Who Is Behind Prop 87?
This article (username humboldtlib, password blogspot) in today's Sacramento Bee takes a look at the forces behind Prop 87, the upcoming ballot initiative that places an extraction tax on oil drilled in California. Those revenues would supposedly be used in alternative energy research.
Not surprisingly, at least some of the people behind the intitiative seem to be investor class folks who would directly profit from Prop 87. Even the guy who came up with the idea has earned over a hundred grand so far, being the Executive Director of the campaign.
This doesn't look all that much different from that stem cell research intitiative that passed last time around where the people that bankrolled it are the ones that profit most from it.
They claim this initiative prohibits oil companies from passing the tax on to consumers. I have a hard time swallowing that one. It will end up being passed on one way or another.
Interesting note in the summary at the bottom of the story: The list of opponents includes some named oil companies and "Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and other oil companies". I wonder if that's supposed to be a slam on the HJTA or just a poor sentence structure?
I, of course, will be voting NO on Prop 87.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 8:47 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
"They claim this initiative prohibits oil companies from passing the tax on to consumers."
The Saxon King Canute tried this one in the 9th century by commanding the tide not to flow. The remaining crude producers in the state have the option of: 1) shutting in the remaining producing wells or: 2) Raising the price of crude above the current market price. Either option reduces the supply of an already scarce product and raises prices as well as ending employment for workers. The collectivists wet dream!
Well Fred - I am voting no on everthing because I think that the initiative process has been bastardized to such an extent that it has really harmed this state. Anybody can push anything thru by thinking up the politically correct name and then running a divide and conquer campaign. The result is a lot of contradictory legislation, that is poorly worded and has effects no one truly ever thought about.
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