ONE FOR THE THUMB

Like Prop. 13, recall terrifies the elites (STEVEN GREENHUT, July 13, 2003, The Orange County Register)

One of my political rules of thumb: No reform that has any chance of actually working can be approved without squeals of protest from the elite opinion-makers. The converse is true: Anything that moves forward in a bipartisan fashion and is widely admired in the mainstream media is bound to be a disaster.

That's because America's elites - and California's in particular - are liberals who believe in bigger government, higher taxes, more regulations. Promote an idea that threatens that tax-spend-regulate status quo, and the howls of protest begin.

In 1978, California voters rejected the dire predictions of the state's newspapers and politicians and voted for Proposition 13, which limited the increases in property taxes that were driving people out of their homes and imposed two-thirds voting requirements for the passage of most bonds and tax increases.

How do we know Prop. 13 struck paydirt?

Twenty-five years later, media pundits, legislators and academics are still whining about it, blaming it for every bad thing that ever happened in California from heinous crimes to crumbling infrastructure. But the public knows better, and still strongly backs Prop. 13's provisions.

Another Prop. 13-style revolt is shaping up in California. And judging by the cries and moans of editorialists and politicians, one would think the world is coming to an end. But this is good news. Their upset is a sign that something serious is taking place.

Gotta love it when Democrats oppose direct democracy. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 13, 2003 1:29 PM