Entia Multiplicanda
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Proposition 67
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Full Text of Proposition
What does it do? Adds a telephone surcharge, and earmarks the money to fund various emergency medical services.
How I plan to vote: No
Why? My feelings on this are very similar to my feelings on Prop 63. Emergency medical services are good, but creating a weird fiddly little tax just to fund emergency medical programs is no way to create a budget. Actually, this proposition illustrates some of the problems with the earmarking approach: many of these services are funded already out of a tobacco tax. But, fewer people are smoking, and revenues are declining, so now they're asking for this phone surcharge. What will they do if in a few years everyone is using voice-over-IP and the phone surcharge doesn't bring in any money?
What does it do? Adds a telephone surcharge, and earmarks the money to fund various emergency medical services.
How I plan to vote: No
Why? My feelings on this are very similar to my feelings on Prop 63. Emergency medical services are good, but creating a weird fiddly little tax just to fund emergency medical programs is no way to create a budget. Actually, this proposition illustrates some of the problems with the earmarking approach: many of these services are funded already out of a tobacco tax. But, fewer people are smoking, and revenues are declining, so now they're asking for this phone surcharge. What will they do if in a few years everyone is using voice-over-IP and the phone surcharge doesn't bring in any money?
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