numbers yesterday. They found that 73% of the local tax and bond measures on the June 8 ballot passed - 44 out of 60. Here's the breakdown:
| Type |
Total |
Pass |
Passing % |
| City Majority Vote |
11 |
9 |
82 |
| County Majority Vote |
2 |
2 |
100 |
| City 2/3 Vote |
8 |
5 |
63 |
| County 2/3 Vote |
1 |
1 |
100 |
| Special District (2/3) |
9 |
6 |
67 |
| School Parcel Tax (2/3) |
9 |
6 |
67 |
| School bond (55%) |
20 |
15 |
75 |
The report also notes that 65% of majority vote local taxes have been approved since 2001.
The passage rate would have been higher if California had real democracy instead of rigging elections so that a small minority can block these tax increases. Of the three school parcel taxes that "failed," only one actually failed to get a 50%+1 majority, and that was in the Cutler-Orosi Joint USD in Tulare/Fresno counties.
June 2010 results prove yet again that Californians will vote for tax increases. They won't approve every one, but they will approve most of them. The myth, lacking in evidence, that California voters are anti-tax has once again been exposed as a lie. |
