The people "upend" California

In what can only be described as another amazingly orchestrated Astroturf movement, the people of California rejected attempts to raise taxes in order to pay for inflated government, despite Colin Powell’s recent assertion that people want more government in their lives. Surely Fox News and Rush Limbaugh are behind this.

The Left is convinced – to the point of hallucination – that the results of the last two national elections prove that the American people want more government and are willing to pay higher taxes to achieve it. That’s why they sneer at tax day Tea Parties, and scoff when ballot initiatives like the ones in California go down in defeat, viewing these things as outliers inconsistent with the “real” wishes of most Americans. Jennifer Steinhauer described it this way in the New York Times: “Direct democracy has once again upended California…”

Get it? The Times apparently has no problem with out-of-control government spending. No, it's direct democracy that is the problem here. In other words, THE PEOPLE are to blame.

When a state government overspends by massive amounts and implements laws that are unfriendly to business and commerce, the resulting fiscal crisis is not their fault. It’s up to the people to subsidize the irresponsible spending, because government knows best. Believe me, Ms. Steinhauer is not alone in her opinion. The ballot initiative SHOULD act as a warning to politicians that the people are quickly getting fed up with tax-and-spend policies. But something tells me very few of them will comprehend that warning in the throws of their hallucinogenic power-trip. Just like with the Tea Parties last month, I’m sure the voices of California will go unheard, and nothing much will change. But this “Astroturf” movement isn’t going away. Even in the bluest of blue states, the movement is gaining ground.

So is Obama listening? Not really. When Governor Arnold attempted to save money by cutting wages on unionized state employees, Washington responded by threatening to withhold $6 billion in bailout money from the state. So now the Governor is suggesting that he will have to release inmates from prison and shorten the school year as part of his plan to save money. Washington hasn’t voiced any objection to this. Screw the kids and make the law-abiding public less safe, but don’t touch the unionized government workers. Naturally, all of this is the people’s fault.

California is the 6th most-taxed state in the union. Couple this with massive entitlement spending, business-unfriendly environmental policies, and high corporate taxes and what else can you expect but an impending fiscal crisis? Job-rich businesses aren’t going to stick around and pay high taxes while being forced to comply to irrational environmental laws when states like Nevada and Texas welcome them with open arms. And when businesses go, so do jobs and tax-revenue. But never mind all that. The people should have agreed to higher taxes to keep on the same path because, you know, it is working so well.

A major political storm is brewing. Astroturf Americans are getting angrier by the day, and this is BEFORE the high federal taxes and high inflation of Obama’s budget hits. My guess is the politicians will continue to ignore the voice of the people, the media will continue to sneer, and they will all be in for a shock when the hallucination ends.