☆ There’s no guarantee Measure A tax money will go to hospitals, assert taxpayer advocates
If residents think a 5/8-cent sales tax hike will save county hospitals, they’ve got another thing coming. So says HJTA VP Susan Shelley: the cynical Supes made it a general tax, needing just 50% approval. SCC GOP Chair Dave Johnson calls it a deceptive maneuver that fuels profligate, unaccountable spending. An Opp Now exclusive Q&A.
Opportunity Now: If Measure A money is supposed to go specifically to hospitals, why is it a general tax and not a special tax?
Susan Shelley: According to the state constitution and case law following Prop 13, a general tax requires a simple majority vote, and a special tax requires a two-thirds vote. That’s why they’re making it a general tax.
ON: The SJ Spotlight says it needed to pass as a general tax that only requires a simple majority, because the Supes don’t think they can convince two-thirds of the voters in such a short period of time.
SS: They probably did some polling. Typically, governments do. They use your tax dollars to frame the issue with careful polling to see what they can get passed before they put something on the ballot. My guess is that they could not get to a two-thirds vote, so they’re making it a general tax.
ON: What’s wrong with a general tax?
SS: Voters need to know the money can be used for anything, like pensions, repaying bond debt, transit. There’s no guarantee it goes to hospitals.
Everyone in government should stop what they’re doing and ask themselves why voters won’t approve general taxes. It’s because they don’t trust their government. Instead of fixing waste, they try to fool people.
ON: If Measure A fails, what message will it send to local and even state-level leaders?
SS: It will show taxpayers are fed up with being lied to. California wasn’t honest about the costs of full-scope Medi-Cal for undocumented immigrants. First it was $3 billion, then $6 billion, then $9 billion, now $10 billion. They borrow inside the budget to cover it. Measure A is just one more deception. Defeating it tells the county and state they can’t keep doing this.
Dave Johnson: Exactly. If I budget three and spend ten, I go out of business. But the county gets to spend freely? Makes no sense.
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