California propositions

Tom McClintock is one of the very few politicians that I actually like, even though I ended up, for reasons of pragmatics and feasibility, not voting for him in the special recall election in October 2003 (wow, it’s almost two years!). I agree with him on most issues, and here are his recommendations for voting on the propositions this year. I intersperse them with some comments of my own (McClintock in blue).

Proposition 73: Parental Notification for Abortion. If parental consent is required for a child to use a tanning booth or get her ears pierced, shouldn’t parents at least be notified if she’s getting an abortion? YES. Whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, this should be the all-time no-brainer.

The abortion industry is driven by ideology and profits and will fight tooth and nail to remove any restriction and hinderance between the damsel-in-distress and her abortionist. No-brainer for us, no brains for the hardened of heart.

Proposition 74: Teacher Tenure. Do parents have a right to expect a higher level of competence before a teacher is granted life-time tenure? YES. This modest measure simply increases the teacher probation period from two years to five years.

Every industry has requirements for competence. Well, except perhaps for the league of CEOs—the fact that even failing CEOs [think Carly] get big packages is disgusting. But for the rest of us, poor performance results in no promotion or termination. The same should hold for teachers.

Proposition 75: Public Employee Union Dues. Should public employees decide for themselves which candidates they will support with their own money? YES. This measure requires that before a public employee union can take money from that employee for political donations, it has to get the employee’s permission.

Have public employee unions become a department of the Democrat Party?

Proposition 76: State Spending. Should government live within its means? YES. This measure restores the authority that the governor of California had between 1939 and 1983 to make mid-year spending cuts whenever spending outpaces revenue without having to return to the legislature.

Starve the beast.

Proposition 77: Re-districting. Should voters choose their representatives in legislative districts that are drawn without regard to partisan advantage? YES. The most obvious conflict of interest in government is when politicians choose which voters will get to vote for them by drawing their own legislative district lines. This measure puts a stop to it.

Propositions 78 and 79: Prescription drug discounts. Do you want the same people who run the DMV to run your pharmacy? NO. These are rival measures, one supported by drug companies and the other by liberal activists – both of which purport to lower drug prices. What they really do is assure that one group of patients gets to pay higher prices to provide subsidized prices for others. There’s no such thing as a free Levitra.

Why does the government want to run everything in our lives? There is no free lunch. Prices are determined best by the market, not by government fiat. Has not the failure of socialism taught anyone?

Proposition 80. Electricity Regulation. Do you want the same people who run the DMV to run your electricity company? NO. This measure locks in monopoly control of your electricity by the bureaucratized utilities and forbids you from ever being able to shop around for the lowest-priced electricity available.