Already flagging in every legitimate poll, San Diego Democrat Mayoral candidate Donna Frye recently advanced a bold new policy proposal that probably put the finishing touches on her campaign: raise sales taxes $1.1 billion over the next ten years to pay for the pensions of city employees. Increasing taxes
to pay for the pensions of city workers or make up for the other grotesque overspending, wasteful habits of City Hall have been polled time and time again as the touch of death.
To steal amusing quotes from a recent Union Tribune editorial that excoriated Frye Pontius Pilate style:
"Would you vote to raise your taxes by a whopping $1.1 billion over the next 10 years to pay for the bloated pensions of city workers?"
"Mayoral contender Donna Frye not only thinks you should, but that you will"
"This is precisely the measure demanded by the city’s politically powerful public employee unions"
"Councilwoman Frye’s proposal to raise taxes on a massive scale as a first resort is fiscally imprudent and politically untenable"
"Her plan defies the good common sense of San Diego voters, who are not about to endorse such an enormous tax increase to pay for the 24-carat pensions of municipal workers. Long-time employees at City Hall can retire with pensions that are significantly larger than their paychecks ever were, due to the double-dipping DROP program. Such abuse simply doesn’t occur in the private sector, and voters are not about to raise their own taxes to finance such lavishness for city retirees"
"For Donna Frye, a reality check is in order"
Ouch… they didn’t really spare the cat o’ nine tails on that one. Almost written for an ad, wasn’t it?