Opponents of Rational Taxation pose as Working Class Heroes

A “tax advocate” sounds like a person sympathetic to the taxation woes of the Average Joe, like someone that fights the good fight against America’s original annoyance – the burden of excessive taxation. It’s interesting how labels can be so misleading at times… According to The Record, one of California’s most prominent tax advocates, Mr. Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, will be speaking in Calaveras County to a taxpayers group at the end of this month. If you care to be fed a bunch of bullshit disguised as ambrosia, the event’s information is listed in the article HERE. Once again, The Record sings the praises of an individual that does not represent the interests of the average Valley resident. The piece states that Coupal will be speaking “on how taxpayers can protect themselves from new [taxation] threats” and it mentions the work of the Association’s namesake in creating Proposition 13, but it fails to address the fact that one of the biggest “threats” to California right now was caused by Proposition 13 in the first place! Prop. 13 was passed in 1978 & it restricts the state’s taxation abilities, specifically it limits increases in property taxes statewide. Initially, people were gung-ho about cutting their annual tax bill. Who wouldn’t want to keep more of their money? Unfortunately, our school districts are funded with the revenue collected from property taxes and as educational costs have increased, Proposition 13 has prevented any increase in funds to cover the expenses! We always vote for those bond measures on our ballots that provide money to schools, because we’d hate to under fund education, but those bonds are loans that our tax dollars will be paying on for generations THAT WOULDN’T BE NESSASARY had we not cut off the major revenue source with Prop 13 back in the day. Proposition 13 has backfired & instead of relieving the citizen’s tax burden, it has diverted much needed monies to interest payments on education bonds and left public schools high & dry. Thanks to the “advocacy” of Howard Jarvis and his disciples at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, California’s school systems (which used to be considered some of the nation’s best) are consistently at the bottom of the list in nearly every national scholastic review! I wonder what “threats” Coupal will be decrying at his Calaveras event… the dangers of funding public safety programs and police departments with sales taxes? Or how unfair it is to collect motor vehicle taxes to cover the state’s transportation expenses? Or, maybe, Coupal will rally against the current property tax rates! After all, the property owners of California, the landed class, could always use some more advocacy in their defense! Seriously though, the state is in a deficit & tax payers are worried about getting stuck carrying the state’s debt on their shoulders. This is a prime time for “tax advocates” that double as politicians & lobbyists to promote legislation that serves their immediate interest without regard for it’s long term fiscal effects, because voters will buy into their bullshit. Consider yourself warned.