FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!

January 9, 2012

SOCAL TAX REVOLT COALITION IS VIGOROUSLY OPPOSED TO BROWN’S BUDGET PLANS

SAN DIEGO, CA – The Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition (SCTRC) members have reviewed the information that Gov.Brown released regarding his 2012-13 budget plan.  Unwilling to tackle the entitlement spending or platinum pension levels for state workers, he targeted the cuts on K-12 schools, state universities and courts (threatening them with substantial reductions if California voters fail to pass his $7 billion tax-increase initiative in November.)  He also adds additional layers to our gargantuan bureaucracy.

Dawn Wildman, SCTRC President, offers this statement: “The Governor’s budget is entirely irresponsible, in light of the current economic situation.  I am sure Californians do not wish to become the American Greece.  Citizen groups across the state are poised to push-back on Sacramento’s current proposal.  Interestingly, California is obligated under law to devote 40% of the budget to education.  That being said, I find it very sad that Brown thinks the best approach to ensure his initiatives pass is to threaten taxpayers with their quality of their children’s lives.”

Leslie Eastman, SCTRC Media Director, offers this statement:  “Brown’s budget proposals are based on so many false premises that I hardly know where to begin.  For example, the ‘cuts’ that he touts are very meager, indeed.  Though he seems to trim just 1.3% from the total number of state employees, it is important to note the average pay for each state worker is about $80.000.  Brown says this ‘sacrifice” will pare 9.2 billion from the budget; the real number is a substantially lower $240 million.  The rest of the budget is filled with similar gimmicks, so I anticipate our assembly will be spending another long summer in Sacramento trying to pass a budget.”

Sarah Bond, SCTRC CEO, offers this statement:  Despite the fact their income dropped by 8% during our continuing economic unrest, Brown tags the Californians earning $250,000 a year as wealthy and wants to raid their incomes even more.  Brown’s campaign will be they don “pay their fair share”; the truth is, they pay for nearly everything.  It is god to remember the people in that income bracket are generally the wealth creators, unless they are public sector employees.  California has lost over five companies a week to other states last year, and Brown’s scheme will mean more potential employers will relocate to business friendly environments.

New Agencies to be Created Instead of Dissolved:  SoCal-TRC holds that there are too many redundant agencies within the state.  Therefore, when it comes to spending proposals, we are opposed to the addition of new layers of bureaucracy, which can only further negatively impact the business climate of the Golden State. For example, a new Business and Consumer Services Agency that blends consumer affairs, “fair” employment offices, business licensing and inspection functions, and then adds the newly restructured Department of Business Oversight (which has never actually existed prior.)  Individually, each of these agencies hinders the successful set-up and running of enterprises with very little consumer or taxpayer benefit.  Brown also intends to also establish another entirely new state agency, the Department of State Hospitals, which puts even more layers of paperwork and regulation between patients and healthcare providers.  Furthermore, there are no solid plans for funding AB-32 (Global Warming Solutions Act) and the High Speed Rail System, both of which our organization decries as unnecessary and detrimental to the state of our State.  Therefore, taxpayers and employers remain in serious of risk of being squeezed so hard we have an economic apocalypse.

For all these reasons, Brown’s budget is dead-on arrival, in terms of support from hard-working California taxpayers.

Voters Still Express More Confidence in Tea Party Than in Congress

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 Email to a Friend

More voters still think the average Tea Party member has a better handle on America’s problems than the average member of Congress does, but there’s a sharp difference of opinion between Democrats and Republicans.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% of all Likely U.S. Voters believe the average member of the Tea Party has a better understanding of the problems America faces today, while 34% think the average member of Congress is more clued in. Twenty-four percent (24%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Still, that marks a 10-point drop in confidence in the Tea Party from March of last year when 52% felt the average member of the grass roots smaller government group had a better understanding of America’s problems. But the new findings aren’t a big boost of confidence in Congress since there’s been only a slight increase from the 30% in March 2010 who thought the average congressman had a better feel for the nation’s problems.

Sixty percent (60%) of Democrats, however, have more confidence in the average member of Congress. But 68% of Republicans - and a plurality (46%) of voters not affiliated with either major party – think the average Tea Party member has a better understanding of today’s problems.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/august_2011/voters_still_express_more_confidence_in_tea_party_than_in_congress

 

 

67% Favor Finding Spending Cuts in All Government Programs

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Defense spending, along with Social Security and Medicare, accounts for over 50% of the federal budget and is sure to come under the knife as Congress and President Obama look for ways to cut the nation’s staggering deficit. Most voters think that’s a good idea.

Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Likely U.S. Voters think that thoughtful spending cuts should be considered in every program of the federal government as the nation searches for solutions to the budget crisis. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% of voters are opposed to considering cuts in every government program. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

 

Fifty percent (50%) oppose keeping the military out of the mix of potential cuts. But 35% think thoughtful spending cuts should be considered in every program except the military. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure which course is best.

In the national political debate, Republicans tend to be more protective of defense spending, while Democrats are more protective of the non-military side of the ledger. The new voter findings help to explain why.

 

Seventy-one percent (71%) of Republicans, for example, favor thoughtful cuts in every government program, but 58% think cuts should be considered in every program but the military. Seventy-three percent (73%) of Democrats, on the other hand, oppose spending cuts that don’t include the military, but just 59% of those in the president’s party favor the consideration of cuts in every program of the government.

 

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/august_2011/67_favor_finding_spending_cuts_in_all_government_programs 

Bogus Group Falsely Claims Signing Ballot Petitions Puts You at Risk for Identity Theft 

Copyright © 2011

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse / UCAN

Posted July 29, 2011 

[California-specific] A new 60-second radio ad airing in southern California is using fear tactics in an attempt to stop voters from signing ballot measure petitions.  The ad purports that giving your name and address to petition campaigners amounts to an “identity theft starter kit.” 

“The threat claimed in these ads is totally false. Social Security numbers are the keys to identity theft.  And obviously those are not collected by petition gatherers,” states Beth Givens, director of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

The radio ads claim to be from a 501(c)(4) nonprofit called “Californians Against Identity Theft.” However, the most well-respected consumer protection groups in California, including Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, the California Public Interest Research Group, Consumer Federation of California, and Identity Theft Resource Center, deny having any ties to the lobbying group. It appears to be part of a signature-suppression campaign.

“It’s outrageous that someone would disguise dirty politics as consumer protection. There is as much risk of identity theft involved in signing a petition as there is in being listed in the phone book,” said Pedro Morillas Legislative Director for the California Public Interest Research Group.  

Californians should be confident that as long as they are only giving their name and address along with a signature to a petition gatherer, they are not increasing their risk of identity theft.  Givens says radio ads claiming otherwise are nothing more than a “dirty tricks” strategy to thwart the political process in the name of consumer protection.

More Information:

•The Sacramento Bee: Radio Ad Claims Initiatives Increases Risk for Identity Theft (07.29.11)

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/07/identity-of-new-identity-theft.html#comment-269062547

•The Sacramento Bee: Building Trades Union Acknowledges Ties to Identity Theft Ads (07.29.11)

https://www.privacyrights.org/bogus-radio-ads-2011

July 29, 2011

Radio ad claims signing initiatives increases risk for identity theft

Update: The president of the state building trades unions has acknowledged helping fund the effort. Read more here.

Update 11:36 a.m.: A website for the group has been launched at this link

As backers of several high-profile ballot measures hit the streets looking for signatures, a new radio ad has surfaced warning listeners that signing initiative petitions puts voters "at risk for identity theft."

The 60-second spot, which is airing on at least one Southern California radio station, features a man telling his spouse she should not have signed a petition at the grocery store.

"The Legislature called it an identity theft starter kit. Now we really need to watch our bank statements and credit information," he says.

"That's it, I'm not signing any more petitions," the woman responds. "I guess the lesson here is not to give our name and address to anyone we don't know."

The identity of the group behind the ad remains a mystery, but the timing of the launch suggests its aim is to derail one of several high-profile measures currently trying to qualify for the 2012 ballot.

The spot claims to be paid for by a group called "Californians Against Identity Theft." The coalition has no website and has not filed a campaign committee with the Secretary of State, though the content of the ad likely would not trigger disclosure requirements because it does not mention a specific measure or candidate.

The group does not appear to have any ties to legitimate organizations dedicated to protecting consumers from identity theft. A spokeswoman for the San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center disputed the premise of the ad.

Under state law, it is illegal to use initiative signatures for anything other than the initiative petition. Election code also prohibits felons ineligible to register to vote from serving as signature gatherers.

Derek Cressman of government watchdog group Common Cause said he was "hard pressed" think of a situation where signing an initiative petition led to identity theft. He said the ad sounded like an attempt to "provoke a fear" to discourage people from signing petitions.

"If they really wanted people to take their warning seriously, they'd have more credibility by revealing their own identities," he said.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/07/identity-of-new-identity-theft.html#ixzz1UNZD5wRc

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 8-6-11:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TAX REVOLT COALITION HOLDS BOTH DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS RESPONSIBLE FOR CREDIT DOWNGRADE

SAN DIEGO, CA – Today, the San Diego Tea Party organization, the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition (SCTRC), has formally released the following statement regarding the downgrade of the credit rating of the Unites States of America to AA+ by Standard and Poor’s (S&P):

No one here in San Diego, across the country, or elsewhere in the world, who has been closely following the news, is surprised that S&P downgraded this nation’s credit rating from AAA to AA+. The simple, bitter truth is that the United States of America spends money it doesn’t have. And S&P formally stated what the taxpayers of this nation have been saying loudly these past three years -- .you can’t spend us back to solvency.

The Tea Party was started in 2009 out of the growing frustration that our representatives in Washington DC were more interested in reelection instead of representation.  The Republican Party had abandoned it’s fiscally conservative roots, approving more entitlement programs and agreeing to continue baseline budgeting that automatically increases spending levels.  The Democrats, especially when they gained control of both Houses in 2007, dramatically escalated spending while rewarding their base constituencies.  President Obama has seen fit to promote his vision of wealth distribution as he demonizes this country’s wealth producers and uses his regulatory agencies to harm our producers.  All of them stopped representing the average tax paying American. TARP, Stimulus, Cash-for-Clunkers, and Obamacare are prime examples of bi-partisan betrayal that set America firmly on the road to fiscal disaster.

This week’s bi-partisan Debt Ceiling deal was a bitter reminder that establishment GOP have learned nothing from the Tea Party uprising and the demands of the taxpayers for a more responsible government. It also shows that the Democratic Party will resort to vigorous hyperbole, fear-mongering rhetoric, and crass class-warfare tactics to undermine any call for serious entitlement reform.  We applaud those who voted against the measure (including local representatives Duncan Hunter and Bob Filner), and we are ashamed of those who supported supposed ‘spending cuts’ that amounted to less than a day of Washington’s spending.

So, thank you, President Obama. Thank you Harry Reid. Thank you, John Boehner. And an extra thank you to Congressman Issa, Congressman Bilbray, Senator Boxer & Senator Feinstein. Thank you for contributing to this national humiliation, for making everything more cost more, for condemning us to more expensive debt and for guaranteeing that it will take well beyond any of our lifetimes to dig out of this debt black-hole we are in as a nation.

America spends too much.  This needs to change, and quickly, for the sake of its hard-working citizens.

Sarah Bond, SCTRC CEO, offers this statement: It’s time for real spending cuts. Time for “shared responsibility” to mean something more than tax hikes for everyone. Time for redundant regulation to be slashed so that the businesses of this once great nation can roar back to life. It’s time for the rule of law to mean something. And time for government to STOP bailing out every bank, home owner, and union dominated industry that fails. Capitalism is self-correcting and will reward our entire economy if we believe in and encourage it’s time-tested principles.

Dawn Wildman, SCTRC President, offers this statement: ““This event was clearly foreseeable and we were warned. It was up to Congress to make the tough choices to keep the US still at an AAA rating.  They chose to bunt, so now we will all pay because Congress and the President have an addiction to spending. All we ever wanted to was to see a few heroes in Congress who could say enough is enough let’s get our fiscal house in order.  Now, Americans will pay for yet another mistake by a comatose Congress and Administration.  The focus of the Tea Party in 2012 will be getting more like-minded citizens into elected office who are willing to make the needed fixes”.

Leslie Eastman, SCTRC Media Director, offers this statement:  “Republican and Democrat establishment politicians, and their elite media supporters, own the downgrade. They fought Tea Party representatives at every turn, while using derogatory terms such as “terrorists” and “hobbits”.  They were the ones who forced a deal which was insufficient, essentially kicking the can of fiscal responsibility down the road and off the cliff.  . The downgrade shows that the best course of action is the one set by the Tea Party – drastically changing our spending habits.

“Additionally, I hold the media minions of the elite politicians responsible.  The Fourth Estate abrogated its First Amendment responsibilities by failing to report the significance of the Debt Ceiling until we were fast encroaching on the supposed deadline; we in the Tea Party were discussing this issue in depth immediately after the election in 2012. The tone of many pundits was an amalgam of snide condescension and elite derision whenever they interviewed a representative with Tea Party –based objectives.  And the elite media promulgated the atmosphere of fear and panic, so that no reasoned discourse was aired.
“One of the most galling aspects related to recent events is that President Obama had the temerity to imply that average Americans didn’t understand what the Debt Ceiling was.  Apparently, we knew better than he.  I hope he can learn a lesson for President Bill Clinton, who managed to work in a truly bipartisan manner for welfare reform that helped enhance the American economy. 

“I hope he has some plans to address the five likely consequences of this downgrade:  US debt service costs will rise, interest rates for individuals and businesses will go up, increased costs associated with these rises will shaveat least1% off of GDP, the Stock markets drop dramatically because of the slowing economy, and, and the increasing interest rates will cost America thousands upon thousands jobs.  Here is a hint I will give him freely:  The solution will not be found on a golf course.”

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