TAXPAYERS SHOULD KEEP MORE OF WHAT THEY EARN

By Mike Dismukes

We need to re-structure government to serve the people and discourage competition between local and state government for tax dollars to fund special interest projects.

I am a candidate for the middle class and for the people. A real consequence of the State budget crisis was a shifting of local monies, used for local services, to the State. This battling between State and local governments is hurting our vital services: police, emergency services, street repairs, infra-structure maintenance, sewers, libraries, child protective services, courts.... As a consequence, local governments have turned to other revenue sources, such as parking tickets on street-sweeping days (with no intent to sweep the street), or fire-inspection fees for property owners of4 or more units (with no intent to inspect for fire safety). These revenue-generating local ordinances are constitutional on their face, unconstitutional as applied. Increasingly, taxpayer dollars are paying government lawyers to discover these new revenue sources. For example, some of you now fund street-lighting special districts. There is no one protecting the people from these new revenue-generating taxes, manipulated as fees. I propose a direct link between taxes (whether you call them fees or not) and services, with a plan to link the cost of the tax to the cost of the service. I further propose a higher scrutiny on all general fund" expenditures and taxes. This is a huge realignment of political priorities intended to empower the people and return the government to a service industry, nothing more, nothing less. The plan will be criticized by politicians, special interest groups, and anyone who lacks faith in the wisdom and priorities of the people. I will support any plan that increases the rights and autonomy of individual Americans and Californians under the Bill of Rights and Constitution of the United States. At this time in our history, we are government top-heavy and predisposed to mismanagement. Let's give control back to the people.